Double discrimination: Trans and BAME

Your staff might support trans students well, and the same might be said for students from ethnic minority backgrounds. But would your staff know how best to support a student who is both trans and from an ethnic minority background? Would new guidance help?

GIRES (Gender Identity Research and Education Society) has launched a 28-page guide with practical tips, guidance, and resources dedicated to supporting the Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) trans population of Britain.

The guide includes quotes from trans students from ethnic minority backgrounds:

“I was raised Muslim, and my faith is something I have struggled with because it’s common to hear that you can’t identify as queer or trans and be religious, as if it’s a contradiction. On top of that, I hear a lot of casual Islamophobia in trans spaces, and it doesn’t make me feel safe. I’m already a minority as a person of colour so I feel like if I call it out, I’m becoming a bigger target by identifying as Muslim. I can’t truly be myself and that makes me sad considering I’ve come this far to be accepted as trans.”

The guide has Ten Top Tips for Being a Good Ally to BAME Trans People and signposts inclusive LGBTQ organisations and inclusive BAME organisations around the UK.

You can download the guide here