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Human Rights: Call for Support for People with Transsexualism in Australia |
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Below you will find a copy of DAWN Ontario's letter of support sent to the Hon. Rob Hulls, MP and copy to Louise Glanville and additionally, a copy of the letter from the Australian W-O-M-A-N Network. It would be appreciated if you could send a copy of letters sent to Karen Gurney at: karen@w-o-m-a-n.net (Please note that their website is down at the moment) You may read the Australian
W-O-M-A-N Network's submission "Transsexualism
and the Case for Correction of Birth Records In Victoria, Australia"
seeking correction of the Birth Registrations of people living with transsexualism
at this link. (Word
doc. size: 92 kb) Copy of DAWN Ontario's letter of support
January 21, 2003 Hon Rob Hulls MP Dear Attorney-General I am writing on behalf of the board of directors and members of DAWN Ontario: DisAbled Women's Network Ontario. DAWN Ontario is a feminist, cross-disability, consumer-driven, voluntary sector organization working towards access, equity, and full participation of Women with disAbilities through public education, coalition-building, self-advocacy, resource development and information and communication technology. Over the years, DAWN Ontario has worked closely in alliance with other equality-seeking organizations dealing with a range of social justice concern. We have viewed a copy of the comprehensive submission provided to you by the Australian W-O-M-A-N Network seeking correction of the Birth Registrations of people living with the medical condition described as transsexualism and wish to register our strongest support for its implementation. Dignity, privacy, safety and health are fundamental human rights and it is incumbent on governments and the law to ensure they are equally available to all citizens. Medical science now recognizes that transsexualism is simply a biological variation in human formation which can be easily and effectively treated. Surely you are now able to translate the medical certainty into a more humane interpretation of the law and provide those affected with access to birth certificates which record only their true sex and present names. This would minimize any likelihood of them suffering further discrimination and distress. It is said that the true measure of a civilization is measured by the way in which it cares for its most vulnerable citizens. We sincerely hope you will show you care by acting quickly to address this issue in a positive manner. Yours sincerely Barbara Anello Cc: B. Copy of the letter from the AUSTRALIAN W-O-M-A-N© NETWORK AUSTRALIAN
W-O-M-A-N© NETWORK DisAbled Women's
Network Ontario Dear Sisters We are writing to ask you to support our human rights campaign in Victoria, Australia. As you may know, in 2001, people living with transsexualism in Australia made substantial gains in legal status when the Family Court determined that a marriage between a transsexual man and his wife was valid. This extraordinarily sensitive and humane decision was reached after the court heard evidence from you and other international and local experts on the transsexual predicament and reviewed Australian and international legal developments in regard to it. If you have not seen it, this decision can be viewed online at http://www.familycourt.gov.au/judge/2001/html/rekevin_text.html and is of particular interest to all those who live in common law jurisdictions, especially those where the UK precedent of Corbett v Corbett still applies. The Re Kevin decision gives the clearest critical analysis of this case yet and rejects its application in Australian law. The decision was extensively quoted in the Goodwin and I matters in the ECHR last year. Unfortunately our ultra-conservative Federal Government has appealed the decision and appears determined to see it reversed. In the meantime, this network has been lobbying the State Government in Victoria to recognise people of transsexual background by providing Birth Certificates that show the true sex of the individual. Victoria is the only one of the Australian States that does not have legislated provisions to do this. Our submission can be viewed at our website at http://w-o-m-a-n.net and relies on the existing provisions which give the Registrar statutory discretion to correct a record where a mistake is apparent. We argue that, while inspection of genitals and gonads by the doctor attending the birth is statistically reliable, in the case of people with transsexualism (and other intersexual conditions) it is not. We further argue that our true sex at birth is that determined by our brain, not our reproductive organs, and the Register should reflect the contemporaneous evidence of our existence including our medical status. Once again, this has international significance because BC legislation in most common law jurisdictions follows the English model. If our submission (WORD doc) is successful, we will have full and unqualified legal status as women. This means the Federal Government's attempts to exclude us from marriage will be frustrated. But, we need SUPPORT for this ground-breaking submission. Please write to our State Attorney-General, Hon Rob Hulls MP, Parliament House, MELBOURNE 3000 via his email rob.hulls@parliament.vic.gov.au and send a copy to his Senior Legal Adviser, Louise Glanville at louise.glanville@justice.vic.gov.au and tell him this is a very important human rights issue with international ramifications. Rob is personally supportive of us but has to be sure that we have the facts right and sufficient outside support for this. A copy for our membership would also be appreciated.
Kate Clarke,
Convenor W-O-M-A-N |
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Page last updated January 21, 2003 |
