Latest news with #LGBTIQ
ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Youth and domestic and family violence services call for more funding to support LGBTQIA+ community
Alex* was 19 when he started dating his ex-boyfriend, but what began as a promising relationship took a dark turn resulting in alleged physical violence and coercive control. "It was my first serious relationship. In the beginning it was fun, new and exciting, and then after three months that's when it started to change," he said. He noticed an escalation in his then-partner's behaviour when he started running his own real estate business. "Then it was more constant, I was working by myself doing appraisals, seeing clients, and it was suggested, 'We should put something on your phone to keep you safe.'" Alex said his partner installed a location-sharing app on his phone. He said his partner used it to track how many kilometres Alex was travelling each day and would check his car's odometer when he got home to ensure it matched up. "It was following me to client's houses, then I wasn't allowed to see male clients any more," Alex said. The now-26-year-old said it took several attempts over three years to leave the relationship, which included alleged physical, emotional and financial abuse. "Trying to identify red flags when it's your first serious relationship is harder when you haven't experienced it before," he said. There's growing calls from the youth and domestic and family violence sector for more financial support to assist the queer, trans and gender diverse community. Rachel Hinds, who is chief executive of Brisbane-based LGBTIQ+ youth service Open Doors, said state and federal funding wasn't keeping pace with demand, and a lack of diverse refuge options was resulting in young people staying in violent homes and relationships. "One of the things that we are advocating for is for Open Doors to be funded to open a rainbow house, which would be short-term crisis accommodation," she said. "In this state there is no option for them, if they are to leave home, where do they go? There are no refuges created for trans and gender diverse people. "One of the biggest providers of DV services has a men's line and a women's line, so who do you call if you're non-binary? "If you're a trans woman and you ring the women's line and you're clocked as having more a male sounding voice and you're put through to the mens line are you going to call back?" Open Doors is one of three services to receive a share of $734,300 from the Queensland government for domestic, family and sexual violence support for the LGBTQIA+ community until the end of 2026. As a result, Ms Hinds said they were the only service in Queensland to have a funded, dedicated joint youth support worker and counsellor. In the first six months of having that position 153 young people accessed support, with the majority for family violence. Ms Hinds said specialist support for those fleeing violence was particularly underfunded. "There has been no investment into our community in terms of domestic and family violence and so that is something we absolutely want to see," she said. It was a violent episode of physical abuse when Alex tried to flee the relationship which made him walk away for good. "One of the breaking points for me was when my best friend came to see me when I was planning on leaving," he said. "She didn't quite make it in time when I had my stuff ready, and so I had my nose broken." Police put a temporary protection order in place during the relationship, but it was breached by Alex's perpetrator multiple times post-separation resulting in a domestic violence order being issued. Alex said apart from a call from Menslink and a welfare check from police, he didn't receive additional domestic violence support but acknowledged service responses are improving. "I definitely think there needs to be more [support] groups, like a weekly group that could be somewhere for people to reach out and ask these types of questions," he said. Beyond DV founder Carolyn Robinson acknowledged domestic and family violence in the LGBTQIA+ was under-reported and under researched, and it was vital all DV services offered support to anyone seeking help. "What they report to us is that often there is that sense of shame and not really knowing where to go to get the help that they so desperately want and need," she said. "Really it's about providing those spaces where there is no judgement, where they feel really safe and they can come and find out what options are available to them." Beyond DV has developed an app called Ask A Mate where users can access advice about relationships, gender identity and equality, consent, domestic and sexual violence. Ms Robinson said an aim of the app was to have the advice delivered by a range of diverse voices including well-known members of the LGBTQIA+ community. "My hope is by potentially using tools like this app and keeping these conversations going we can take the shame away and any embarrassment away," she said. Comedian Christian Hull — who is well known on social media platform TikTok and is openly gay — is one of the speakers on the app. He said he wanted to help combat toxic content creators who spread messages of ultra-masculinity and misogyny. "When you scroll on TikTok you see people like Andrew Tate. There are other podcasts, hosted by men, who claim that they know exactly what they're talking about," he said. "It's