Show support and educate yourself this Transgender Awareness Week
It’s Transgender Awareness Week from Thursday 13 until Wednesday 19 November.
This is a time to let the voices of transgender and gender-diverse people be heard, raise awareness of the challenges they face and promote inclusion across our communities. It’s a chance for education, advocacy, and visibility and for allies and organisations to stand in solidarity with trans communities.
Why these events are important
Trans and gender-diverse people in Australia continue to face significant barriers:
- Transgender people can face up to 50–60 instances of microaggressions per day, including misgendering, exclusion, and invasive questioning. These everyday slights can take a significant psychological toll. (reference)
- Over 50% of trans and gender-diverse people reported being forced or frightened into sexual activity to which they did not consent. (reference)
- 28% of culturally and linguistically diverse trans women reported experiencing sexual assault more than 10 times since age 16. (reference)
- Supporting trans people and affirming their gender has a huge amount of impact. Using a transgender youth’s chosen name at work, school, with friends and at home reduces depression symptoms by 71%. (Reference)
Trans awareness is…
Transgender Awareness Week is not just about remembrance; it’s also about action. By educating ourselves, standing up against discrimination, and showing visible support, we can help build a university culture where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued.
Members of our Deakin Pride Network were asked if they’d like to share what transgender awareness meant to them. Here are some highlights.
Transgender awareness is:
- understanding the spectrum of gender identities beyond the binary.
- seeing people as they are, not as the world tells them to be. People are different and you should be okay with that.
- acknowledging the courage it takes to live authentically.
- challenging misinformation about trans people in media and research if you hear or see it
- sharing your own pronouns, in your email signature, Teams, and Zoom and when you introduce yourself. You can find a handy video guide to pronouns, including what they are and why they matter on pronouns.org.
- paying attention to, reading and respecting other people’s pronouns when they are shared with you and acknowledging that they may change in different contexts and at different points of time
- not making a fuss if you get someone’s pronouns wrong. Politely correct yourself and move on.
- taking the initiative to educate yourself around trans-related terminologies, rather than always expecting trans folks to educate you. And not asking the kinds of questions you wouldn’t feel appropriate to ask a cis person.
- Read our Deakin LGBTIQA+ Active Allyship Guide—a practical resource to help you become a more active and informed ally.
- You can also check out some of these readings that members of the Deakin Pride Network recommended:
- The Colonial Project of Gender (and Everything Else)
- Full article: The colonial project of gender: trans joy, queerness in practice, coloniality in turmoil
- Trans people aren’t new, and neither is their oppression: a history of gender crossing in 19th-century Australia
- Sex, gender & identity: trans rights in Australia / Paula Gerber
The Deakin Pride Network members also had the chance to share a word of support for the trans and gender diverse community, which were used to produce the following word cloud.
Join our Deakin Pride Network, a member-led network, designed to provide community, social support, and a safe and welcoming space for LGBTIQA+ staff, students and allies. Register via the Microsoft form or email respectbelongthrive@deakin.edu.au.
You can also connect through a DUSA club:
- Deakin Pride; Queer Society (Burwood) is a club for LGBTIQA+, Queer or Questioning students and allies to meet and socialise.
- Deakin Geelong Queer Collective is here to run a safe, inclusive and social group for anyone who identifies as either LGBTIQA+ or an Ally.
Available LGBTIQA+ support
Deakin offers a range of LGBTIQA+ support, so learn more about what help is available.
Need someone to talk to? Our Counselling and Psychological Support service is safe, respectful and inclusive. Find out more about Deakin’s student health and wellbeing services.
Safer Community is a free, confidential support service for those who experience concerning, threatening, inappropriate or uncomfortable behaviour.
All-gender toilet locations are available on all campuses.
The following resources outside of Deakin are also available:
- Transgender Victoria
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Switchboard
- QLife
- queerspace
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