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TRANSCRIPT:
A report has found discrimination against trans and gender-diverse people is rife, including in education, healthcare, workplaces, housing and the justice system.
The Equal Identities report released by the Australian Human Rights Commission draws on 97 submissions, as well as national and international research.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody says hate speech is a major challenge for Australia to address.
"So, vilification, the increase in hate speech against trans and gender diverse people, and there's a real need for all states and territories to enact legislation or law that protects people from that hate speech. None of us should have to put up with being vilified and abused. And also the importance of data - we need data. We need to know where trans and gender diverse people are, the policies and programs that impact them and the involvement of trans and gender diverse people in shaping policies and programs so that they reflect the experiences of those communities."
Jeremy Moineau is a trans woman and advocate for trans rights.
She says Australia's healthcare system can be a minefield.
"So it often, at times, feels like you're wandering the desert alone in search of help. And it took me probably seven or eight GP visits to find one that was a provider for hormone replacement therapy and then as well to find a referral to an endocrinologist. And that all takes time which puts my health at risk."
Commissioner Cody says trans and gender-diverse people have always existed in Australia and are part of our common humanity.
She says trans people from Indigenous, refugee, migrant and different faith backgrounds can endure what she calls even more complex forms of discrimination.
"We also know that people from those particular backgrounds face more complex forms of discrimination. So, we need to make sure we hear of those experiences so that we can shape policies and programs that reflect the lived experience of those communities."
The report makes 19 recommendations, including nationally consistent protections against vilification and conversion therapies.
"At the moment, we don't have laws which make it against the law to speak hatefully, to incite contempt for or ridicule people who are trans and gender diverse. And that really impacts on people. We've seen in some media sources and certainly online and the way in which trans and gender diverse people are spoken about, it dehumanises them and it can definitely incite a ridicule and contempt and that becomes a very dangerous situation then for those people."
Jeremy says she hopes more Australians will view trans people as simply human beings who deserve the same respect as everyone else.
"Trans people are your butcher, your baker, your candlestick-maker. They're your doctors, your nurses. Hopefully, one day maybe your judges and they're really loved and celebrated members of their communities. And it's only when we forget that we start to treat trans people as a concept. And it's very easy to attack a concept as something that's very scary and other-worldly. But when you look at it like trans people are people and they're members of our communities and they deserve the same respect and equity as everyone else, it becomes really clear how we should be supporting trans people because it's how we should be supporting everyone."
