Arriving from cities across Australia to a bitingly cold day in the capital, our nation’s largest-ever gathering of gender diverse people rallied for their rights yesterday on the famous lawn of Parliament House.

New friendships were formed. Community networks were strengthened. Stories were shared. Hope was offered. History was made.

See Same Same’s gallery of photos from the rally here.

By all accounts it was a successful day. Even the organisers themselves were surprised at the number of people from trans groups around the country who traveled a long way to be there. Many were working and couldn’t take a Wednesday off for the event, but two full buses from Sydney, one from Melbourne (which left at 11pm the previous night) and dozens of attendees from Canberra and Brisbane ensured a diverse range of speakers and trans community organisations were represented. In total, the head count was an impressive 130.

We’re used to seeing the letters LGBTI here on Same Same. Yesterday’s broad mixture of people rallied under their own umbrella acronym: ISGD, short for Intersex, Sex and/or Gender Diverse people. So we’re not just talking about transpeople who make the journey from their biological gender into the opposite destination gender. Several of yesterday’s attendees were born biologically somewhere in the middle of what we know as male or female. These intersex people, and others who shared their stories, had found that while society or at least their families had tried to make them fit into a gender role in their early lives, they had to define who they were for themselves. Along the way, some found they could fit into neither of the ‘male’ or ‘female’ boxes.

Other terms like ‘androgynous’, ‘cross-dressers’, and ‘genderqueer’ were banded about, but hearing most people’s stories tempts you to think that many of them could never really fit under a specific label, nor would they want to. They were all welcome yesterday.

DEMANDING ACTION

Organised by the Sydney and Melbourne branches of the grassroots Still Fierce organisation, the Parliament rally had won the support of a handful of MPs who wished them well – the Minister for Human Services and Minister for Social Inclusion Tanya Plibersek came down to watch.

The day brought a serious message to MPs, with co-organiser Tracie O’Keefe producing a list of ‘demands’, aiming for equal rights for ISBD people under the law. A recent Human Rights Commission report on Intersex people noted many serious instances of child abuse and denial of medical treatment, along with inappropriate protection from discrimination.

“Many sex and/or gender diverse young people who want medical treatment are denied it unless they are intimidated into going through the court system to gain legal permission,” she also points out.

“Meanwhile, full Medicare and pharmaceutical benefits for those ISGD people who cannot afford treatment is still only a pipe dream. They are discriminated against in comparison to people who seek other health needs from Medicare.”

All ISGD groups of people in Australia are legally marginalised in every state in many ways, she adds. “Many people cannot get their birth records or documents changed to the correct sex when it has been incorrectly stated or they have changed their sex status.

“Others whose sex and/or gender may be other than strictly male or female are unable to have identity documents that reflect their true identities.”

A full list of Still Fierce’s demands to MPs as shown here.

HOPE FOR TRANS AT RISK

The appallingly high rates of verbal, physical and sexual abuse targeting gender diverse people is an issue the community has been silent too long about.

The landscape is changing, but slowly. Just last week, police in New South Wales launched their Transgender Anti-Violence Project, hoping that more victims of violence will come forward to report their experiences to police, who can then increase their data and understanding of the issues.

Protective ‘stealth’ lives of transpeople and lack of trust with cops who have historically not taken their complaints seriously are just two of many factors leading genderqueer people to distance themselves from officials who have the power to help them the most.

“For many years I have been bullied and harassed verbally and physically for looking visibly gender variant or ‘in-between’,” says Still Fierce Sydney member Bastian Fox Phelan. “If we can at least protect ISGD people by creating laws that are inclusive of all intersex, sex and/or gender diverse people – including transgender and transsexual people – we might be able to start addressing the appalling high rates of violence experienced by trans women and other ISGD people.

“It is my dream that ISGD people can walk together in the world without fear. Together we are stronger – we get stronger every day.”

BACK ON THE BUS – AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Leaving Canberra to head back to Sydney yesterday evening, as rally attendees continued sharing their stories around us on the bus, Same Same asked the day’s co-organiser Griffen Jones for reflections on the historic day in the capital.

“It was fantastic to see so many people there,” Jones smiles. “It’s really amazing that there was 130 people there that travelled to Canberra and joined us in the freezing cold, sat our there and listened to various people’s stories.

“This provides everyone with a sense of strength and community, that we can come together and do that.”

It’s now important to keep up the momentum, Jones adds. “Still Fierce in Melbourne started about a month or so ago, so it’s about extending and networking. There’s an idea out there to put a national plan to keep working and organising together.

“There’s also the possibility of holding a demonstration or march in Newtown in a few weeks’ time. We have a lot of support in Sydney and there were many there who couldn’t come down with us today.

“It makes me really happy to see the diversity on this bus, in terms of age, background… different people from different communities that are coming together, sharing this experience and planning for the future. It provides you with strength and courage to continue organising. It really shows what we can do when we work together.”