ACON HEALTH: A LANGUAGE GUIDE: TRANS AND GENDER DIVERSE INCLUSION

This handy factsheet by ACON, one of Australia’s leading organisations dealing with LGBTIQA+ health and inclusion, explains recent changes around gender diversity and transgender people, and how changes in language have been taking place.

Australian Human Rights Commission: Face the facts: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People

Great graphic and links to more information from The Australian Human Rights Commission, an independent statutory organisation that protects and promotes human rights in Australia and internationally.

Australian Institute of Family Studies: LGBTIQA+ communities – Glossary of common terms

 

Understanding and using the language/terminology associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual and other sexually or gender diverse (LGBTIQA+) people helps to ensure that services and organisations are inclusive and respectful. This resource sheet provides a glossary of terms to help people to better understand the terminology and to use inclusive language in connecting with LGBTIQA+ people.

Being trans and on the autism spectrum, younger me struggled to fit in

A brave and moving account by a neurodiverse trans youth leader in the UK on their challenges and how they’ve been overcoming them.

Diverse Voices

Queensland-based phone counselling service for LBTIQA+ individuals. Diverse Voices works alongside QLife who provides Australia-wide anonymous, LGBTI peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about a range of issues including sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.

Freedom Centre WA

Freedom Centre (FC) is here to help support young people, families and whole communities to be healthy, happy and informed about diverse sexuality, gender and sex.

Our volunteers and staff are all people who are LGBTQIA+ and are trained to be able to give support and information to their peers.

We host drop-in sessions that are safe spaces to hang out; have fun; meet other young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer, questioning and otherwise diverse in their sex, gender or sexuality; get peer support and get any information you may need.

Guide to Supporting a student to affirm or transition – gender identity at school

A useful resource for parents, carers and teachers dealing with gender diverse young people, produced by the Safe Schools Alliance.

Intersex Human Rights Australia

Platform for advocacy and information about intersex people in Australia by the national body by and for people with intersex variations.

LGBTIQA Health: Fact Sheets

Detailed information from LGBTIQ+ Health Australia, (formerly the National LGBTI Health Alliance), the national peak health organisation in Australia for organisations and individuals that provides health-related programs, services and research focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and other sexuality, gender and bodily diverse (LGBTIQ+) people and communities.

LGBT Social Groups on Meetup

A list of all the active LGBT Social Groups around Australia on Meetup.

LGBTIQA+ Wikia

LGBTQIA+ Wiki is a dedicated resource for LGBTIQA+ topics, including sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities, and the LGBTIQA+ community as a whole. This wiki is the primary Fandom-hosted resource for the English-speaking LGBTQIA+ community and hopes to create an open, welcoming, and inclusive environment where everyone feels safe and respected. The goal is to provide an objective, educational, and comprehensive resource about all things LGBTQIA+. Anyone can register for an account to contribute to and expand this wiki.

Minus18

This queer youth organisation creates life-affirming events across Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide for LGBTQIA+ youth. Minus18 events are fun, safe, and build resilience and confidence.

Parents of Gender Diverse Children

WA-based support organisation for families. Parents of Gender Diverse Children is here to provide peer support to parents and those parenting trans and gender diverse children. We know that parents who are well supported are better able to support their children. We believe that no matter your age – you will always be someone’s child – so we do not impose any age restrictions on the families that we support.

Qheadspace

If you identify as, are questioning or are interested in learning about trans and gender diversity and/or sexuality, you can join the Qheadpace community to discuss all things LGBTQIA+

QLife

QLife provides Australia-wide anonymous, LGBTI peer support and referral for people wanting to talk about a range of issues including sexuality, identity, gender, bodies, feelings or relationships.

QLife services are free and include both telephone and webchat support, delivered by trained LGBTI community members across the country. QLife services are for LGBTI individuals, their friends and families, and health professionals in Australia.

Beyond the telephone, QLife offers webchat for people who prefer online interactions or for whom the phone is impractical.

QLife is continually working to be inclusive and respectful of diversity – QLife will always strive to ask about your identity, gender or relationship and will not assume that we already know.

The QLife partner organisations are; Diverse Voices in QLD, Living Proud in WA, Switchboard in Vic, and Twenty10 (incorporating GLCS) in NSW.

