Remembrance event raises trans awareness

LAST Sunday, Trans and Gender Diverse Bendigo and Beyond, as well as other community organisations, came together to set up an art installation with the aim of raising awareness of trans lives lost to suicide and anti-trans violence. 

The event coincided with last week’s Transgender Awareness Week, while 20 November was Transgender Day of Remembrance. 

The installation displayed 320 black hands representing the number of trans people worldwide who died this year due to hatred, and more than 100 decorated by locals to show support for the community.  

Teddy Transcendent from YO Bendigo said Australia doesn’t gather statistics on trans people and they believe there are many people in this country who have died due to transphobia.  

“Unless people are self-nominating, there’s no real official way. It’s only when families and friends report them,” they said. 

“Here, people are more likely to die from suicide and a lot of the time that’s because their families aren’t supportive or don’t know that they’re trans, especially in young people. 

“People are people, regardless of their experience, regardless of their identity, everyone deserves to be accepted and loved for who they are.” 

Mx Transcendent said health care needed to become more inclusive in Bendigo. 

“It’s really hard to find trans-inclusive, accessible health care in Bendigo as well. Get trans-informed,” they said. 

“There’s a couple of little tweaks that you can make very easily that wouldn’t change the way your business was run but would just make it so much safer and easier for trans people to work with you.” 

Trans and Gender Diverse Bendigo and Beyond’s Tenzin Marius said even small actions like putting a pride flag in a workplace window can be powerful. 

“When people start to see that more and more places, and more and more people are not tolerant to this hate, the hate starts to go away bit by bit,” he said. 

“I believe like making sure there are safe places for queer people to go and making sure that they are seen, and that the hate that does happen here doesn’t reflect the majority of Bendigo. 

“I also think maybe making sure that queer people feel more safe to go to law enforcement, because I know for some people there’s a lot of anxiety and trauma there.” 

Trans and Gender Diverse Bendigo and Beyond founder Zara Jones said everyone in the community can do something to help. 

“Come along to trans events, reflect on your own experience around gender and how that is influencing and impacting yourself as well as others and the stereotypes that you are reinforcing and perpetuating,” she said.