Working with the trans community is something Ben Hoare Bell take huge pride in. We, as you hopefully will know, have recently launched our Trans Family Unit. It is a branch completely devoted to trans people, offering services that are bespoke to T community and provides a comfortable space for any trans person to seek legal advice.
You can imagine that when we were invited by DISC to say a few words at this year’s National Trans Youth Network Conference to be held at St Aidan’s College, Durham – we jumped at the opportunity and so… off I went last weekend.
I kept the law as brief as possible to save the room from monotony (I can get carried away); the Data Protection Act 1998, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and The Equality Act 2010 form the basis of ‘trans rights’ that we see in law today however, the main point I made to the room was this: there is a lot of change that needs to happen. The law is yet to recognise what gender, and the spectrum therein, truly means. It is yet to allow for the spectrum of identity that very much exists. A few examples: words ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are still used interchangeably, which needs to change (they are completely different things!) and non-binary individuals are yet to legally assign themselves as such. That is not exhaustive.
I anticipate that we will see a lot of change over the next few years, and we at Ben Hoare Bell look forward to being part of that change.
The strength, courage and honesty that I was immersed in on Saturday was overwhelming – it is these young people that are making the change. I am a true believer that the law is there to serve the people and luckily, we have brave individuals standing up and saying ‘this is who I am’ – and the law must (and will) serve.
To all those who I met on Saturday – thank you. Thank you for teaching me and sharing your stories with me; it was a genuine privilege and it fuelled me so much to see all the work so many people are doing. To you all, keep being your authentic self and I for one will work hard to ensure that the law acknowledges and illustrates understanding as to what gender means, as soon as possible.
I write this on the approach of National Transgender Day of Remembrance, which is on Sunday 20th November 2016. We live in a politically uncomfortable time: we have seen a 147% increase in hate crime directed at the LGBT community and the USA have just elected an objectively transphobic President. This year’s TDOR will no doubt be a weighted one, acknowledging this and standing in solidarity as we forecast. The event serves several purposes; it raises public awareness of hate crimes against the trans community and mourns and honours the lives of those who have been victim of violence as a result of transphobia.
We at Ben Hoare Bell stand in solidarity with you.
Blog by Lui Asquith, Specialist Trans Family Law Solicitor