so misogynist, sexist, homophobic and I am horrified at what I'm hearing, and people think they're professional. "It's so important to get actual, good advice out there. "Because where else can you get it from? It doesn't exist anywhere online." Queensland's Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Amanda Camm, said in this year's budget, $250.9 million was being provided to the domestic, family and sexual violence support sector, encompassing 120 organisations across Queensland. "These services prioritise vulnerable people and communities including the LGBTQIA+ community," she said. "The response to DFV by support services should be fluid and be able to respond to the needs of a victim regardless of their culture, how they identify or where they live. "Demand for shelters across the state is high and my department is working with the sector to understand and develop LGBTQIA+ specific service offerings, including emergency accommodation." Ms Hinds said domestic and family abuse was prevalent in the community, especially for trans and gender diverse young people. "There's a lack of research in this area but the little research we do have shows that our community experiences domestic and family violence at very high rates," she said. A 2019 La Trobe University study collected domestic, family and sexual violence data from 6,835 adults from a range of gender identities and sexual orientations. The survey found 61 per cent of respondents had experienced intimate partner violence with emotional abuse (48 per cent), verbal abuse (42 per cent), and social isolation (27 per cent) the most commonly reported. It also found 65 per cent of respondents surveyed had experienced family violence, with the most common form of abuse being verbal abuse (42 per cent), LGBTIQ-related abuse (41 per cent), and emotional abuse (39 per cent). LGBTIQ-related abuse included behaviour such as being shamed about being LGBTIQ, threatened to be "outed" or have HIV status revealed or withheld hormones or medication. Almost three in four indicated the perpetrator of family violence was a parent, which included a guardian, foster carer, step-parent, or adoptive parent. A federal Department of Social Services spokesperson said its national plan to end violence against women and children recognised that everyone, "regardless of gender, identity, ability, race and sexuality" had the right to live and work free from violence and harassment. "The Commonwealth, in partnership with state and territory governments, matches dollar-for-dollar funding for the delivery of critical frontline services, including those that support LGBTQIA+ people experiencing violence." * Name changed to protect person's identity
SBS Australia
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
Kitty Obsidian talks NAIDOC, Young Blak Performers and Mentoring
Ahead of NAIDOC 2025 this year NITV Radio yarns up with Kitty Obsidian a proud Wiradjuri/Gamilaroi trans performer and previous VIC NAIDOC LGBTIQ+ person of the year 2022. Kitty talks activism, mentorship and representation in Blak and queer spaces where there is a hub of intersection of people and Kitty them-self saying " i look at it as the whole of who I am, I can't stop being mob, I can't stop being queer, I can't stop being trans or disable or any of the other things. Kitty shares excitedly about VIC NAIDOC Pride and the names of upcoming Blak Talent audiences should keep an eye out for as incredible entertainers.
Daily Express
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Express
Activists slam censorship of LGBTIQ materials
Published on: Wednesday, July 16, 2025 Published on: Wed, Jul 16, 2025 By: Yee Suet Mun, FMT Text Size: Amnesty International Malaysia and Justice for Sisters said censorship under the PPPA fosters discrimination, silences voices, and undermines public understanding. PETALING JAYA: Human rights groups have raised concerns over the censorship of LGBTIQ-related content in Malaysia, warning that it fuels marginalisation, social division, discrimination, and identity suppression. According to a joint report by Amnesty International Malaysia and Justice for Sisters, 13 LGBTIQ-themed items were banned under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) 1984 between 2020 and May 2025. These accounted for 42% of the 31 publications banned during that period. Advertisement The bans were distributed across the years as follows: two in 2022, four in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and two in the first five months of 2025. 'We see how morality, public order and national security are used to target LGBTIQ publications, but these are not legitimate justifications,' Justice for Sisters co-founder Thilaga Sulathireh told a press conference on the report's release. She added that the censorship had little to do with morality or safety, saying it was instead aimed at silencing and erasing the community. The report, titled 'Censorship of LGBTIQ Expressions under the PPPA', said the law had become a tool for state-sanctioned discrimination, in violation of international standards on freedom of expression and non-discrimination. It urged the home ministry to halt proposed amendments to the PPPA and instead develop a roadmap toward its repeal, among other recommendations. Amnesty International Malaysia's freedom of expression campaigner Kiran Kaur claimed that the PPPA was being misused to control public narratives and silence legitimate voices. 'Laws like the PPPA cannot be weaponised by authorities to silence LGBTIQ voices and promote harmful narratives rooted in discrimination,' she said, adding that such actions only deepened mistrust and stifled public discourse. Nalini Elumalai, senior programme officer at Article 19 Malaysia, said censorship in Malaysia was not new, but that its current scale was deeply worrying. She added that such censorship made young LGBTIQ people feel invisible and unsafe. 'Young LGBTIQ Malaysians grow up thinking they're alone, that there's something wrong with them. The erasure of their stories creates an unsafe environment. 'Children in Malaysia don't need protection from diversity, they need protection from violence and discrimination,' she said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
