Homosexuality law australia
Timeline: 22 years between first and last Australian states decriminalising male homosexuality
The political manoeuvres over gay rule reform in Australia hold been characterised by a series of defeats and setbacks before eventual success.
South Australia was the first state to decriminalise male homosexuality and it took the last remaining articulate, Tasmania, 22 years to follow suit.
First state decriminalises homosexuality
September 17,
South Australia is the first articulate to decriminalise male homosexuality under reformist premier Don Dunstan and attorney-general Peter Duncan.
ACT prepares bill before SA
November 4,
The Perform very nearly beat SA to the punch, having prepared a decriminalisation bill before Dunstan.
Canberra did not have self government at the time, relying on Federal Parliament to enact laws which were not passed until after SA.
Police harassment continues into s
December 23,
Until the death penalty was still on the books for sodomy in Victoria.
The Hamer Liberal government decriminalised male homosexuality in December
A loosely worded "solicitin
By Christoffer Aguilar
LGBTQI+ Australians sustain to face obstacles to the full realisation of their human rights. One major obstacle is the practice of ‘conversion therapy,’ which emerged in Australia in the ’s and continues to damage the physical and mental health of LGTBQI+ Australians.
In August , Queensland (‘Qld’) and Australian Capital Region (‘ACT’) passed laws banning conversion therapy, offering expect to LGBTQI+ Australians in these states.
Then, in November , after broad consultation, the Victorian Government introduced a Bill to outlaw LGBTQ+ conversion practices. Assist groups welcomed the relocate, with Equality Australia depicting the Bill’s mechanisms to prevent harm and penalise perpetrators as “world leading”.
It is worth understanding how these bans would impact the LGBTQI+ community and influence other states to ban the practice, which could lead to a national ban. But first, what does conversion therapy encompass and what are the justifications behind its promotion and use?
Conversion therapy and its effects
Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientifi
Marriage equality
Decriminalisation of homosexuality
From the s the socially progressive South Australian Labor government wanted to repeal laws criminalising homosexuality.
However, it was not until the May murder in Adelaide of Dr George Duncan, a commandment lecturer and lgbtq+ man, that premier, Don Dunstan, assessed that the collective mood was receptive to reform.
Dr Duncan’s murder led to revelations of how commonplace violence and harassment against queer people was.
South Australia’s Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, was enacted on 2 October It was a landmark in LGBTQIA+ rights in Australia because it fully decriminalised lesbian acts.
Equivalent law reform was passed by the Australian Capital Territory in , Victoria in , the Northern Space in , Unused South Wales in , Western Australia in , Queensland in and Tasmania in
Chapter Additional Issues: Homophobia and Gender Identity
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What is this chapter about?
Organisations and individuals raised a range of issues with the Inquiry that did not collapse strictly within its Terms of Reference. Where these issues relate to one of the main chapters of this report, they are discussed within that chapter.
This chapter addresses two issues which did not fit squarely into any other chapter: general homophobia and gender identity.
The Inquiry has not made findings or recommendations about these issues as they are outside the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference. However, they are important issues which should be examined in the future.
What did the Inquiry hear about homophobia in the community?
Homophobia was mentioned in many of the Inquiry’s forums and written submissions. Homophobia in the context of employment, health care and aged care is discussed in Chapters 6, 11 and 14 respectively. The following are comments about homophobia more generally.
Experiences of homophobia
Gay and lesbian people told the Inquiry about ongoing