IT’S the “life-saving” organisation that is slowly emerging from the shadows.

Hampshire charity Chrysalis has helped hundreds of transgender people come to terms with their identity since 2007.

The Warsash-based organisation offers support, advice, therapy and counselling.

But the threat of hate crime towards trans people meant that it had to operate under the radar.

And hate crime against the transgender community has risen by 81.1 per cent, new figures reveal.

The statistics from Hampshire police show that reports of hate crime based on gender identity rose from 37 in 2016 to 67 in 2017.

The new chief executive officer (CEO) of gender identity issues support group Chrysalis Andi Maratos said the numbers are “awful.”

She added: “It’s horrendously high, but when people are spat at coming home from work or shouted at across the street then I’m not surprised.

“What we are trying to do is change people’s minds and make it normal. I think the important thing is for people not to be scared about going outside.”

And the statistics may not be as bleak as they seem.

The head of Hampshire police’s lesbian and gay liaison team says the numbers are “encouraging”.

Inspector Scott Johnson said: “I think these statistics are encouraging.

“Whilst this is a significant increase on year to date figures, I think this is a demonstration of greater confidence within the trans community to come forward and report crime.

“It may also be a reflection of the work we’ve done with our own lesbian and gay liaison officers (LAGLO) team, where one of our development days focussed on transgender issues last year, plus a number of engagement initiatives which the force has supported.”

Meanwhile, Andi hopes to increase the organisation’s reach – but says it can only be done with the public’s support.

Andi took over as head of the charity just weeks ago.

As part of her mission to help more people in Hampshire access the service, Andi has opened a new wellbeing centre in Southampton.

The former engineer says the location of the centre only be made known to known members of the group.

Andi, from Swaythling, volunteered with Chrysalis for seven years while training to be a counsellor and has seen first hand how beneficial its services have been.

She said: “What we do here is literally saving lives. We have people who say things like ‘this is the first time I’ve been able to be me.

“We offer support for people who are transitioning or thinking about it but also their family and partners and we’ve had families get back together after coming here.

She said that it is important that there are designated safe spaces in the city for trans people.

“Some of them may never transition, some may know that they will at some point, but it’s important to have somewhere where they feel they can be themselves,” she said.

As well as providing counselling and support to partners of people coming to terms with their identity, Chrysalis runs practical workshops across the south aimed at helping people “unlearn” behaviour patterns developed from birth.

And with their expansion they are on the look out for anyone with counselling or other skills that can help those accessing the service.

While Chrysalis offers fairly structured coursed for people who are transitioning or considering it, the wellbeing centre will be less formal and will be open to those who haven’t been through Chrysalis, as well as those who have done so in the past or who still are.

It will offer a space to socialise, discuss current issues and to feed into how Chrysalis functions in future.

The wellbeing centre will be open every fourth Thursday from 4pm to 9pm.

* If you would to sign up, get more information about Chrysalis, make a donation or to volunteer contact them on office@chrysalis.gii.org

* Chrysalis will be holding a conference on Transition from the Inside and Out on April 9. Tickets are free, but must be booked, and donations are welcome. to book tickets, visit www.eventbrite.com/transition-from-the-inside-and-out-tickets-42709695850

AS February is LGBT history month, we asked advocacy charity Stonewall for a glossary of to help you be an ally to trans people

