Gender Support Pack
Introduction
We know there are lots of things to think about when you transition. So much, that sometimes we all need a guide through it… so we’ve tried to create one.
Here you’ll find lots of links to information, resources, groups, websites, checklists, ideas, options…. and a load more. We’ll keep adding to it as we go, but if there’s anything missing, or you spot something that’s out of date or incorrect, please let us know and we’ll get working on adding / correcting / improving the information to make it the best it can be for everyone who uses it.
Transition:
A journey or a destination?
Many people (maybe even you) will refer to your transition as a journey. It can definitely feel like it, and sometimes it can feel like a journey into the unknown, a journey with no end, a journey with a faulty sat-nav (you might take some twists and turns you weren’t expecting). We tend not to think of transition as a journey as that does imply there is one destination… the same place for everyone to end up.
Of course there will be similarities sometimes, but everyone’s transition is individual, and the ‘destination’ you want to reach is entirely up to you. There is no ‘one way’ to exist, no right or wrong way… there is your way, at your speed, heading where you want to go.
We hope this guide will help you along the way. In this analogy, we want it to be a bit like the RAC. Here when you feel stuck, out of fuel or just a bit lost to help you get back on your way… whichever way that is.
Remember, you can head towards something, change direction any time, reach where you wanted to go, change where you want to go, get there and want to go somewhere else, stop or turn around at any time. This guide is to help put you in the driving seat, plan your route, find out what you might need along the way, and at times, just be that friend along for the ride. The best thing is… it won’t ask you “are we there yet?”
Anyway… enough of the analogy, lets take a look at the type of information we’ll cover.
What’s included?
The short answer is… loads!!
Because we know there is so much to think about, so much to read, so much you might feel like you ‘should know’, we’ll try to break it all down into sections. For example:
Accessing Gender Healthcare Services (NHS and private)
Transition Admin (official / legal documents)
Relationships (family, friends, coming out)
Social Transition (expression tips, support and social groups and more)
Wellbeing (accessing support, confidence building techniques, managing dysphoria)
Work and study (rights and responsibilities)
– Safety (hate crime, domestic abuse, protection)
Lots more…
For each of the topics, we’ve written some articles that seek to answer some of the frequently asked questions, and we’ve published these to make them searchable too.
This guide will help you navigate some of the questions and answers you might have (or might not have had yet), but you can always go to our info portal to search using a specific question. If we haven’t got the answer yet, or you need a little help finding your way through the information, please contact us so we can help you. It’ll also help us prioritise which new articles we need to create for others.
Remember: You don’t have to know everything right away. The guide will be here as and when you need it. Take your time, come back to it, use the sections that you need when you need them.
Hot Topics
You can click some of the boxes below to go directly to articles we already have that we often get asked about. These include:
Accessing Gender Services in Wales
You can find out how to get referred to gender services in Wales in our info portal. Click the link that’s right for you to read more.
Changing Official Documents
Find out how to change your name, get a Gender recognition certificate (GRC), change your gender marker on your passport and more by clicking below.
Managing Dysphoria
Get tips about how to:
Coming Out
Get tips and ideas that might help you when you’re thinking of coming out to people.