Trans Accessibility Project: Introduction

Human Rights Office: Transgender/Transsexual: Contents: Introduction

Trans Accessibility Project:
Introduction

Purpose of this Manual

This manual was written to assist shelters for abused women in making the changes required to provide transgendered¹ women with the respectful and supportive services that all women deserve. It is intended to be used by all those associated with women's shelters, including board members, volunteers, front line staff and administrative staff. Although this manual has not been expressly written for transgendered women and men, there are likely staff and volunteers who identify as transgendered, whether they are visible or not². We ask readers to bear this in mind when working through these issues.

We recognize that change is difficult and will be more easily made by some, than by others. Therefore, a commitment on the part of the organization, as a whole, is essential. Strong leadership on the part of those in positions of authority can be important in setting the tone. As with other forms of oppression, time is needed to work through both personal and organizational issues. Reading this manual is simply the first step toward changing attitudes, behaviour and policy related to transgendered people. We hope that you will subsequently undertake the steps necessary to create welcoming and inclusive environments for transgendered women.

Why Shelters Must Be Inclusive

Transgender communities have become more visible and vocal about their need and right to be recognized in the past five to ten years. This has caused many feminists to rethink what a "real" woman or man is, to consider how we know that we are women or men, and to break down the concept of gender much further than we have in the past. The debates in the 1980s within the lesbian community about who was a "real" lesbian parallel the discussions that many women are now having about who is a "real" woman. For many, these discussions are difficult and painful. We have worked hard to have common experiences, such as socialization, violence, and poverty recognized as reflections of the discrimination that women, as a group, are subjected to by men, as a group. Transgendered women and men are often considered to be fraudulently adopting a gender status that has no biological basis and that has not been earned through socialization. Transgendered men are seen as trying to escape the oppressed status of "woman" and transgendered women are felt to be intruding into the women-only spaces that we have fought so hard to establish.

These reactions and questions are understandable in light of the history of the women's movement and our ongoing struggle for equality. However, it is because of our history that we now have an obligation, and the ability, to revisit gender. We have been challenged, and have challenged ourselves, to recognize the racism, classism, heterosexism and other forms of discrimination that exist within the women's movement. Because we are committed to equality for all women, we continue to work to undo these forms of discrimination and have aligned ourselves with other movements for change. Although definitions of feminism vary widely, most agree that social justice and freedom from oppression for all peoples is the ultimate goal of our work.

The experience of transgendered people is similar to that of many oppressed groups. They grow up feeling isolated; they are often ridiculed in public; they may be assaulted or even murdered because they are transgendered; and they may lose their children and jobs when they self-identify. They may also be sexually and physically assaulted by their partners and, when that happens, they do not have services available to them. Transgendered women cannot make use of services designed for men. These services are inappropriate for women, do not meet their needs, and can be dangerous places for transgendered women. At the same time, most services designed for women are not prepared to accommodate transgendered women.

The impetus for this manual came from our experience working within the women's anti-violence movement for many years, recognition of our own difficulties with issues of transgender in the past, and our current work with the transgender movement. For many of the years that we were involved in the women's movement we questioned the nature of sex differences and gender, the expectations of ourselves and other women, and the socialization of women and men. But we did not seriously question who was a woman or man. However, for the past couple of years, we have both been working in our chosen fields to make services and events accessible to transgendered people: in an HIV/AIDS service, on a university campus, and in our local community. To do this work, we have needed to reconsider our assumptions and to recognize the enormous discrimination that transgendered people suffer. Accessibility to shelters represents just one of the more pressing needs of transgendered people; they are denied access to a wide variety of services.

It is our belief that women's services should be available to transgendered women because it is just, compassionate, and necessary. But legal rulings also suggest that women's services may have no choice in the future. Two recent human rights decisions in Canada stated that transgendered women (in the process of transitioning³) are entitled to protection against discrimination on the basis of sex and/or disability. Among other things, this means that they cannot be denied services or employment in women's organizations. Although these decisions are based on specific cases, they indicate a legal trend that is likely to continue. This manual is designed to help prepare women's shelters to offer services to transgendered women.

Limitations of the Manual

This manual has several limitations that we want to acknowledge. Neither of the authors identifies as transgendered. We are both lesbians and, therefore, have been frequent targets of homophobia; in addition, one of us has experienced a considerable amount of transphobia in her lifetime. However, we have not experienced a lifetime of transphobic discrimination, have not wrestled with the agonizing decisions that many transgendered people face, and have not needed to negotiate the countless gender requirements inherent in daily living. We have benefited from the feedback of members of the transgender community who read drafts of this manual and we are grateful for their time and expertise. Nevertheless, this manual suffers from the absence of lived transgender experiences on the part of its authors.

There are several substantial issues that we do not address in this text. One is that of transgendered staff. Although implementing the suggestions in this manual should benefit all transgendered shelter members, there are specific employment issues for transgendered staff that we do not discuss. Our decision to exclude this area was based on a need to limit the breadth and volume of this resource. There are some print resources (listed in Chapter 8) which may assist shelters in identifying and meeting the needs of transgendered staff.

In addition, we do not discuss the needs of transgendered men who have been abused or give direction to shelters in this regard. It is a critical issue for women's organizations as some transgendered men work in women's organizations (although they may not be visible), some use the services of women's organizations when necessary, and there are virtually no alternatives for transgendered men. Women's services will need to wrestle with the social and political implications of providing services to a person with a male identity but who may have been abused because of a female body. Again, we felt a need to limit the scope of this writing and chose to maintain the focus on transgendered women.

We have tried to provide enough information to start shelters on the road to increasing accessibility but this manual is a general, certainly not the definitive, resource on transgender issues. It is a first step, focussing on a particular gap in services, toward making all services accessible to transgendered people.

Organization of the Manual

The information in the manual flows from the general to the specific. We begin with general information on transgender and work toward increasingly specific information to guide your discussions, policy development and finally training sessions. Chapter 7 outlines the type of information to be included in training sessions for your shelter. We hope to have supplied you with enough information earlier in the manual so that, if one among you feels comfortable, she should be able to facilitate the training sessions outlined. We have tried to make the manual as readable and as practical as possible and hope that it will assist you in shaping services for transgendered women.

Shelter Survey

As some of you know, during the first phase of this project we met with shelter workers to discuss a questionnaire to be sent to shelters for women who are survivors of domestic violence. With the help of this group, we developed a questionnaire that assessed where shelters stood on the issue, what work they have done in the area, and what they see as the barriers to providing service to transgendered women. The questionnaire was sent to 79 women's shelters, in all regions of Ontario, and was returned by 29 organizations (37%). The covering letter sent to shelters and a summary of the responses received are available in Appendices A and B, respectively. We have used the information from the survey, our knowledge of shelters, feedback from shelter workers and members of the transgender community, and others' research to guide the development of this resource.

¹ For the purposes of this manual, a transgendered woman is defined as a person who identifies as a woman, though born biologically male. We are including transgenderist and transsexual women in this definition.
² In addition to transgendered women who may work with the shelter, many transgendered men find lesbian feminist communities the most comfortable fit prior to transitioning and, therefore, may be associated with women's services as staff or volunteers.
³ Transitioning is the process of moving into the life associated with one's gender identity; here, specifically refers to medical sex reassignment.