Transgender Victoria Withdraw From LGBTQIA+ Conference After “Disappointing” Apology

Transgender Victoria have become the latest organisation to withdraw from an upcoming LGBTQIA+ rights conference after the organisers issued a “deeply disappointing” apology following the publication of anti-trans podcast.

The Equality Project, organisers of the annual LGBTQIA+ rights conference Better Together, last week attracted criticism with the publication of a podcast episode featuring a discussion between Executive Director of international LGBTQIA+ rights organisation All Out, Matt Beard, and The Equality Project’s founder, Jason Tuazon-McCheyne, where the pair perpetuated misinformation about transgender people, including an over-reliance on the Cass Report.

The highly controversial report was recently condemned in a peer-reviewed report, which argued it was plagued by methodological, conceptual and ethical flaws, and that applying them to Australian care for trans and gender-diverse youth would risk harm, restrict access, and undermine best practice.

It comes only days after Drummond Street Services and Queerspace both withdrew their support for The Equality Project on the same grounds.

The organisation apologised in a social media post on Saturday 25 October, where they defended the publication of the podcast.

“We knew that not everyone would agree with everything said. But we believe that the way forward is to listen, and to talk, even to people who disagree with you,” they said. “In a world that is increasingly polarised, the only solution is to come together.”

CEO of Transgender Victoria, Son Vivienne, said they were deeply disappointed by The Equality Project’s apology.

“It fails to adequately address and acknowledge the fact that the podcast platformed and perpetuated misinformation and harmful, anti-trans rhetoric,” they said. “It completely ignores the necessity of including lived experience in conversations about our communities.”

Transgender Victoria said that the episode “featured damaging and ill-informed rhetoric derived from anti-trans campaigning and inaccurate research.”

“Crucially, the discussion lacked the essential perspective of anyone with lived experience of being transgender, gender diverse, or non-binary. The views expressed, which perpetuated anti-trans myths with no reputable evidence, were allowed to go entirely unchallenged by the host.”

Transgender Victoria also invited The Equality Project to engage with their trans inclusion training, stating it was an “opportunity to genuinely learn how to become better allies and ensure they are upholding the principles of social equity and justice they claim to champion.”

The Equality Project argue against “shutting down discussion”

In their apology over the weekend, The Equality Project stated they had never intended to cause harm or hurt anyone, especially the transgender and gender diverse community.

“We sincerely and unreservedly apologise for that,” they wrote in a LinkedIn post. “We’re listening. We’re learning. This conversation matters, and so do the people in it.”

The organisation claimed Drummond Street Services had raised their concerns with them, and that they were “happy to talk to them and hear their position.”

Karen Field, CEO of Drummond Street Services and Queerspace told The Star Observer the response from the organisation was “not good”.

“It seemed to be based around some idea of free speech and them being ‘brave’ in raising these issues to help queers to pass better as part of the broader community,” she said.

“It’s not helpful, it seemed more political and was not helpful for the trans community.”

The Equality Project emphasised the importance of trans and gender diverse people to the Better Together conference.

“This year, of the 92 sessions being presented, 52% are being run by or for trans and gender diverse people, and 85% of scholarship recipients identify as transgender or gender diverse,” they continued.

“Shutting down discussion is the opposite of what Better Together, and The Equality Project, is about. We look forward to welcoming the community to Adelaide next week – we truly believe that we are better, together.”

The Better Together conference is scheduled to take place from October 31 – Nov 1 on Karuna land in Adelaide.