A New Zealand charity providing trans youth with binders has launched a crowd-funding campaign to continue to provide the service. TraNZgear was set up in late 2013 by Skye Shaddix after he was personally frustrated when trying to access items to aid in the transition process. With no supplier of packers and binders in New Zealand or Australia, Shaddix says getting items from the US was very pricey and shipping was often more expensive then the item itself. In mid-2014 Shaddix set up a binder programme which continues to operate, “This program has helped provide 174 young people throughout NZ who are unable to purchase a binder due to financial circumstances. With another 27 currently on our waiting list,” he says. The Give a Little crowd-funding campaign has been set up to help with the costs of providing binders for more youth, like those on the waiting list. All of the funds raised will go towards the binders, which currently cost $75 to $85 each. Shaddix says TraNZgear has an agreement with the number one binder supplier and this relationship allows the organisation to get a bulk purchase discount. “Many young people have no clue as to which style binder they are after and having someone local, who has been through all the struggles around binding, to have a chat with is so comforting,” says Shaddix. “A 2011 survey of 6500 transgender people, published by the National Center for Transgender Equality, revealed that 41 percent of transgender individuals have attempted suicide at least once, and 50 percent of transgender youth will attempt suicide before their 20th birthday. “The biggest cause of this is related to body dysphoria. We also know from the Youth 12 survey about four out of every 100 students reported in the survey, said that they were either transgender (1.2 percent) or that they were not sure of their gender (2.5 percent). “Without access to binders our young people are at very high risk of suicide and binders are often one of the first steps towards trans youth feeling more comfortable about themselves.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 28th May 2016 - 9:30am