A new website to support the families of transgender young people has been launched.

The site, GenderEd.ie, has been designed by the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin and it aims to provide families with reliable and relatable information to help them support themselves and their transgender family member.

It is widely acknowledged that family support is important for the mental health and wellbeing of transgender young people, however a report last year revealed that many young trans people around the country are not supported by their families.

Research has shown that education and information plays a key role in a family's ability to accept and support a family member who is transgender. However currently, there is very little education about this topic that is available to families in Ireland.

The new website contains eight modules which cover a range of relevant topics, such as gender identity basics, life stage issues, social transitioning, health and wellbeing and legal issues.

"In my research, I noticed that some transgender young people had particular difficulties with their families not being understanding or accepting of their identity. I wanted to design a resource that could help families and parents to make sense of and understand their own experiences and that of their transgender family member, so that they could be in a better position to provide and access the necessary support for themselves and their family," explained Danika Sharek who researched and developed the resource.

The modules are a mixture of written text, videos, and stories from young people and families. There are also suggested activities and action plans for the young people and their families.

One mother featured on the website explained that her 20-year-old son initially came out as gay, which she was ‘totally fine with'. However, about six months later, he came out as trans.

"Although it made perfect sense to me, it was devastating news. There was no question that I would support him, I just wasn't sure how to do it. I knew that I would have to advocate for him in the wider community so that people would understand and not isolate him, but I didn't understand it myself and really struggled finding the words to tell people," she noted.

The website was developed in conjunction and with the support of Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI) and its family support group, TransParenCI, and transgender young people's support group, TransFormers, BeLong To LGBT Youth Services including their IndividualiTy transgender youth group, as well as the families of transgender young people, and transgender young people themselves.

"The project is timely and adds to the knowledge base and supports available to families of people who identify as transgender. It is an important and useful educational resource," commented Dr Edward McCann, assistant professor of mental health at Trinity.

The site can be viewed here