Sally Goldner has been fighting for change for over 20 years. This week, she had a win.
Victorian politicians voted in favour of allowing people to choose the gender on their birth certificates.
The change in law means transgender people will now have the freedom to choose the gender on their birth certificates without gender reassignment surgery.
This is momentous, says Sally, not just for just for herself but the entire transgender community in the state.
“The laws are more inclusive than they were 24 hours ago,” she said.
“It’s close to the top of the list of issues for trans people in Victoria and we got it!”
Sally Goldner is a widely celebrated campaigner for LGBTQI rights in the state. She has won awards, written books, made documentaries and held senior positions in queer organisations.
She explains that documentation is one of the big four transgender issues, the others are health care, discrimination, and the funding of transgender organisations.
“I’m quite comfortable saying that this is a big ticket win,” she said.
Birth certificates aren’t just a piece of paper for many transgender people, Sally explains.
Having to produce a birth certificate that doesn’t reflect your identity often means explaining to a stranger who you are and how you came to be that way.
“If I have to produce my birth certificate I don’t have to face anxiety, ridicule and looks about who I am,” she said.
“I won’t have to face the question, ‘Why does this say male?’” she said.
And for my trans-masculine friends who may have a beard and a deep voice, they won’t get laughed at for having female on their birth certificate.
The birth certificate bill passed 26-14 in the Victorian Upper House on Tuesday night and will become law once receiving royal assent.
Victoria joins Tasmania, Northern Territory, South Australia and the ACT in passing the birth certificate reform.
Sally says the passing of this bill is an affirmation that those in power respect and support the transgender community. In Sally’s decades of campaigning, that hasn’t always been the case.
“They are saying, we aren’t against you. Sadly in the past they have been, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally,” she said.
“They are saying: we stand with you.”
“I take great joy that this has passed two to one in favour. That’s a huge sign that people can see that this is about a fair go.”
