KATY Bourne, the county’s Police & Crime Commissioner, has welcomed the decision from Sussex Police & Crime scrutiny panel to support her plans to level an increase on the council tax precept to spend more money on policing by an extra £2 per month (for an average band D property).
This recommendation was made after an online public consultation by the PCC and thirteen focus groups held across Sussex in which people said they would pay more for policing if it increased the visibility of local police.
It also follows discussions that the PCC has had with the Chief Constable and his senior team to understand the demands on Sussex Police.
The Force’s analysis of the demands on local policing, investigations, roads policing and the need to vastly improve the 101 service, has led them to request:
Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Bourne said: “I have been lobbying hard to secure the best possible funding arrangements for policing. I am pleased that the Panel has supported my decision to increase the police precept by its maximum for 2019/20, taking full advantage of the flexibility provided by government.
“I recognise that any increase in taxation at any level will be challenging for some of our residents and this is not a decision I have taken lightly. However, I believe it’s the right one to further strengthen local policing and to enable the Chief Constable to focus his resources in the areas that the public tell me matter most to them.
“Following the precept rise last year and money from reserves, Sussex Police has already embarked on its biggest recruitment programme for ten years, protecting 476 posts under threat and recruiting 270 police officers. Sussex residents have told me that they welcome this but also say they want to see PCSOs back in communities, more police on our roads and a better 101 service.
“I am pleased that the Panel have recognised that I have listened intently to what Sussex residents want and what the Chief Constable needs. With their support, we are now able to take this unique opportunity to recruit even more officers and invest in an all round better service.”
For results from the online survey and focus groups click here:
AT the very start of transition I felt that I was forced to perform femininity to be taken seriously as a woman. I felt that I had to wear feminine coded clothes, wigs and a lot of make up, more make up than any one woman should wear, before I was able to leave the house. Should I not wear prosthetic breasts, tuck my genitals and ‘make the effort’ to look as feminine as possible then I would be gendered as male?
I was under no impression that I blended into society as a cis woman, I was very clearly a trans woman, but the aim of my performative femininity was to be gendered correctly. This worked to some degree. It was most difficult in those early days to hold my head high when the majority of society looked upon me as a cross-dresser.
As I moved into medical and surgical transition the need to perform femininity began to lessen. Once my transplanted hair started to grow in I was able to stop wearing wigs which helped me feel more authentic in myself. Once laser hair removal freed my face of hair and hormones started to soften my skin I was able to stop wearing heavy make up. This again made me feel more like myself and less like I was putting on a show for the general public, all in a bid to be called ‘Miss’ instead of ‘Mr’ by shop assistants and other such strangers.
The real game changer for me came when I went through facial feminisation surgery and breast implants. Having the bones and soft tissue of my face augmented into a more feminine shape and having bigger breasts than those which hormones blessed upon me bestowed a new feeling of natural femininity, one which I didn’t have to paint on, nor strap on, one which was just there when I woke in the mornings. Having hair after being bald, a smooth face after a full beard, soft feminine facial features after hard, strong masculine ones and large, full breasts after small buds all contributed to me feeling my authentic feminine self.
I had now got to the stage where I didn’t need to wear make up at all to feel feminine and at some indistinguishable point my sense of style and how I dressed had changed. I was finally dressing for myself and my choices in fashion were no longer centred around trying to be gendered correctly by strangers, and this felt great. I still however, experienced gender dysphoria.
I would often be ‘clocked’ as trans by strangers but I was in a fairly good place where I was so happy with my surgical results that I didn’t care. I had to be somewhat realistic. I’m six foot one, I’m broad, and I’ve had 35 years of testosterone running through my system, I couldn’t erase that with a few years of oestrogen and some feminising surgeries.
More than all of this, however, was the underlying knowledge that I still wasn’t done with surgical transition. I still had a penis and subconsciously I foolishly believed that getting rid of it would fix all my problems and I would be transformed into a ‘real woman’. However, at this time I was no longer performing femininity and that felt just great.
My vaginoplasty came and went last year, and quelle surprise, whilst I’m elated by the fact that I now have a vagina, I still suffer dysphoria. This was very much an obvious outcome and one which, of course, I knew would be the reality.
I spent the latter half of last year trying to work out what more I could do to feel more feminine and to pass as cis more often in public. At one point I even contemplated removing my already plentiful breast implants and going for bigger. I considered doubling the size of my lips, pumping more fat into cheeks. I already have a ‘G’ cup chest, large lips and sharp cheekbones from my first set of surgeries. Would having larger breasts really make me feel more feminine and would they help me pass as cisgender more often? No, of course they wouldn’t.
To try and hold myself to cisgender beauty standards is futile. There’s absolutely no way that I can compete in the beauty stakes with cis girls and neither can I turn back the clock to a time when testosterone didn’t masculinise my body. I have to try and accept the fact that I’ve had some good surgical results and that I’m deemed a beautiful woman. I’ve had, what is seen as a successful transition – yet somehow, because I can’t help but compare myself to cis women of my age, I feel less. Less feminine, and less of a woman.
