Today was quite the interesting one! I caught up with my accountant...to catch up on my tax. I'd completely forgotten like I do a lot days, that I'm in the process of transitioning. So I greeted Mr Tax Man with a handshake..."Anna it's nice to see you"...internal voice (oh yeh whoops best get him up to speed)...
It was so beautiful, not even a blink of an eye. The response "Right well I can imagine there is a lot we can do with that, so call anytime especially if you're up at 2am thinking about any tax questions you may have about it. Put us on speed dial and I'll go to the tax office anytime and see if we can make some headway and break through some boundaries of what is claimable with this"... internal voice (wow, wish he was my father's accountant, I’m seeing how this guy could seriously make some headway with him as a lead by example!)
And so the appointment went on...this deduction and that deduction and all things going well, my return for 0910 should be in my hot little hand by May 30th.
Then I receive this beautiful loving text message from a friend, to summise "dude just wanted to check in with you, read that SMH article today and thought you of, not really a pretty picture. hope you're doing well"...
SMH 5th May 2011
THE Human Rights Commissioner, Catherine Branson, has called on the federal government to introduce federal laws to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
''The commission's consultation revealed numerous and distressing stories of how people's lives had been impacted and damaged by discrimination, violence or bullying on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity,'' she said.
Current federal anti-discrimination laws do not afford protection to gays, lesbians, bisexual, transsexual or intersex (those of indeterminate sex) people, although the Fair Work Act prohibits discrimination in work matters against gays and lesbians.
State legislation is inconsistent and incomplete and it is unclear whether its reach covers those working in federal bodies.
Ms Branson said federal legislation, apart from providing uniform and comprehensive protection, would be an important symbolic statement which would help bring about attitudinal change.
She said despite many people today being more comfortable around gays and lesbians, the commission heard distressing stories of discrimination and violence, including of ''very troubling'' bullying in the school yard.
Ms Branson said the most distressing and egregious examples of violence came from people who were intersex or who were transitioning from male to female or the other way round.
A 2010 survey found that 92 per cent of trans women and 55 per cent of trans men reported they had been the subject of verbal abuse, and 46 per cent and 36 per cent respectively had been punched kicked or beaten; almost 40 per cent of trans women reported having been attacked with knives, bottles or rocks.
The report, Addressing Sexual Orientation and Sex and/or Gender Identity Discrimination, also heard examples of discrimination in nursing homes, in the healthcare system, in sporting clubs, and in the use of toilets and change rooms.
And yes, I’m not gonna lie, reading the statistics of those courageous enough living their truth in life getting so violently attacked (even beyond transgender), pisses me off royally and makes me want to have a good old chin wag with the perpetrators of these violent acts and knock some 'non-violent' greater sense and awareness into them of what this actually is, so they can get on and find some inspiration within their own lives and stop messing with others.
I’m the first to be wary of statistics (corporate world background, I know how often they get made up to prove a point) and media hype (never totally the truth in my experience). None the less for this article to be put out, I can’t help but think there must be some truth to it. It just feels like a completely different world reading that article, to what I am experiencing, which is at worst disinterest.
It feels important to record this as part of this blog. There are some personal media articles coming out shortly from interviews I’ve done, so I hope this is going to support the notion that there is a big part of society that is loving, accepting and at worst just plain not interested.
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