The Roots of GIRES

A Legacy of Kindness - Telling the Story of Trans Charity GIRES

Before the 1960s trans people self-identified, they accessed affirmative medical care of their choice. It was only in the mid to late 1960s, that opposition to that began. From 1970 to 1996 Trans people were unable to marry, unable to adopt, had no employment rights, the Institute of Personnel Management advised employers to dismiss all trans people in case they might offend a future hypothetical employee or employer or customer. Support groups started to be set up like Press for Change. It was during the early 90's that Bernard and Terry Reed had to navigate this harsh landscape when their daughter Niki began to be horrifically bullied at work for being Trans. This led this cis gender couple to become advocates in their own right, and the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES) was born.
For more resources and information about this project visit: https://lok.gires.org.uk