What's in a name: workshop helps with I.D. changes for transgender community

A two-day workshop in Victoria is helping people who are transgender and those whose gender identities aren't exclusively male or female change their legal identification status.

Obtaining government-issued identification can be difficult for the trans community. And changing male or female gender markers and names can be a lengthy and expensive process, according to advocates.

The free Trans I.D. Clinic workshop aims to make that system easier by covering the costs associated with the changes, which can reach up to $500 in some cases, said Lindsay Chronister, a counsellor with Vancouver's PACE society, an organization that advocates for sex workers.

"Trans folks … can face a lot of barriers and bureaucratic hoops to jump through to do something that's a fundamental right, of getting identification that matches who they are," Chronister told On The Island's Gregor Craigie.

Counsellors from Vancouver's PACE and Victoria's PEERS society — which also advocates for sex workers — help attendees fill out paperwork and navigate what can be a frustrating process, Chronister said.

"Some applications can be quite invasive ... you might experience discrimination when trying to access services, sometimes in really covert ways, oftentimes in really direct and overt ways." she said. She gave the example of being called the wrong gender when submitting applications in person.

The workshop is part of the larger Gender Self-Determination project led by the PACE society and funded by Lush Cosmetics through a fundraising program. 

Counsellors offer assistance with applications for everything from drivers' licenses to birth certificates, right down to the more mundane changes like personal banking information.

The Trans I.D. Clinic workshop takes place at the James Bay Library in Victoria on July 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

To hear the full interview listen to media below:

With files from On The Island

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