As governmental and medical bodies drag their feet on creating safe spaces for transgender Australians, ACON has taken a huge leap in providing much-needed information to trans and gender diverse people in NSW, as well as allies and health providers.
TransHub has been launched by ACON, the NSW health organisation specialising in community health, inclusion and HIV/AIDS responses for people of diverse sexualities and genders.
The online platform was created after ACON’s Blueprint research found that trans people experience harm when they can’t access appropriate information. It also follows the harrowing truth that NSW Health does not have a trans health guideline for GP doctors.
Created in collaboration with the specialist organisations, TransHub is person-centred. It provides human rights focused information about social, medical and legal gender affirmation, information on understanding dysphoria, finding a doctor in NSW, navigating government agencies like Centrelink and the ATO, and updating gender markers on birth certificates.
ACON’s Manager for Trans & Gender Diverse Health Equity, Teddy Cook said:
“It was important to us that we collaborated with as many different trans people as possible and have proudly consulted, created opportunities for, commissioned and supported hundreds of community members to bring TransHub to life,” Cook said. “We also partnered with a number of leading specialist organisations, clinicians and allies to ensure TransHub is accurate, evidence-based and accessible for those who will benefit from using it.”
It also features an allies section for partners, friends, employers, researchers, educators and colleagues. Plus a clinicians section for information on gender affirming hormones, surgical interventions and providing patient-centred care.
TransHub features the following resources:
- 10 Tips for Clinicians Working with Trans and Gender Diverse People
- A Language Guide
- A Guide to Supporting Young Trans People at School
- A Guide to Talking about the Trans People in your Life
- Resource – Am I Trans?
- Resource – How Do I Start Hormones?
- 10 Trans Questions to ask a Doctor
“TransHub offers the information that many of us so desperately needed but didn’t have access to as we meet our most authentic selves. This platform has been written by TGD people, for TGD people,” said ACON‘s Teddy Cook. “There is no single right way to be trans but all trans people deserve access to the right information in order to make informed decisions about how we might seek to affirm who we are.”
ACON will continue to update TransHub and is currently working on adding resources for contraception, legal affirmation and legal protections, as well as translations in Thai, Spanish and Auslan.
