今日吃瓜

The mental health of trans, non-binary and gender diverse Australians is shaped not only by access to services, but by often-unseen networks of care.

Tandem, Transgender Victoria and Transcend Australia are all calling for greater recognition of the family members, carers, supporters and communities who play a vital role in these mental health journeys.

鈥淭andem recognises the often-invisible role that family, carers and supporters play across trans, non-binary, gender diverse and ally communities,鈥� says Acting CEO of , Jane Dunne.

trans and gender diverse people experience significantly poorer mental health outcomes than cisgender Australians, particularly young people. Trans and gender diverse Australians sit eight to 13 points lower than cisgender Australians in mental wellbeing scores, with wider gaps over time for young people under 30 years old. These disparities are driven by stigma, discrimination and ongoing human rights challenges.

“These factors have profound and lasting impacts on mental health, health behaviours and need for informal support in the community,鈥� Dunne says.

Much of that support happens outside formal systems, says Family and Carer Policy Manager Gabriel Aleksandrs from Tandem, the Victorian peak body for family, carers and supporters.

“A lot of trans and gender diverse people are either supported by a carer, a supporter, a family member, or they might be a carers themselves as well.”

This peer support can be intensive and long-term, especially for those estranged from family.

Son Vivienne, CEO of says, 鈥淢any trans, non-binary and gender diverse people also provide significant support for one another to navigate systems as a community link and advocate. This can include being there for others particularly if a person is estranged from family of origin. They may aid someone (such as a housemate) in a deep and quite ongoing way from months to years.”

鈥淭his might be through coordination of appointments, finding money for specialist mental health and wellbeing supports, access to services, help with daily living skills and taking care of themselves during crisis or significant episodes of poor mental health.”

Families also play a crucial role, particularly for young people.

鈥淲e know that supporting trans and gender diverse children to explore and affirm their gender is lifesaving,” says CEO Susanne Prosser. “Our families see their children thrive when they are supported. However, when a child comes out as trans or gender diverse it can mean that the whole family also experiences a kind of coming out themselves鈥�.

Prosser explains that parents of trans children often take on a carer role, and become advocates across schools, healthcare and community settings.

These organisations believe that despite their importance, these relationships remain under-recognised.

“The sort of support that we would like to see is services and the mental health sector be more competent in working with trans and gender diverse people, whether they’re a carer or whether they’re the one using the service,” says Aleksandrs.

“We believe that because services are not always consistently competent at working with trans and gender diverse groups, that it results in an aversion to using those services, or making it difficult to find a service that is appropriate. So, a lot of families and carers be might supporting somebody to actually to find a service that they feel safe at. They might be supporting them in ways for longer periods of time because of the reluctance to use a service.”