The work of the society
Advise policy makers
GIRES provided policy advice to major public agencies including:
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Ministry of Justice
• Government Equalities Office
• Home Office
• Association of Chief Police Officers
• Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary
• Department for Children Schools and Families
• Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
• Department for Communities and Local Government
• Equality and Human Rights Commission
• National Health Service
In addition the charity has provided support to individual police forces, NHS Trusts and local government organisations. A GIRES representative is a member of the Parliamentary Forum on Gender Identity and of the Royal College of Psychiatrists working group that is preparing guidance for the treatment of adult transsexual people.
The charity also coordinates inputs on Government consultations that affect trans people.
Distribute information
Distributing information to individuals and to organisations, to assist them in supporting transgender people; the charity receives many calls and visits from people seeking help.
Organise Training
Providing training for many organisations, which include local, national and international police organisations, Victim Support, RELATE, individual schools and health service providers, for example the Charing Cross Gender Identity Clinic, other NHS hospitals and Allied Care. The charity is usually paid a fee for this work.
Run Workshops
GIRES organises and runs workshops, especially for the families of transgender people.
Promote Research
GIRES promotes research into gender variance, by regularly making awards to the authors of influential studies and conducting projects of its own, for instance into discrimination in the workplace.
Arrange symposia
From time to time GIRES arranges international symposia for specialists working in the transgender field, for instance on the etiology of gender identity development and on the treatment of gender variant adolescents; the charity has received substantial grants from The Nuffield Foundation and the King's Fund to cover the costs of this work.
Produce Literature
The society accepts contracts to prepare literature to help the trans community. At present it is under contract to develop a series of booklets on transgender wellbeing and healthcare for the Department of Health. GIRES also produces a wide range of its own publications, for instance: “Supporting the families of adults experiencing gender discomfort and transsexualism” and “Court information for transsexual parents”.
GIRES has also produced a guide for employers on how to best manage transition of transsexual people in the workplace.
Develop Website material
The Home Office awarded GIRES a contract to to develop a toolkit to help schools combat transphobic bullying. The National Policing Improvement Agency awarded GIRES a contract to develop information about transgender issues to be displayed on the police intranet. Also, the GIRES website contains an extensive catalogue of material designed for trans people and those who wish to support them.
Contribute to Professional Conferences
GIRES regularly presents papers at professional conferences,in the UK and overseas, including the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) symposia and the LGBT Health Summit.
Write articles
Articles produced by GIRES have been published in professional journals, such as the ”International Journal of Transgenderism“ and ”Sexologies“. Transgender support groups, including The Gender Trust, Gendys, FTM Network and a:gender have also published articles written by GIRES.
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