	{"id":74667,"date":"2021-04-01T05:58:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T18:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?p=74667"},"modified":"2021-04-01T07:48:54","modified_gmt":"2021-03-31T20:48:54","slug":"paving-a-trans-positive-pathway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/","title":{"rendered":"Paving a trans-positive pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>JUST in time to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, regional LGBTQ+ support and resource providers kick started new not-for-profit, Speak.<\/p>\n<p>As a trans, non-binary person, Speak\u2019s CEO Sage Akouri said the organisation\u2019s the goal was to create more safe spaces through fun events, panel discussions and workshops.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe recognised some gaps in Ballarat and regional Victoria as a whole and as a community initiative, we started it up to address those,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re creating safe spaces for the broader community to learn, ask difficult questions and have hard conversations, we want people to actively speak out against transphobia, not just in the workplace but wherever.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is much work to be done here and Speak is here to offer workshops and training to do that so I would encourage businesses and organisations to get in contact and get that training going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Helper of the Ballarat Health Services Transgender Support Group and member of the trans community Conner Lewry said visibility is integral and knowing people like you exist can be powerful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important for people who can and feel safe enough to stand up and represent and be a voice, and something for younger people or people who haven\u2019t come out yet to aspire to,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe support group was the first place I went to when I first came out so wanted to continue and help younger people because I transitioned a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith the whole LGBTQ community, you\u2019re not born into it, you find it and it can be very difficult if people don\u2019t know you exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To mark both Transgender Day of Visibility and the launch of the organisation, Speak teamed up with Piano Bar Ballarat to host a free panel discussion on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n<p>Mx Akouri said the event is both recognised the trans community and was an opportunity for the public to learn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me and many trans people and gender diverse people seeing ourselves represented out in the real world gives us confidence and the safety to be ourselves,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s about the broader community coming together and celebrating our existence but also learning about what struggles we face and how they can actively support us and create inclusive spaces for us to be safe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve seen an immense amount of support from community members, a lot of interest in coming to these events, it shows that there is a need for it in the wider community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To find out more about Speak, their events and workshops, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.speak.org.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>speak.org.au<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>JUST in time to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, regional LGBTQ+ support and resource providers kick started new not-for-profit, Speak. As a trans, non-binary person, Speak\u2019s CEO Sage Akouri said the organisation\u2019s the goal was to create more safe spaces through fun events, panel discussions and workshops. \u201cWe recognised some gaps in Ballarat [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":74668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-74667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"JUST in time to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, regional LGBTQ+ support and resource providers kick started new not-for-profit, Speak. As a trans, non-binary person, Speak\u2019s CEO Sage Akouri said the organisation\u2019s the goal was to create more safe spaces through fun events, panel discussions and workshops. \u201cWe recognised some gaps in Ballarat [...]Read More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Golden Plains Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ruby Staley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ruby Staley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ruby Staley\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1c39b3a145f39b0fcf908463ce6e578e\"},\"headline\":\"Paving a trans-positive pathway\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":437,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/\",\"name\":\"Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2021\\\/03\\\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1501,\"caption\":\"Community pride: transgender support worker Conner Lewry and Speak CEO Sage Akouri flying the Transgender Flag. Photo: CHIPPY RIVERA\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/news\\\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Paving a trans-positive pathway\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\",\"name\":\"Golden Plains Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Golden Plains Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/GoldenPlainsNew.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/23\\\/2020\\\/12\\\/GoldenPlainsNew.png\",\"width\":3208,\"height\":336,\"caption\":\"Golden Plains Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1c39b3a145f39b0fcf908463ce6e578e\",\"name\":\"Ruby Staley\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rubystaley.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/goldenplains\\\/author\\\/ruby\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times","og_description":"JUST in time to celebrate Transgender Day of Visibility on Wednesday, regional LGBTQ+ support and resource providers kick started new not-for-profit, Speak. As a trans, non-binary person, Speak\u2019s CEO Sage Akouri said the organisation\u2019s the goal was to create more safe spaces through fun events, panel discussions and workshops. \u201cWe recognised some gaps in Ballarat [...]Read More...","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/","og_site_name":"Golden Plains Times","article_published_time":"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1501,"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ruby Staley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ruby Staley","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/"},"author":{"name":"Ruby Staley","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/person\/1c39b3a145f39b0fcf908463ce6e578e"},"headline":"Paving a trans-positive pathway","datePublished":"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/"},"wordCount":437,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/","name":"Paving a trans-positive pathway - Golden Plains Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-03-31T18:58:13+00:00","dateModified":"2021-03-31T20:48:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/03\/Transgender-Day-e1617077789612.jpeg","width":1000,"height":1501,"caption":"Community pride: transgender support worker Conner Lewry and Speak CEO Sage Akouri flying the Transgender Flag. Photo: CHIPPY RIVERA"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/news\/paving-a-trans-positive-pathway\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Paving a trans-positive pathway"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/","name":"Golden Plains Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#organization","name":"Golden Plains Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2020\/12\/GoldenPlainsNew.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2020\/12\/GoldenPlainsNew.png","width":3208,"height":336,"caption":"Golden Plains Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/#\/schema\/person\/1c39b3a145f39b0fcf908463ce6e578e","name":"Ruby Staley","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.rubystaley.com"],"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/author\/ruby\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74667"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=74667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}