21 Nov 2006 - Dysphoria
DYSPHORIA
TRANSGENDER people and police officers met in Liverpool on Nov. 21st 2006 for the first conference of its kind in the country. More than 80 delegates attended the one-day event organised by local trans organisation TransWirral & Merseyside Police Authority. Transsexual male-to-female Essex Police officer, Emma Chapman, and local transgender people also spoke at the event designed to raise awareness of crime against transgender people, and how they are treated.
Speaking at the conference, Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne told the audience some transsexual people had encountered sniggering when reporting hate crimes. Mr Byrne said: “I won’t pretend that hasn’t happened in the past, but we want to move away from that childish and ignorant approach and move onto something more professional and mature. “The old advice about treating people as you would want to be treated yourself is not right. “It is about treating different people according to their own needs, and that is an important distinction.”
There are believed to be 5,000+ transsexual people in the UK who are undergoing or have undergone gender reassignment.
TransWirral Secretary Penelope Bassi, who was born a man, also talked about her experience. She had the operation four years ago and told delegates that, although local teenagers set fire to her car four times, the fire brigade and police force laughed off her complaints.
Another speech was given by Bernard Reed, who spoke of his experience of having a child who had undergone the change. His son became a woman but was driven to make a suicide attempt after repeated bullying at work. Mr Reed, from Surrey, said: “I had a transsexual daughter who had such a terrible time at work that my wife and I saw the need to help educate people and employers about transsexual people, and we hope to prevent it happening to others. A lot of transgender people sometimes experience extreme violence and we hope to change that.”
The conference, at Blackburne House, Hope Street, Liverpool, was held in conjunction with the launch of the new transgender policy by Merseyside Police. Under the Gender Recognition Act 2004, people can obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate which means they will be considered as their new sex in the eyes of the law.
TransWirral Manager Robyn Hoode, of Wirral, who helped advise Merseyside Police on the revised policy, said: “The new policy is important because it includes changes in the law.” He added: “I have a couple of friends who are trans people so I started the support group TransWirral to help them and provide a central place for people to meet and help each other.”
Cllr Rose Bailey, of Merseyside Police Authority said: “Although only one crime was reported last year, there are crimes that go unreported, particularly in this area where people may have personal issues around their gender and may not want to expose themselves as a target.” It is hoped this will be the first of many similar conferences.