Trans* Jersey says that about 2-5% of any given population suffers from some degree of gender dysphoria. That equates to a population in Jersey of about 2,000 to 5,000 people who might consider themselves androgynous, genderqueer or bigender and only a handful of people who have undergone gender reassignment, such as Mr Davy.

“At the moment, Jersey’s trans* population has no means to come together to share ideas about measures that directly affect them. As well as providing support for our community, Trans* Jersey is a way for us to get together online, through a blog, email and Twitter, to discuss issues that are important to us, like the States’ consultation paper on the next phase of the anti-discrimination law,” explained Mr Davy.

“Anti-discrimination legislation is the first issue that Trans* Jersey is tackling but there are likely to be more coming up. Equal marriage, which affects trans* people too, is one such issue that is pressing. The UK is currently undertaking a review of its Equality Act and Gender Recognition Act in response to trans* organisations in the UK who have found a number of problems with the legislation. Trans* Jersey is working with GIRES, the UK charity, to try to ensure that Jersey’s new legislation doesn’t repeat the mistakes that the UK are currently seeking to put right.”

Trans* Jersey would like to hear from any trans* islanders before 31 May 2014 when the States of Jersey consultation closes, on admin@transjersey.org