So, Trans Alliance is a forum
for leaders of trans groups to come together
and say: this is what we're about
to represent ourselves with a unified voice
Here in Brighton we have so many people
who are trans and non binary identified
and as a result, we have so many different groups
Working together is a far better way
of being able to achieve important objectives
like training for different groups around the city
much more than we can do as individual groups alone
We can offer training which will be anything from
a very small group, five or less people if necessary
right up to thirty people in a room together
We can offer anything from a 2 hour training workshop
right up to a half day or even a whole day if people want it
we've also gone into organisations on a one-to-one basis
just to help managers who've got
an employee who's transitioning
and we can help guide then and give specific advice
We like to cover a lot of material
and make sure that people are leaving that room
if they've received our training with what I call: a metanoia
A 180 degree turn in their thinking
and you can sometimes see it happen even in the room
when you're doing the training
You can see people just going:
Ah! I get it.
The big thing that people will talk to us about
and say: hey, we wanna know more
we wanna know what this is all about
We hear about it, we see things on the news
but we really don't know what it's like
for our employees
for our colleagues
for the people that we see using our services
who are trans and non binary
It's actually a legal responsibility
for any organisation to make sure
that they are protecting people who are named
in those protected characteristics
so it's part the wider equalities issue
The majority of organisations that have approached us
when it's because some amongst their
employees is needing some support
and that can be a really powerful moment
to get in the organisation and change it
It was important to me to know that if
I go to a shop or even I go to my GP
or if I go to the hospital
that people are understanding of my particular needs
In any kind of trans inclusive meeting or discussion
you would do an introduction round
like you might in any meeting
but also include the option for people
to tell us what pronouns they'd like to use
because some people in the room might
like to take this opportunity
to ask for a different pronoun to be used
or they might be using a pronoun
that isn't the one that you would necessarily
expect them to use
One of my favourite themes is the one of unconcious bias
which is that we make decisions about
people that we meet within few minutes of meeting them
but actually if we do a little bit more exploration you might find that
that this person
who you think because of the way they look
might do this for a job
and have this kind of life
actually does and thinks and is someone completely different
one of the things that is particular
about the training that we do
in Trans Alliance
is that we're doing it as trans people
talking about our community
it adds a personal dimension to
training that you sometimes won't get
if you were just reading from a brief
or just going through things theoretically
The more you expand language
the more you give people options
the more they will find something
that really fits them
and is unique to them
it does mean that people who aren't involved in the conversation
about gender and who aren't trans identified
or who don't know
or work along side someone who is trans
these words can be a nightmare
We will always touch on the law
that's really important
Obviously the Gender Recognition Act
and the Equalities act
which as I mentioned before
is probably one of the most significant piece of the law
and then we will do a section towards the end of the training
which is very specifically tailored to that organisation
How can they work to make their organisation
more trans inclusive
if you need any information about our training programmes
what the cost is
and how we can work with you to improve trans inclusion
in your organisation
then please get in touch!
We have developed a model which is very flexible
and we can adapt it to the needs of different organisations
