About Us
Funding & Remit
The Scottish Government Equality Unit has provided funding for a one year pilot Scottish Transgender Alliance Development Project which began in April 2007. Through this funding, the Equality Network employs James Morton as the Scottish Transgender Alliance Development Worker. His role is to support and expand the work of the Scottish Transgender Alliance and to promote transgender rights and equality across Scotland.
Aims:
The specific aims of the Scottish Transgender Alliance Development Project are:
- To work towards improving the lives and experiences of transgender people in Scotland.
- To ensure that transgender equality and rights are integrated into national and local programmes and strategies that promote gender equality and rights.
- To ensure that transgender equality and rights are also integrated into national and local programmes and strategies that promote LGBT equality and rights.
- To ensure that the project works to and promotes an inclusive model of transgender identity which encompasses all those whose gender identity or presentation conflicts with the ‘norms’ expected by the society they live in, including transsexual people, transvestite/cross-dressing people, intersex people and androgyne/polygender people.
Objectives:
Public services: The Scottish Transgender Alliance offers training and guidance on best practice to progress towards a public sector in Scotland where the needs and rights of transgender people are recognised, valued and acted upon in a timely manner. There is a particular emphasis on transphobic hate crime and the justice system and also health care needs and NHS provision in order to reflect the key priorities as identified to us through consultation with transgender groups and individuals.
Hearts & Minds: The Scottish Transgender Alliance is involved in the work of the LGBT Hearts and Minds agenda group to promote public attitudes supportive of LGBT equality.
Service and Policy Development: The Scottish Transgender Alliance is an agency that can offer consultancy on best practice for various service providers and employers who wish to develop and improve their organisations to be inclusive of transgender people. Consultancy will be offered hand in hand with training.
Legal Rights: The Scottish Transgender Alliance works with a wide range of agencies and partners, including statutory, voluntary, community and commercial sectors to inform and influence national policy. Some of the methods we use to achieve this include:
- Development of accessible resources on legal rights for transgender people (such as this website).
- Representation of transgender issues at appropriate national policy and planning forums.
- Development and dissemination of high quality policy briefings.
- Organising consultation with transgender communities and individuals on national policy development as required.
The LGBT ‘Community’: The Scottish Transgender Alliance utilises it’s relationships with other LGBT organisations and groups to offer training and progress towards more “T” friendly statutory, voluntary, community and commercial sectors, as well as within LGBT ‘communities’ throughout Scotland.