Campaign To Stop Deadnaming Trans, Non-Binary Students At Australian Universities Launched
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The National Union of Students’ Queer/LGBTQIA+ department has launched a national campaign to stop the deadnaming of trans, non-binary and gender diverse students.
The campaign, My Records, My Rights: Stop Deadnaming at Universities!, aims to prevent the use of deadnames of students across tertiary education.A survey conducted in April 2022 by the NUS Queer/LGBTQIA+ department found that every single respondent had experienced some form of deadnaming at universities.
Around 83% of students said there was a persistent deadnaming issue at their university, with 20% saying they were dead named by staff.
An overwhelming 93% of students who participated in the survey had experienced this through student facing platforms, such as emails and enrolment sites.
Survey Revealed Shocking Stories Of Students Being Deadnamed
“What students are trying to do is make sure that universities are aware of their chosen name, but the systems in place just don’t allow it,” Jordy Duffy, the National Queer/LGBTQIA+ Officer for the NUS told Star Observer. “Universities have said ‘Oh, it’s an IT issue,’ and we’re trying to basically say no, it’s about validating a person for who they are.”
Jordy mentions that on top of the disappointing statistics from the survey, they’ve listened to a lot of shocking individual stories.
“There was a circumstance where a student actually got kicked out of their class, because they were using their chosen name and the teacher didn’t have it,” said Jordy. “Universities need to acknowledge that these kinds of things shouldn’t be happening.”
University Management Needs To Act
The NUS said it has been in contact with a variety of departments and student unions throughout the country, which has only made it more apparent how widespread the issue is. These unions are in communication to release a joint response to universities and vice chancellors all over the country with a clear message: this needs to stop.
The petition lays out clear goals that would ensure staff are trained appropriately and equipped with student’s true names, as well as University-owned platforms having the functionality for those names to be displayed.
Jordy has been running stalls to get the message out and encourages supporters to share the petition and start a dialogue.
“It’s really important that we all work together to mobilise and address this particular issue, and try to see that these institutional issues are addressed… it’s always good to start the conversation and try to make sure that something has been done about it.”
Click here to sign the petition to stop deadnaming at Universities.
