Limerick groups are being encouraged to join a national coalition to advocate for trans and non-binary people

Trans Equality Together will work alongside other LGBT groups to create an Ireland where trans and non-binary people are equal, safe, and valued

Trans Community Limerick group joins recently launched Trans Community Together coalition

By I Love Limerick correspondent Ava O’Donoghue

Trans Community Limerick has become the first group in Limerick to join the recently launched Trans Equality Together coalition.

advertisement

Trans Community Limerick is a peer support group for trans, non-binary, gender diverse and questioning adults based in the Limerick region.

Groups across Ireland have been encouraged to join the newly established coalition, led by TENI (Trans Equality Network Ireland), Belong To and LGBT Ireland.

The official launch for Trans Equality Ireland is on Monday, June 13 at the Mansion House, Dublin.

The aim of Trans Equality Together is to work alongside other LGBT groups to create an Ireland where trans and non-binary people are equal, safe, and valued.

Trans Equality Together promotes positive attitudes toward trans and non-binary people, counters negative and false messages about trans people that have been circulating in recent years, and advocates for policy and legislative changes that will improve the lives of trans people and make Ireland socially equal for all.

Trans Equality Ireland is currently focused on two key legislative issues that need to be addressed such as affirmative health care and gender recognition.

Currently, Ireland does not have any active health services for trans children and adolescents with the Gender Identity Adolescent Service in Crumlin Children’s Hospital closing to new referrals in December 2020. Prior to their closure, there was a waiting list of over three years for young trans people to access these services. Now, young trans people who were not already receiving medical advice now have no access to healthcare and nowhere to turn.

Gender recognition is an issue brought up with Trans Equality Ireland where young people under 18 are not able to have their preferred gender recognised by law. Since 2015, those over 18 have been able to have their preferred gender recognised in passports and birth certificates but Trans Equality Ireland is proposing to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2015 to simply the recognition process for 16 and 17-year-olds as it is long overdue.

Speaking at the launch, Sara Phillips, Chair of TENI and Co-Director of Trans Equality Together, said, “the aim of Trans Equality Together is to bring together the diverse array of organisations that work with the trans community directly and those that are our allies – to demonstrate to politicians, policymakers and the wider public the breadth of support that exists for trans rights and the challenges that we, as a community, are facing right now.”

Trans Writing Showcase, Tuesday, July 5 from 7pm to 8.30pm at Ormston House

Trans Community Limerick is a peer support group for trans, non-binary, gender diverse and questioning adults based in the Limerick region. TLC meets monthly to provide a safe online community space to meet-up, chat, and support each other. For Limerick Pride, writer-in-residence William Keohane will host an hour-long reading at Ormston House featuring local trans writers sharing their work. Admission is free and booking is required HERE.

Limerick LGBTQ Pride is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit collective, working to promote the positive visibility of LGBTQ people and their community in Limerick. Limerick LGBTQ Pride 2022 will run from July 4th – 10th with the annual Pride Parade taking place on Saturday July 9th. This year’s theme is Pride Is Culture Limerick.

For more stories on Limerick Pride go HERE

For more information on Trans Equality Ireland go HERE 

To sign up to Trans Equality Ireland go HERE