A handbook designed to help members with gender dysphoria was recently released by the Australian Defence Force, and is now available online via DEFGLIS.
Gender Dysphoria describes the distress that a person suffers that is caused by a discrepancy between gender identity and a person’s sex at birth.
The fear and apprehension members currently experience when faced with revealing their true gender identity and having to commence transition will be greatly diminished through education and the dispelling of a large number of prevalent myths through the handbook.
The handbook is an important step in the provision of education and information in Defence, and should assist members who are questioning or considering transition, their commanders, and most importantly their fellow Air Force members in understanding gender identity.
DEFGLIS provides support to Defence personnel undergoing transition by providing peer-support and connecting members with relevant community specialists.
In the forward to the guide, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown said “Our ability to deliver capability in the future will depend on our ability to attract, recruit and retain the very best personnel from every part of the Australian community.”
The guide contains collective experience of personnel who have transitioned in Defence. The policy that required discharge of transgender personnel was removed in 2010.
DEFGLIS member Amy Hamblin, the first member of Air Force to undergo transition while remaining in service made significant contributions to the guide.
The guide is the latest in a series released by Air Force Workforce Diversity designed to provide information for its diverse members, and education for personnel, managers and commanders about diversity within workforce.
The Diversity guide is available from Air Force Intranet – Directorate of Workforce Diversity at: http://intranet.defence.gov.au/raafweb/sites/DWD/ and via the Internet from DEFGLIS at http://www.defglis.com.au.