2015-07-20
Ben Moroney and Eliza June (Australian Young Greens Co-Convenors)
(Note: this article may be distressing for some readers.)
On the 26th of June, the Supreme Court of the United States of America made history in a ruling on the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. In the same way that Loving v. Virginia held that prohibiting interracial marriage is unconstitutional across the US, Obergefell v. Hodges holds that prohibiting marriage on the basis of sex or gender is similarly unconstitutional. Now, two consenting adults, regardless of how they were born or how they identify, can marry in any part of the US.
This is rightfully considered a tremendous victory for which a massive movement across global society has been pushing for decades. In the US, particularly, marriage brings with it benefits and rights such as access to healthcare, social security and various government programs that will save possibly thousands, even tens of thousands of lives, as well as giving security of property and other legal implications to many more.
As we celebrate this victory, it is important that we don't lose sight that marriage equality is only a step along the way for LGBTIQ rights, for ending homophobia and transphobia in society and for ensuring that all people can live in freedom and security. When marriage equality inevitably comes to Australia, our out-of-touch politicians buffeted by an inexorable tide of public opinion, there will still be a lot more work to be done, especially for young LGBTIQ people.
Young people in Australia are generally not concerned with property relations, and even when they are, our system of de facto partnerships covers their immediate legal needs. When your property consists of a hand-me-down phone, two cats and a sharehouse futon, precisely how you split it with your partner or partners — assuming you are in a relationship that's committed or in a relationship at all — is not high on your list of priorities. On the other hand, your access to social services, security and safety is very real.
Young people are disproportionately likely in Australia to be homeless, and of these homeless youth, LGBTIQ people are disproportionately likely to be included in that number. This is especially hard-hitting when major faith-based organisations who have been contracted to run privatised social services, such as the Salvation Army, have highly discriminatory policies against LGBTIQ youth — leaving young queer people without anywhere to turn when they are some of the people most in need. Issues of access to housing and food security are compounded by ongoing discrimination in terms of finding ongoing, stable work, as well as accessing proper healthcare without discrimination or judgement.
Physical violence against LGBTIQ people — whose very existence is perceived as a threat by some people — is a constant concern. Not only is hetero- and cissexist violence generally not taken as seriously by authorities or the justice system, but some Australian states still maintain laws that allow so-called “gay panic” as a defense for a person attacking or even murdering someone for making a homosexual advance.
Sexual violence is also a significant concern, with a disproportionate number of sexual assaults having occurred against LGBTIQ people. Both issues of security and safety are compounded when speaking of LBGTIQ people with intersectional identities — queer people of colour, who have disabilities or who are from other marginalised communities have an even more difficult time.
42% of young LGBTIQ people have considered self-harm or suicide. 16% have attempted it. Of those, 33% did so as a direct result of homophobic and transphobic harassment or violence. Being queer is dangerous in our current society, and it impacts on all other aspects of a person's life — education, mental and emotional health, employment, relationships with peers and within communities, and susceptibility to other social dangers, not just property relations.
Our society fundamentally does not value LGBTIQ people, and fixing this will be a long and difficult process of changing how our society accepts and deals with appearances and behaviours which do not fit the norms we have constructed. Marriage equality is a part of that, and any advances on it should absolutely be celebrated — but it is not the whole story. We must always be looking beyond, to the next advance in rights, to the next groundswell of changing support and public opinion, until we have finally created a society which does not kill people for who they are.
Ben Moroney and Eliza June,
Australian Young Greens Co-Conveners
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