Purple Training: The Importance of Building Solidarity in the Struggle for Trans Liberation
Maynooth Pride Society’s annual conference Purple Training is set to take place on the weekend of the 19th – 21st of April this year. Purple Training 2024 will be the eighth consecutive year of the event which has managed to transcend the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as various committee handovers, tension, and drama that tend to circumscribe student society organising.
The first ever Purple Training was organised by Maynooth Pride society back in 2016. For an event organised by a student society it was a resounding success attended by over 70 students from 9 different academic institutions. The event – then a two-day event, now a three-day affair – featured both internal and external contributors with a focus on highlighting the injustices faced by trans people, and celebrating our wins and the joy we experience in spite of oppression.
That Purple Training has taken place every year since 2016 is a testament to the need to build solidarity between the trans struggle and the wider struggle for universal liberation. Since 2008, the Irish state has embarked on a long and slow road of neoliberalisation, offering tax breaks to private corporations to promote investment rather than raising taxes and providing properly funded public services. Perhaps one of the worst effects of this has been seen in healthcare which unless you have insurance, or a medical card, is almost completely inaccessible. I haven’t seen a doctor in over 3 years, not for lack of trying or necessity, but because I have been unable to find a GP practice that will take me on.
The general state of healthcare in Ireland, coupled with the casualised transphobia of the Irish state, has resulted in Ireland having the worst transgender healthcare in Europe. The current waiting list for an initial appointment with the National Gender Service (NGS) is estimated to be up to 10 years. Getting an initial appointment also does not guarantee access to healthcare. The model of care offered by the NGS is a psychiatric model, which requires a series of invasive interviews, often requiring Trans people to reveal intimate details about their relationships and sex practices, just so they can provide an arbitrary diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria. These assessments often cause a lot of pain and grief for trans people, especially when so many are turned away because of a lack of understanding of neurodivergent people or because they don’t fit the mould of what the state believes a Trans person should be.
Over the last number of years, numerous protest movements have emerged calling out the state for failing their duty of care to Trans people. Trans & intersex pride, established in 2018 has been hosting yearly marches calling out the state's failure to provide healthcare to Trans people based on the WPATH Standards of care which recommends a model of informed consent for access to hormone replacement therapy. Trans and Intersex Pride have also been highlighting the unfair representation Trans people often receive in the news media. More recently a grass roots group of activists under the moniker of Transgress the NGS have been pursuing a direct-action campaign specifically for better access to informed consent healthcare.
In spite of the injustices faced by the Trans community in Ireland, our community is stronger than ever. It is unfortunate that this has happened out of necessity, but what has emerged is a vibrant and caring community built on the principles of solidarity and mutual aid. Trans Harm Reduction is a grass roots group dedicated to making self-medicating as safe as possible for those who cannot access any other way. The Small Trans Library operates a small free lending library with over 400 titles about trans topics or by trans authors, in addition to operating a mutual aid fund that has redistributed over €40,000 to trans people.
It is in this tradition of solidarity building, Maynooth Pride is continuing to organise Purple Training every year. Purple Training 2023 was attended by over 50 students from over 10 different academic institutions. The programme included contributions from Trans Healthcare Action, Trans Harm Reduction, Aisteach Queer Housing Co-op, and the Community Action Tenants Union. The activities of the event are not just vital for building a community and connecting with other trans people and allies, but they empower us with the tools to take action and demand, as a collective, for what should be rightfully ours.
The schedule for Purple Training 2024 is set to include contributions from Trans organisations focusing on various topics including protest and direct action, embodiment and expression, and climate revolution! The event will be open to all third level students accessing further and higher education on the island of Ireland. Tickets will be €5 euro or €25 for those who will need a place to stay. Tickets can be purchased here and information about the event details, programme etc. can be found on this Instagram.
Community building and solidarity has always been the root of radical change. In light of the broad injustice present in our society, and specifically the injustice facing Trans people, it is now more important than ever that we stand together and resist. As we approach the fortieth anniversary of the founding of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners, we should reflect on what has been done before, and remind ourselves that with the power of the collective we can struggle, and we can win.
