Members of the newly formed trans rights group, Transforming Tasmania
In the Australian state of Tasmania (which elected its first lesbian politician earlier this year), a new transgender rights group has formed to ‘transform’ the area.
The group
Transforming Tasmania launched in response to the Tasmania government seeking to end its forced divorce law. Under this law, married transgender people have to get divorced in order to change the gender marker on their birth certificate.
Transforming Tasmania is lobbying for even more rights for transgender and non-binary people in the region. The group believes it will provide ‘equality and dignity’ to those it represents.
‘Tasmania’s strong “yes” vote in last year’s marriage equality survey makes us optimistic that we have the support of our fellow Tasmanians in our campaign for full equality,’ Martine Delaney, the group’s spokesperson, told The Advocate.
‘Our campaign will focus on lobbying politicians across all parties, gathering support from community organisations and encouraging individual Tasmanians to voice their support through petitions and web forms,’ Delaney explained.
‘Most of all we will encourage transgender and gender-diverse Tasmanians to tell their personal stories so other Tasmanians can walk in our shoes.’
Reforms they’re focusing on
Some of the reforms Transforming Tasmania will be lobbying for include the removal of the requirement that trans people must have surgery to be recognized by the government and to put an end to forced surgeries on intersex children. The group also seeks to stop sex and gender data from being collected on official documents where it’s not necessary, in addition to providing options other than ‘male’ and ‘female.’
Learn more about Transforming Tasmania on their official Facebook page.
