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Gender DynamiX (GDX), a human rights organisation promoting freedom of expression of  Gender identity, focussing on transgender and transsexual issues, is working towards creating a society where everyone is free to choose and express their own gender. But Gender DynamiX has grown beyond the scope of its original Vision and Mission and the time has come to revisit its objectives, see where GDX is headed in relation to where it was, and build on past successes in order to move forward in a way that will benefit all who make use of its services.
To this end a special brainstorming session was held in which the Management Committee and staff of GDX participated. During the initial part of the session, the group focussed on past projects, what they entailed, what the benefits were, and how much it cost in terms of resources and funds.
The latter part concentrated on the way forward – the future of GDX. Six key features were identified. Building community networks which would see strong links within South Africa through various support groups, for example social groups, parent support groups and work with intimate partners. While the core focus should be on South Africa and Africa, GDX should not lose sight of the international arena where the call should be for respect and human rights for all.
Advocacy has always been a key feature on the Gender DynamiX agenda and includes a wide variety of trans focussed needs and services at institutions such as the Department of Home Affairs (for new identity documents) and various mainstream hospitals (for the transition process).
One of the biggest problems in the transgender world is the lack of information for and about transgender individuals in South Africa. It was this lack of information that prompted the founding of GDX in the first place.
But with all of this, GDX’s main objective is the promotion of human rights for all transgender people. Besides transgender, transsexual and gender non-conforming as the main focus of GDX’s work, focus should also be on community freedom, sexual and reproductive health, culture around sexuality, youth work and family support. Gender DynamiX itself should maintain an equal balance within the organisation – both on the Board and in the office – regarding gender identity. This also means that GDX should extend to other regions in the country and encompass some of the other official languages.
GDX is now an established organisation and can now expand its outreach. Some felt the need for qualitative community-based research on the needs of the constituents and the need to look at strategic ways of doing things. There should be two platforms for this: one a formal, academic research and one of getting to know the constituents, which can be done in-house.
On the other hand, some felt that research should not play a major role since everyone was aware of what needed to be concentrated on, namely grassroots issues. Discussion revealed that to do effective advocacy, evidence based formal research documents is essential. Community work is linked to the advocacy through research. There is a need to advocate for more research studies on transgender. Collaborations and partnerships of this nature, with activists and organisations between African countries, are important.
It was decided that the vision and mission statements could be adjusted to steer the upcoming strategic planning workshop. It was decided that one transgender person from the board and one transgender member from the staff would formulate new Vision and Mission Statements to take GDX forward.
by Charl Marais
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