I’m walking a tightrope where if I try too hard to perform femininely I can come across as a parody of a woman and if I don’t bother at all then it could be questioned why I even bothered transitioning at all if I’m not going to ‘make the effort’. Societal beauty standards for women suck and are of course, totally unrealistic for most women, both cis and trans.
I’ve finally come to the realisation that there’s no amount of surgery, make up, fillers, or implants that will make me more passable than I am now and I must try to come to terms with that the best I can. Will I forever be jealous of cis women and trans women who pass better than I? Of course I will, but all I can do is face the mirror each morning and tell myself that I’m the woman I am, and that is okay.
Dear Gscene,
I write to thank Tony Chapman, Dan Austin and all the team at Legends, on behalf of The Sussex Beacon, for the very generous donation of £338.41 raised at your World Aids Day 2018 fundraiser and thank Tony Chapman for matching this amount, bringing the total raised to a fabulous £676.82.
I attached our certificate of thanks which you may wish to display to thank all those who contributed and please accept this email as your official receipt.
As you are aware The Sussex Beacon provides specialist care and support for people living with HIV. HIV remains a serious, life-changing condition with, as yet, no cure. The public perception is often that HIV is no longer a threat in the UK, but every year over 5,000 people receive an HIV diagnosis. Early diagnosis, extensive access to HIV care and treatment, adoption of healthier lifestyles and good adherence to HIV medication can all help people live well with HIV.
Our services support people who are struggling to cope with HIV. We aim to promote independence and improve health and wellbeing; our 10 bed Inpatient Unit provides high quality care, rehabilitation and treatment and our Community Services empower people to manage their own health and to live well with HIV.
Every year, we need to raise over two million pounds to continue providing these vital services to people living with HIV. It is only through the generosity of people like you that we are able to continue our work.
Thank you so much for your valued support.
Wishing you a happy new year.
Julie Rawcliffe
Donor & Fundraising Administrator
The Sussex Beacon
THE Green Group of Councillors are urging Brighton & Hove City Council to press for greater resources to boost mental health support for children and young people at school.
Greens say that the positive work already delivered by schools and local mental health partnerships is impeded by a lack of resources and inadequate funding from central Government.
Around 15% of 14-16 year olds in Brighton and Hove say they often have suicidal thoughts, and the number of 10-24 year olds admitted to hospital for self-harm in the city is higher than the rest of England and include many young LGBT+ young people.
With child mental health a growing concern, Greens are calling on the Council to support education providers to deliver activities that help to prevent mental health problems developing early, with a particular focus on activities that can help to prevent depression and anxiety, along with providing training for staff delivering P.S.H.E education.
The Conservative Government’s NHS Long Term Plan was slammed by education professionals earlier this month after it emerged that pledges for increased youth mental health support would only reach 345,000 children by 2024.
Greens say the Government plans “ignore the immediate needs of thousands of our children.”
In a set of proposals going to a meeting of Full Council this week, Greens will urge the Council to lobby the Government to provide funding so that 100% of children and young people who require specialist care can access it when they need it.
Greens are also calling for extra support and training for school staff who respond to children directly affected by poor mental health and low self-esteem, as well as increased information sharing on how to manage the impact of other stressors, such as access to social media and use of mobile phones. Studies have shown there is a connection between mobile phone access and cyberbullying, and that reducing mobile phone access in schools can boost student concentration and lead to improved educational outcomes. Many of the city’s schools already have policies in place to manage the use of phones in the classroom.
Cllr Amanda Knight, who will put forward the proposals, said: “Support for our children and young people’s mental health must remain a priority. The rates of anxiety, self-harm and suicidal thoughts among young people in the city continue to be deeply worrying, and mental health support can be a life-changing intervention.
“While fantastic work is underway in our city to support mental health, current central Government funding has not been able to provide the levels of support our schools need. Their current plans to reach a handful of pupils by 2030 are completely inadequate, and ignore the immediate needs of thousands of our children.
“Children and young people are also facing complex challenges to their mental health – such as the long-term use of mobile phones, navigating social media and problems such as ‘sexting’ and cyber bullying. Without advice and guidance, many of our children will struggle to deal with these issues. Child mental health services in the city have also said that anxiety has become a key issue raised by young people. Best practice in prevention, everything from meditation to support with healthy eating, physical activity and support for personal, social and health education have been proven to help.
“Our school staff cannot be expected to pick up the burden of cuts to health services made by the Government – and as a result of budget cuts arising from changes to the national funding formula, schools are under increasing pressure. This is why I urge the Council and our family of schools to work together to focus on what prevention work is available to us.”
To read the full Green Notice of Motion: Mental Health in Schools, click here:
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