TransAdvocates may not technically be ‘straight’, but it's straight up. There's no doubt about that. The group is an alliance of people committed to providing legal help and improving trans presence, set up by lawyer Kelly Ellis and longtime activist Allyson Hamblett. Ellis, who also known by the nickname K1 due to having a partner whose name is also Kelly Ellis (that would be K2) says the idea was mooted by Hamblett when the pair were chatting on Facebook last year. Hamblett said she'd love to start a trans law firm, something that had Ellis responding with 'yeah right, you should take a job writing Tui beer commercials'. However as the year wore on, Ellis had a few disappointments and started looking at jobs overseas with trans organisations hoping for a more friendly workplace. "Some cities such as New York have several charitable law projects running teams of lawyers pursuing trans rights. In the end, I was inspired by some of these and realised that something could be done here," Ellis says. So the pair created a name, found supporters and wrote the mission statement of: improving trans presence and influence through advocacy and lobbying. TransAdvocates plans to provide direct legal services to trans people, including taking test cases, and lobbying for the legal changes recommended by the Transgender Inquiry. Ellis says to have influence, the trans community must also have presence, so reacting to the negative publicity in the mainstream press is imperative. "We need to have an entity which can react swiftly and provide timely comment. It's hard to do that in a formal structure with a board that needs consulting. We're more interested in getting positive information out there and challenging stereotypes than being concerned whether the syntax meets the approval of others." Ellis cites the examples of the 'transphobic' RaboPlus ad and primetime TV specials about former SAS officers getting vaginoplasties under the camera's glare as media stereotypes which need to be challenged. Ellis says trans people need to beat this stereotype by having presence and influence. "While there is such a focus on our genitals, we have little hope of having our voices heard. So we need to break the stereotype. We need to break the focus on genitals as being a determiner of our status and culture. In that respect, we're no different from the broader community." Some of the key challenges Ellis spies ahead are recognition in the Human Rights Act and more choice in health care providers and pathways to care. "The sad thing is that as a community we are discriminated against at almost every turn. My view is that strengthening the bonds within our fractured whanau means lifting our eyes off our individual problems and seeing the big picture is essential," Ellis says. "TransAdvocates is not so much about people joining to do something - it's about people who are already doing things sharing ideas, kai, warmth and laughter and more importantly aroha and trust. Which isn't to say we don't welcome people who aren't already involved in the broader movement, but this is where those involved in the project have come from." Ellis says there have already been positive changes, pointing out the community is now more openly diverse than it was. "It's probably easier for anyone, regardless of their age to come out now than, say 20 years ago. But I think that younger people still face the perennial issue of being economically weak and risk getting channelled into sex work or hairdressing to make a living." The group has received good support from the Human Rights Commission and Auckland University's Equal Access to Justice Project, which is a group of senior law students who are involved in helping lawyers do pro bono work, particularly in the area of human rights. "Their project wants to help ours and I hope this will be part of a long and fruitful relationship," says Ellis. TransAdvocates has also been meeting with the MPs who have actually replied to requests, most recently Labour MPs Charles Chauvel and Jacinda Ardern. "We believe there potentially is the political will in Parliament to effect such a change. And if there isn't, well I suppose it's back to grass roots to build it from a community level," says Ellis. Ellis says it's about staying positive and maintaining focus. “We need to be patient, but we also need to be relentless as we try to address the prejudice that affects us all." TransAdvocates have a website and a Facebook page Jacqui Stanford - 26th May 2010