365 DAYS A YEAR: Both the telephone and webchat operate from 3pm – midnight every day. QLife YouTube channel

Rainbow Door

Rainbow Door is a free specialist LGBTIQA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Gender Diverse, Intersex, Queer, Asexual, BrotherBoys, SisterGirls) helpline providing information, support, and referral to all LGBTIQA+ Victorians, their friends and family.

Rainbow Door supports people of all ages and identities with issues that may include suicidal thoughts, family and intimate partner violence (including elder abuse), alcohol and other drugs, relationship issues, sexual assault, social isolation, mental health and wellbeing.

Rainbow Network

An excellent collection of recent research and helpful resources for families, young people and people with disability to understand the issues and challenges involved with being on the rainbow spectrum, by leading information and resource provider Rainbow Network.

Established in 1998, Rainbow Network began as an intimate peer support group of workers who would meet to discuss the shared challenges they faced when working towards meeting the needs of LGBTIQ+ young people. This Victorian-based organisation is now one of the leading voices for creating safe and inclusive services and spaces for LGBTIQA+ young people in Australia.

Stonewall Glossary of Terms

A very extensive and widely-used glossary of key terms with explanations for the development and changes in key terms over time by one of the world’s most infamous and influential LGBTIQA+ organisations.

The Equality Project Australia – Australian LGBTIQA+ Policy Guide

The Equality Project is a national LGBTIQ+ charity bringing together LGBTIQ+ people and allies to promote a better, more just, and fairer society for all Australians.

The Equality Project developed the Australian LGBTIQA+ Policy Guide to ensure that lesbian, gay, bi+, trans, gender diverse, non-binary, intersex, queer, asexual and aromantic (ace and aro) people and their families experience genuine inclusion and the realisation of their human rights in Australia. The Guide is a high-level overview of the most prominent needs experienced broadly throughout Australian LGBTIQA+ communities.

 

Transcend: A Guide for Parents

Sensitive and comprehensive information and advice for parents from leading trans advocacy group, Transcend Australia which discusses the Transition/Gender Affirmation Process (the process of a TGDNB person coming to recognise, accept, and express their gender identity). One of the few resources to delve deeper into gender identities “beyond the binary” with discussion of TGDNB identities (TGDNB = Trans, Gender Diverse, Non-Binary – An umbrella term for all whose gender identity is not aligned with their birth sex).

Transcend Australia was founded in 2012 and was the first parent-led, national peer support network and community for parents and carers supporting their TGDNB child in Australia.

Transcend’s purpose is to support, affirm and celebrate the lives of TGDNB children and their families and carers.

Twenty10

Twenty10 incorporating GLCS NSW works with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and gender diverse, intersex, questioning, queer, asexual and more, LGBTIQA+ people and others of diverse genders and sexualities, their families and communities.

Twenty10 are a Sydney-based service working across New South Wales, providing a broad range of specialised services for young people aged 12-25 including housing, mental health, counselling and social support.

 

Transfolks of WA

Support group for trans people and their families in Western Australia.

 

Transhub

A digital information and resource platform for all trans and gender diverse people in NSW, loved ones, allies and health providers. This platform is an initiative from ACON, NSW’s leading health organisation specialising in community health, inclusion and HIV responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders. TransHub offers the information that many of us so desperately needed, but didn’t have access to as we grew up or grew toward our most authentic selves.

Transhub Language Guide

A guide by the people of Transhub to trans-inclusive language.

“We acknowledge that our communities are richly diverse, and that those visiting TransHub may exist outside of, or surpass the identities, languages and histories of the often simplified, often Westernised concepts of gender and the trans experience.

We’ve tried to ensure the language we use is intentional and accessible, but also depathologising, rights-based and committed to the self-determination, full autonomy and liberation of all trans people, binary and non-binary, of all genders.”

Trans 101: Gender Diversity Crash Course

Trans 101 is a starter pack designed to help support trans people around you!

It’s all about helping people better understand what it means to be trans, and how to make the world and better, safer, happier place for trans and gender diverse people!

Writing Themselves in

This is the largest ever study on the experiences of LGBTQA+ young people aged 14-21 in Australia. Over 6000 young people participated, this national report includes findings and recommendations.