A book of people's stories has been created with the aim of encouraging others to let go of preconceptions they have about what it means to be transgender.
This Is Me: Trans* People In Norfolk Tell Their Stories has been put together by the Norfolk LGBT Project, and the booklet was launched at a short service on Thursday. The event at St John The Baptist, Timberhill, also marked Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day of reflection to remember victims of transphobia.
Fiona Liew-Bedford, manager of Norfolk LGBT Project, said: 'There is widespread ignorance about what it means to be transgender and this is fuel for fear and discrimination. We hope our little booklet will educate people of all ages and combat the prejudice that trans* people face every day. We felt the simplest way to help the general public understand what it's like to be trans* was to let trans* people tell their stories.'
Barbara Ross, a gender specialist social worker, spoke at the short service about how everybody is different and everyone deserves respect, while Jen Alexander spoke about 32-year-old primary school teacher Lucy Meadows, from Accrington, who took her own life three months after she started to live and work as a woman. Poppy Rose read poetry and Rod Davidson played the harp. The church was decorated in blue, pink and white - the colours of the Transgender Pride flag.
Father Christopher Wood, Rector of St John the Baptist, Timberhill, said: 'As a church, St John's Timberhill in Norwich is proud to celebrate this Transgender Day of Remembrance for many reasons. It gives a voice to people who are loved and valued like everyone else.'
There were also Transgender Day of Remembrance events at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia.
This Is Me was funded by Norfolk Community Foundation and the launch was funded by Hate Free Norfolk.
Visit www.norfolklgbtproject.co.uk
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