Gender Affirmation at Deakin

Deakin has a network of Harassment and Discrimination Contact Officers (HDCOs) who are trained to assist staff and students with any enquiries about discrimination, harassment or bullying.

Support for Alumni

Deakin Alumni wishing to update their details are encouraged to contact Diversity and Inclusion via respectbelongthrive@deakin.edu.au

Tips for supporting students and staff affirming their gender

Please consider these tips when supporting students or staff affirming their gender (provided by Charles Sturt University).[1]

• Think of the person as being the gender that they want you to think of them as, and treat them accordingly.
• Use the name and pronoun that the person requests. If you are not sure, respectfully ask. If you make a mistake correct yourself, apologise and move on – don’t make a big deal about it.
• When writing about a transgender person, do not belittle their identity by putting their preferred name or pronoun in quotes or italics.
• Treat the person with the same level of respect and dignity you would accord any other staff member or student and that you would expect for yourself.
• Respect boundaries. Do not ask intrusive or intimate personal questions that you wouldn’t ask another person or wouldn’t want others to ask of you (for example, about their body, relationships, sex life or any medical intervention). If you feel it is appropriate to ask a personal question, check first if it is okay to do so.
• Do not assume that the person should automatically be willing to discuss transgender related issues with you, or expect them to be an authority on such topics – do your own research if you want to know more.
• Respect privacy. Do not tell others about a person’s trans status. Generally when a person transitions they describe themselves in terms of their preferred gender (e.g. as a man or as a woman), not as a transgender person. Some people may prefer other gender descriptions.
• Understand that the person is entitled to use the facilities appropriate to their preferred gender (such as bathrooms and change rooms), both during and after transition.
• Do not condone or participate in gossip, jokes, flippant remarks or sexual innuendos about the person or their trans status – be active in confronting or naming comments or behaviours that are transphobic. The University expects staff and students to treat each other with dignity and respect and will not tolerate discrimination based on gender identity.
• Do not make assumptions about the person’s sexual orientation or personal relationships. Gender transitioning is about a person’s core sense of their gender, not their sexual identity. The sexuality of transgender people can cover the full human spectrum – they may identify as heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual, pansexual, asexual, fluid or they may use another term or choose not to label their sexuality.
• When a person has transitioned, appreciate that, while their gender may be different, their basic character and personality hasn’t changed – in most other respects they are still the same person as before.