Lesbian, gay, biseksual dan Transgender (lgbt) di Australia masih menghadapi tingginya tingkat diskriminasi dan kekerasan. Menurut Tanya Joan Plibersek menteri Federal untuk Kesehatan Australia, percaya bahwa kesetaraan perkawinan akan menjadi langkah terakhir dalam mengakhiri diskriminasi terhadap lgbt.
Baru-baru ini Pusat Hukum Inner City Sydney telah menerbitkan penelitian menemukan bahwa 54,4 persen responden mengalami diskriminasi di ruang publik. Dan Lebih dari 10 persen koresponden mengalami kekerasan fisik, sementara hampir 24 persen telah didiskriminasi di toko, restoran karena seksualitas mereka atau identitas gender.
Plibersek yang juga politisi Partai Buruh Australia telah pernah menambahkan kesetaraan perkawinan untuk platform Partai buruh. Namun Perdana Menteri Australia Julia Gillard menentangnya meskipun mayoritas kabinet mendukung masalah ini.
Plibersek mengatakan pemerintahannya masih memiliki pekerjaan yang harus dilakukan dalam melindungi hak-hak LGBT Australia. Dan Plibersek juga menambahkan bahwa setiap orang memiliki hak dan penting diketahui bahwa persamaan hak akan membawa manfaat bagi setiap warga Negara.
sumber : gaystarnews.comLGBT Australians are still facing high levels of discrimination and violence but the country’s Health Minister believes marriage equality will be the final step in ending discrimination against them
Sydney’s Inner City Legal Centre has published new research showing that discrimination and vilification are still major issues for LGBTs in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), while the country’s Health Minister has declared that reforming marriage laws will be the final reform to end legal discrimination against them.
The ‘Outing Injustice: Understanding the legal needs of LGBTI communities in NSW’ report found that 54.4 percent of respondents had experienced vilification by a stranger in a public space.
More than 10 percent had experienced physical violence, while almost 24 percent felt they had been discriminated against in a shop, restaurant or other venue because of their sexuality or gender identity.
The report was launched by the Australian Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek (pictured), on Friday who said that it was important that LGBTs asserted their rights.
‘People have rights and it’s important that they know what they are in order to assert them,’ Plibersek said.
Plibersek said her government still had more work to do in protecting the rights of LGBT Australians.
‘We look forward to the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal discrimination laws … [but] the final step against discrimination is the introduction of marriage equality for same-sex couples’.
The ruling Australian Labor Party has voted to add marriage equality to its platform. However the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard opposes it despite a majority of her cabinet supporting the issue.
Director of the ICLC, Daniel Stubbs, said discrimination, harassment and vilification occurred against LGBT people in regional and remote areas of NSW as well as in Sydney but many did not know what their rights were.
‘This research highlights the issues faced by the community,’ Stubbs said.
‘There are a range of laws that have been brought in which benefit … people but many are isolated or simply not aware and so are not enjoying their rights.’
source : gaystarnews.com
