INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, BIPHOBIA, INTERSEXISM AND TRANSPHOBIA

HON ALISON XAMON (North Metropolitan) [5.25 pm]: I rise tonight to speak because it is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia, otherwise known by the interesting name of IDAHOBIT.  IDAHOBIT is a day when we celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer community; acknowledge and honour the hard-fought advancements in the human rights of LGBTIQ people; and recognise that there is still much more work to be done.

When we consider that Australians of diverse sexual orientation, sex or gender identity are estimated to account for up to 11 per cent of the Australian population and then add to this number family, friends and work colleagues, it is clear that IDAHOBIT day is a directly relevant and important day for us all, and we all have a role in ending discrimination. Last year, 2017, was a very big year. At the federal level, the Family Court ruled that trans young people can access the treatment they need without having to go through a court process and, of course, Australia finally passed marriage equality laws. At the state level, the government has introduced legislation to expunge historic homosexual convictions. The bill has passed through the other place and I am looking forward to making my second reading contribution in this place to give voice to my LGBTIQ constituents’ experiences of living in a time when it was illegal to express their true selves and be public about the people whom they loved.

During my contribution, I will also pay tribute to deeply personal and often dangerous lifelong campaigns that older lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people have waged in order to achieve these gains. The postal survey on marriage equality was an incredibly damaging time for our LGBTIQ community as they had to withstand public debate about whether they should have access to the same human rights as the rest of us, along with a lot of irrelevant and hurtful arguments peddled by the No campaign. It is heartening that, as a whole, our society is becoming aware of the legacy of discriminatory legislation, but, unfortunately, that alone does not change the impact of a lifetime of stigma. The LGBTIQ community experiences a much higher rate of mental health issues than that of the rest of the community. There is no room for complacency, because discriminatory legislation and practices still exist and many in our community are simply not aware of these formalised inequities in our society.

In WA, our Equal Opportunity Act, for example, allows private religious schools to make employment or enrolment decisions based on the sexuality or gender history of teachers, students or their parents. There have been instances in WA of teachers being dismissed on the basis of their sexuality and children being asked to leave their school because their parents are gay. That is a disgrace. This also means that LGBTIQ young people who do not have a choice about their sexuality, or, in most instances, which school they attend, can legally be expelled. Recent polling suggests that 80 per cent of Australians do not agree with religious schools being able to do this. I am firmly part of that 80 per cent. True marriage equality has not yet been achieved, as forced divorce laws are still in place in most states, including here in Western Australia.

This is a situation in which only single people are able to apply for a gender recognition certificate, and we have been told that Western Australians will not see changes to this until later this year. There are also myriad other quite unnecessary hurdles that trans people face to have their gender identity officially recognised. I am working alongside trans members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer community on the best ways we can address these. A good start would be to abolish the Western Australian Gender Reassignment Board, which is unique to Western Australia and has well and truly had its day. We know also there is much work to be done for the intersex community. I specifically want to point out the problems for infants who are subject to what is known as corrective surgery at birth, even though the best advice is to wait until after the child is old enough to express their gender, as it is likely doctors may end up assigning the wrong gender. The outcome in those instances can be absolutely devastating for those involved. Our health services need to be guided by evidence-based protocols. These are just some examples of the issues facing the LGBTIQ community, and they demonstrate that we have a long way to go on a number of fronts. By no means have we got there simply because we finally have marriage equality.

Once again, it is great to at least have the annual occasion of International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia — IDAHOBIT — to recognise the LGBTIQ community and its resilience in the face of stigma and discrimination. It is an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and make sure we are raising awareness of how much further we have to go.

 

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