The Chair of an Auckland local board says there was no intention to be discriminatory in a report about prostitution, which refers to transgender street workers as ‘transvestites’. “The term appeared in scripts which were written from interviews with two people about their experiences - four times on page 6 and once each on pages 10 and 11,” a statement from Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board Chair John McCracken says. “The majority of local people do not know the differences between a transvestite and a transgender person and tend to use this one term when describing a prostitute of that type,” he explains. “There was not any intention of those interviewed to discriminate against any group in any way when describing the issues they face in the area as it was an honest belief that they were using the correct terminology.” McCracken says he has also been contacted by a transgender person who has explained a number of terms, which are considered correct and respectful for future reference, which he says was appreciated.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 24th July 2012 - 2:15pm