'No wonder many transsexual people end up in sex work'
Despite the protection of the Sex Discrimination Act, transgender people often face unfair treatment in the workplace. Juliet Jacques thinks she has been luckier than most
* Juliet Jacques
*
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 25 August 2010 11.02 BST
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/aug/25/transsexual-people-sex-workAlthough I'd chosen the cheaper option of transitioning on the NHS, failure to maintain a full-time job could still stop me in my tracks. Appointments at my nearest Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) would be free, as would surgery (with hormones incurring a prescription charge), but there were still essential physical processes that would be expensive, and I was already spending heavily on a new wardrobe that might allow me to pass convincingly. My main concern, though, regarded the pathway itself: specifically, the GIC demand that the 'real life experience' includes full- or part-time employment, voluntary work or study. (This, incidentally, is why transsexual people often work in charity shops.) Unable to sustain myself in voluntary work or further education, it became doubly important to remain employed - preferably somewhere I'd feel comfortable.
Work was the last place I began presenting as female, as I was temping and wasn't certain I'd get another contract. I wanted to stay, as I knew I was in an incredibly fortunate position, working for a public sector organisation that would respect the Sex Discrimination Act, which stops employers discriminating against transsexual people. The presence of another trans woman in the office seemed to confirm this.
