Sexuality & LGBTQIA+ Issues

Freedom of sexuality is a fundamental human right. Acceptance and celebration of people of diverse sexuality is essential for genuine social justice and equality. Equality for LGBTQIA+1 people is essential for genuine social justice.

(Please see The Greens (WA) companion policy Gender Identity for transgender issues)

Aims

The Greens (WA) want:

  • the repeal of all federal and state laws that are discriminatory on the grounds of sexuality
  • an end to any discrimination in marriage against same sex attracted, gender diverse and intersex people
  • informed and accessible medical and health services that cater for the diverse needs of LGBTQIA+ people (see also The Greens (WA) Health policy)

Measures

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

  • educate for understanding and acceptance and provide, within the education system, age-appropriate information about the diversity of sexuality (see also The Greens (WA) Education policy)
  • provide accurate information, appropriate referrals and counselling for individuals, parents and carers of young people, in relation to issues of diverse sexualities (see also The Greens (WA) Youth policy)
  • provide community awareness programs that lead to a greater understanding of sexual diversity
  • provide adequate funding for services to support and protect people of diverse sexuality, in particular suicide prevention, peer support, coming out, counselling, health and housing programs (see also The Greens (WA) Housing policy)
  • make refuges safe for people of diverse sexuality
  • improve and broaden the police and prison services' knowledge of, and sensitivity towards, diverse sexuality issues and further develop liaison between these services and diverse sexuality communities (see also The Greens (WA) Justice policy)
  • ensure that governments and their agencies consult with communities and representative groups of diverse sexualities on the development of policies and programs that affect them
  • ban conversion practices for LGBTQIA+ people
  • make NDIS funding available in individual's plans for reasonable and necessary supports that aid in the sexual expression, intimacy and education of disabled people (see also The Greens (WA) Disability policy)

Glossary

  1. LGBTQIA+ refers to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other diverse sexualities.
  2. Conversion Practices - a variety of pseudo scientific practices that aim to change someone's sexuality to heterosexual, or gender identity to the sex assigned to them at birth. These practices often leave the people who have undergone them with trauma and drastically increase their risk of suicide. Colloquially known as "gay conversion therapy", though this term is inappropriate, as it falsely implies that these practices are a form of therapy.

(See also the Australian Greens Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex policy)

Sexuality & LGBTQIA+ Issues policy ratified by The Greens (WA) in 2020