The Human Rights Commission have released ‘Resilient Individuals‘ – a report on the LGBTI community in Australia, and the discrimination they face. And the results are… upsetting.
According to the report, 71.79% of LGBTI people have been bullied or discriminated against for their sexuality or gender identity. Commissioner Tim Wilson said this scary statistic comes from a 1500-person consultation:
“This is a very significant report off the back of a nine-month consultation across Australia, looking specifically at the issues faced around ongoing discrimination through law and practice.”
Wilson believes that attitudes ‘need to change’, and state governments need to scrap outdated, discriminatory laws: “The Government has sent the message that it’s okay that people cannot enjoy the same rights and respect as everybody else.”
The report calls for multiple states to expunge and remove historic criminal records of consensual homosexual activity, and also calls on South Australia and Queensland to abolish the gay panic defence.
The report also specified that members of the LGBTI community are more likely to suffer from mental illness and are three to fourteen times more likely to attempt suicide, especially after discrimination against their sexuality or gender identity. Chief executive of BeyondBlue, Georgie Harman said,
“We know that a major contributing factor to this risk of mental ill-health is discrimination, abuse, both physical and verbal, exclusion and prejudice,” she said.
“It happens everywhere that we live, work, play, study.”
The report also recommended that transgender children should not have to procure a court order to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Currently, a person under the age of 18 must attend Family Court to be able to take hormone replacement medication.
If you want to read the full PDF report, you can HERE.
via Human Rights Commission/ABC
Image: AFP via Getty Images
Image: AFP via Getty Images
