Ballarat community leaders and LGBTQIA+ advocates have called on the community to extend support to transgender and gender-diverse individuals following a spate of chalk graffiti.
Known as chalk-bombing, footpaths across the city have been targeted for graffiti spouting anti-transgender rhetoric, including outside the City of Ballarat council offices on Sturt Street and local MP offices.
This week, the ABC's Ballarat bureau was also targeted by chalk-bombers.
It comes after anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, otherwise known as Posie Parker, held a "Let Women Speak" rally outside Victorian parliament several weeks ago.
Ballarat transgender woman Abbie Clark called the graffiti "pathetic".
"The sentiment you are seeing is not based on fact … If we look at the transphobic rally, on the side of the transphobes, there may have been 100 people," she said.
"On the other side? There were significantly more.
"It shows that we have more support than they do. And love always wins."
She called for Ballarat and communities worldwide to reach out to transgender colleagues, friends, and family members and said the damaging rhetoric in the public space might seem loud, but actions spoke louder.
"If you want to be an ally, speak out, show up and love your trans friends and family," Ms Clark said.
"We need you to have our back and not require us to defend ourselves all the time. Let us take a break knowing that you'll defend us, if needed."
Council condemns graffiti
During the anti-transgender rally outside parliament last month, one speaker heavily criticised the City of Ballarat for including transgender people in its LGBTQIA+ inclusion plan, which was adopted some months ago.
Mayor Des Hudson condemned the chalk graffiti.
"The City of Ballarat extends its unwavering support to all members of the trans and gender-diverse communities," he said.
"Graffiti of any type is strongly condemned, but even more so when it maliciously targets individuals and community groups.
"Last week's Trans Day of Visibility event at Town Hall was our biggest ever flag-raising event, where people from all segments of the community came together as one to show solidarity for the trans and gender diverse community."
Not speaking for wider community
Ange Elson is the chief executive of Ballarat's Tiny Pride organisation, which aims to assist businesses across the city to be more inclusive.
She said the graffiti-bombing did not represent the views of the wider community.
"Every time there is a step forward in terms of inclusiveness for the LGBTQIA+ community, specifically the trans community here, we've ended up with graffiti attacks and vandalism," Ms Elson said.
Ms Elson said anti-transgender sentiment had been causing anguish for transgender people and their families.
"I had a dad contact me yesterday, talking about his daughter. He said it's been so damaging, and he's doing everything he can to protect his kids from this hate," she said.
"What I'm really proud of is how this city has really rallied … trans community members have reported as saying they're really well supported, really well-loved."
Tiny Pride recently received a state government grant to build new functions into the Snap, Send, Solve application.
The app allowed residents to report issues with photos, such as potholes or broken public infrastructure.
The app would be expanded to allow community members to report incidents of hate or abuse while in public.
'Encouraging' to live in Ballarat
Ms Clark said she faced years of inner turmoil as she came to understand who she was, and what being transgender meant.
Ms Clark came out in 2019 and was now living her life fully and unapologetically.
"As far as I knew, I was just broken, because I didn't really understand what being trans was back during my childhood in the early 2000s and late 1990s," she said.
"It's been really encouraging living in Ballarat because, regardless of what I do, there's people around that support me, whether it's the city, friends, colleagues or family."