SBS Australia
14-07-2025
- SBS Australia
Questions on sexuality and gender to be part of Census trial
The first Census questions on sexual orientation and gender will be sent out to thousands of households as part of a practice version of the 2026 nationwide survey. More than 60,000 homes have been chosen by the Australian Bureau of Statistics to take part in a trial run in August in order to make sure the real event runs without incident. The test will include questions set to be in the 2026 Census, including the first set of questions in a national Census about sexual orientation and gender for people over 16. Questions about sexuality were set to be scrapped from the questionnaire, but the federal government backtracked on the decision in 2024 following criticism from LGBTIQ+ groups. Homes in Melbourne and Perth, as well as locations in regional Queensland, NSW and Western Australia, have been chosen for the voluntary test run. Census general manager Jenny Telford said the trial run would be critical to ensuring the nationwide questionnaire would be successful. "We are testing our collection processes and IT systems to ensure our processes work well and that the form captures the right information, in the right way," she said. "By taking part, you're helping us to improve the next Census for everyone and ensure it produces high-quality statistics." Testing will also be carried out to allow people to carry out the Census through myGov. The 2016 Census was beset by technical issues after the website hosting the questionnaire crashed on the night of the survey. The Census test is to be carried out on 5 August.
SBS Australia
14-07-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 14 July 2025
Around 625,000 more Australians will now be able to donate plasma from today. Previous donor rules prevented many people from the LGBTIQ+ and sex worker communities from donating plasma if they had sex within the past three months. Lifeblood says the changes make Australia the first country in the world to remove all sexual activity-based restrictions on plasma donation. German backpacker Carolina Wilga is in a stable condition in hospital, after surviving eleven nights stranded in the Western Australian outback. The 26-year-old survived on minimal food and water and was exposed to freezing temperatures, before she flagged down a passing motorist on Friday afternoon. Premier Roger Cook says she is recovering at Fiona Stanley Hospital, and is in good spirits. "Extraordinary, extraordinary feat of surviving in the wilds. For 11 nights, she has to get over a very difficult physical ordeal. They threw every resource had it, and because of that, they were able to locate her van as quickly as possible." The EU and Indonesia have sealed a landmark free trade deal in Belgium. Indonesia and the EU have concluded a decade of negotiations for the agreement which is set to be formalised later this year. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says it marks a long-term commitment. "The European Commission has adopted a decision on a visa cascade. It means from now on Indonesian nationals visiting the European Union for a second time will be eligible for multi entry Schengen visa, this will make it easier to visit but also to invest, to study and to connect. In short, we are building a bridge between our societies." A national campaign has been launched to raise awareness of meningococcal disease, as the peak season for the illness gets underway. Meningococcal disease a bacterial infection which can progress rapidly, with some people becoming critically ill within 24 hours. There have been 56 cases reported nationally so far with this year. 18 of them were in New South Wales. Sotheby's is selling what it calls the largest piece of Mars ever found on earth. The 25 kilogram red, brown and grey chunk was found in Niger in November 2023. The auction house's vice chairman for science and natural history, Cassandra Hatton, says it is a very large piece. "It's more than double the size of what we previously thought was the largest piece of Mars. And we've only taken a small piece of it to study, to confirm that it was Martian, but there's all sorts of interesting data that can be found inside of this rock."In golf, Grace Kim has produced one of the most astonishing golfing fightbacks in history to join Australia's group of major champions." Kim recovered from four shots behind in a dramatic final round to clinch victory over world No.2 Jeeno Thitikul on the second playoff hole at the Evian Championship in France. She says she is feeling such a rollercoaster of emotions as it all sinks in.
