On Sunday 30th March, LGBTQIA+ rights group Pride in Protest (PIP) hosted a rally at Pride Square, Newtown to mark the International Transgender Day of Visibility (ITDOV). It was both a celebration and a call to action.
ITDOV is held annually on 31st March. It acknowledges the perseverance of trans joy and resistance throughout history. It raises awareness for the ongoing discrimination faced by gender-diverse people.
Speakers agreed that ITDOV was particularly significant this year. The day came just as the Federal Election had been called for Saturday 3rd May.
Recent Redbridge polling, commissioned by Equality Australia, has shown almost 9 out of 10 Australians are against major parties using transgender issues for political gain this election cycle. Protest co-chair and officer at the UNSW Queer Collective Alyss Cachia criticised the eagerness of the Coalition’s to “take up the culture war to distract from shallow policies.”
However, Greens candidate for the seat of Sydney Luc Velez cautioned against the new polling stoking “complacency” in queer politics at the election. Velez insisted that “we cannot let local representatives be silent on transphobia or hide behind excuses.” He cited the Queensland government’s decision to pause puberty blocker medications for new patients under 18, and the printing of anti-trans ads from Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriot’s party.
ITDOV had particular resonance this year because of the global rise of far-right ideologies and governments. Cachia’s welcoming speech was interrupted by anti-trans rhetoric from a member of the public. The crowd chanted back, “One, two, three, four, kick the bigots out the door!”
Mish Pony, CEO of Scarlet Alliance, the national body representing sex workers, spoke of right-wing attempts to “take away [queer] rights and systematically erase us from existence.” This is nowhere clearer than in the United States. One of Donald Trump’s first acts as President in 2025 was to sign an executive order limiting the legal recognition of gender in America to two biologically defined sexes. These categories, male and female, cannot be changed. Eddie Stevenson, spokesperson from Community Action for Rainbow Rights, pointed out the irony that this is supposedly “the freest, most democratic, most liberated country in the world.”
The massive turnout of protestors marched from Pride Square to the University of Sydney. There, they defied the much-criticised Campus Access Policy that revoked students’ rights to protest on campus without prior approval from university management. National Tertiary Education Union flags flew in support.
The ultimate message of the day was one of joy. The transgender community is still far from the liberation they are fighting for, with restrictions on bodily autonomy, discrimination in healthcare discrimination and sport, and arbitrary detention at borders. Yet, there was a defiant happiness at the 30th March protest.
For Cachia, being transgender is an “amazing, unique experience.” She urged the crowd to “hold each other tightly” as the LGBTQIA+ movement continues to build community and solidarity. Spokesperson ‘Miss Andry’ from the Sex Worker Action Collective (SWAC) NSW said that the rise of anti-trans sentiments shows that “right-wingers fear our visibility. They fear the free, loving way that we live our lives, and how that might make others become more introspective and start caring for others in the same way that we do.”
At the conclusion of the event, the crowd was urged to continue the struggle for trans liberation beyond ITDOV and beyond the May 3rd election. Grassroots organisations like PIP and the Trans Justice Project are seeking volunteers for community and local action groups.