  • Ally - a (typically) straight and/or cis person who supports members of the LGBT community.
  • Asexual (or ace) - someone who does not experience sexual attraction.
  • Bi / bisexual - refers to an emotional and/or sexual orientation towards more than one gender.
  • Cisgender or Cis – someone whose gender identity is the same as the sex they were assigned at birth. Non-trans is also used by some people.
  • Deadnaming - is calling someone by their birth name after they have changed their name. This term is often associated with trans people who have changed their name as part of their transition.
  • Gay – refers to a man who has an emotional, romantic and/or sexual orientation towards men. Also a generic term for lesbian and gay sexuality - some women define themselves as gay rather than lesbian.
  • Gender – often expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity, gender is largely culturally determined and is assumed from the sex assigned at birth.
  • Gender dysphoria – used to describe when a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. This is also the clinical diagnosis for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable with the gender they were assigned at birth.
  • Gender expression – how a person chooses to outwardly express their gender, within the context of societal expectations of gender. A person who does not confirm to societal expectations of gender may not, however, identify as trans.
  • Gender identity - a person’s innate sense of their own gender, whether male, female or something else (see non-binary below), which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth.
  • Gender reassignment – another way of describing a person’s transition. To undergo gender reassignment usually means to undergo some sort of medical intervention, but it can also mean changing names, pronouns, dressing differently and living in their self-identified gender. Gender reassignment is a characteristic that is protected by the Equality Act 2010, and it is further interpreted in the Equality Act 2010 approved code of practice. It is a term of much contention and is one that Stonewall’s Trans Advisory Group feels should be reviewed.
  • Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) – this enables trans people to be legally recognised in their affirmed gender and to be issued with a new birth certificate. Not all trans people will apply for a GRC and you currently have to be over 18 to apply. You do not need a GRC to change your gender markers at work or to legally change your gender on other documents such as your passport.
  • Gillick competence – a term used in medical law to decide whether a child (under 16 years of age) is able to consent to his or her own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.
  • Heterosexual / straight - refers to a person who has an emotional, romantic and/or sexual orientation towards people of the opposite gender.
  • Homosexual – this might be considered a more medical term used to describe someone who has an emotional romantic and/or sexual orientation towards someone of the same gender. The term ‘gay’ is now more generally used.
  • Homophobia - the fear or dislike of someone, based on prejudice or negative attitudes, beliefs or views about lesbian, gay or bi people. Homophobic bullying may be targeted at people who are, or who are perceived to be, lesbian, gay or bi.
  • Intersex – a term used to describe a person who may have the biological attributes of both sexes or whose biological attributes do not fit with societal assumptions about what constitutes male or female. Intersex people may identify as male, female or non-binary. Stonewall works with intersex groups to provide its partners and stakeholders information and evidence about areas of disadvantage experienced by intersex people but does not, after discussions with members of the intersex community, include intersex issues as part of its current remit at this stage.
  • LGBT – the acronym for lesbian, gay, bi and trans.
  • Lesbian – refers to a woman who has an emotional, romantic and/or sexual orientation towards women.
  • Neurodiverse – a concept where neurological differences are recognised and respected in the same way as any other human difference.
  • Non-binary – an umbrella term for a person who does not identify as only male or only female, or who may identify as both.
  • Outed – when a lesbian, gay, bi or trans person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is disclosed to someone else without their consent.
  • Pansexual - refers to a person whose emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction towards others is not limited by biological sex, gender or gender identity.
  • Passing - if someone is regarded, at a glance, to be a cisgender man or cisgender woman. Cisgender refers to someone whose gender identity matches the sex they were ‘assigned’ at birth. This might include physical gender cues (hair or clothing) and/ or behaviour which is historically or culturally associated with a particular gender.
  • Pronoun – words we use to refer to people’s gender in conversation - for example, ‘he’ or ‘she’. Some people may prefer others to refer to them in gender neutral language and use pronouns such as they / their and ze / zir.
  • Queer – in the past a derogatory term for LGBT individuals. The term has now been reclaimed by LGBT young people in particular who don’t identify with traditional categories around gender identity and sexual orientation but is still viewed to be derogatory by some.
  • Sexual orientation – a person’s emotional, romantic and/or sexual attraction to another person.
  • Trans – an umbrella term to describe people whose gender is not the same as, or does not sit comfortably with, the sex they were assigned at birth. Trans people may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms, including (but not limited to) Transgender, Transsexual, Gender-queer (GQ), Gender-fluid, Non-binary, Gender-variant, Crossdresser, Genderless, Agender, Nongender, Third gender, Two-spirit, Bi-gender, Trans man, Trans woman,Trans masculine, Trans feminine and Neutrois.
  • Transgender man – a term used to describe someone who is assigned female at birth but identifies and lives as a man. This may be shortened to trans man, or FTM, an abbreviation for female-to-male.
  • Transgender woman – a term used to describe someone who is assigned male at birth but identifies and lives as a woman. This may be shortened to trans woman, or MTF, an abbreviation for male-to-female.
  • ?Transitioning – the steps a trans person may take to live in the gender with which they identify. Each person’s transition will involve different things. For some this involves medical intervention, such as hormone therapy and surgeries, but not all trans people want or are able to have this. Transitioning also might involve things such as telling friends and family, dressing differently and changing official documents.
  • Transphobia - the fear or dislike of someone based on the fact they are trans, including the denial/refusal to accept their gender identity.
  • Transsexual – this was used in the past as a more medical term (similarly to homosexual) to refer to someone who transitioned to live in the ‘opposite’ gender to the one assigned at birth. This term is still used by some although many people prefer the term trans or transgender.