antiviolence.info

Homophobes & bigots limber-up for the AFL’s Pride Round – are they a dying breed or on the rise in society?

// April 30th, 2016 // No Comments » // Media discussion, Research, Sport, Within Australia, Within Victoria

While homophobes and bigots attempt to make Aussie Rules Football the latest battleground in their fight against marriage equality, targeting St Kilda and Sydney AFL Football Clubs in a campaign to derail the AFL’s first Pride match in June, the unanswered question is “Are they a dying breed or increasing in numbers?”

Public support for marriage equality has dramatically risen. But just how rampant is homophobia in the sports-attending population; have hearts and minds changed? If so, by how much; if not, why not?

Research from 2005 revealed Melbourne’s Inner City to be least homophobic (14 per cent) and the Outer South & East suburbs the most. Outside Victoria, the study identified the three most and three least homophobic areas of Australia. Overall the most homophobic areas were the Moreton area of country Queensland (excluding the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast), Central/South-West Queensland and the Burnie/Western district of Tasmania where 50 per cent believed homosexuality is immoral.

Following Melbourne’s Inner City as least homophobic Australian metropolitan areas were Central Perth (21 per cent) and Central Melbourne (26 per cent).

The Anti-Violence Project is encouraging the AFL, LGBTI community organisations and the state government to use the pending AFL Pride match in June to see how much has changed in the hearts and minds of people leaving their suburban lounge-rooms to attend AFL football matches around the nation since the 2005 research.

Read more about homophobic flyers, targeting marriage equality and the AFL’s Pride match, left on spectators’ cars outside the VFL game between Sandringham and Footscray last weekend. The flyers were headlined: “Children deserve a mother and father”, here: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-season-2016-st-kilda-sydney-targeted-in-protest-against-afls-first-gay-pride-game-20160429-goi52g.html

Is it time for gay men displaying rampant transphobia to stop this behaviour?

// April 30th, 2016 // 1 Comment » // Within Australia

Is it time for gay men displaying rampant transphobia to stop their behaviour? Assault victim Stephanie McCarthy, writing in Star Observer, shares her shock at receiving transphobic attacks from the some in the gay community.

On Sunday, after hearing about the “Tranny Two Up” event at the (Sydney) Bank Hotel, she tweeted expressing her concern over the event and the possible negative outcomes from it and also, politely, expressed her concern on the Bank Hotel’s Facebook page. The attacks then started.

Is it time for this to be addressed within our community? What are your views.

Read more here: http://www.starobserver.com.au/opinion/gay-men-need-to-cut-out-the-transphobia/148838?cs=62

AVP and other LGBTI groups hope to find a home in the Pride Centre

// April 21st, 2016 // No Comments » // AVP news, Media discussion, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Journalist Beau Donelly (The Age, April 21, 2016) writes that the Anti-Violence Project are hopeful they will find a home in Melbourne’s new Pride Centre, announced by the Andrews government on Wednesday. Tipped to be one of the world’s leading hubs for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, the $15 million centre is expected to be larger than its counterpart in San Francisco.

For the past 20 years, the group on the front line of supporting victims of homophobic attacks and same-sex domestic violence has been run from its board members’ garages and living rooms.

The Anti-Violence Project of Victoria does not have an office, so when its leadership team comes together once a month to discuss the charity’s future they meet in a Thai cafe in Fitzroy (photo of the AVP’s executive director, Greg Adkins by Simon O’Dwyer).

Read more here:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/lgbti-groups-vying-for-space-in-the-multimilliondollar-pride-centre-20160421-goc0jv.html

LGBTI Pride Centre is also a coup for Regional Victoria

// April 21st, 2016 // No Comments » // AVP news, Relationships, Within Victoria

A GAY Pride Centre to be built in Melbourne will be a coup for regional LGBTI people, according to a AVP’s Ballarat director consulted for the project.
Luke Gahan told the Ballarat Courier that he and another regional spokesperson from Shepparton were part of a wide consultation process for the centre.

Read more here:
http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/3862958/pride-centre-a-huge-win-for-ballarat/?cs=62

Research into relationship experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

// April 11th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Researchers at Flinders University, the University of Central Queensland, and the University of Sunderland are currently undertaking a project focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people’s experiences of close relationships, both with other humans and with animal companions.

Dr Damien Riggs, Dr Nik Taylor, and Dr Heather Fraser at Flinders University, Dr Catherine Donovan at the University of Sunderland, and Dr Tania Signal at the Central Queensland University aim to better understand your experiences of close relationships, both with other humans and with animal companions. Evidence from research with heterosexual cisgender people suggests that animals can be important sources of support, both for people who are not in relationships, and for people who are in relationships that are abusive. However there is no research on what animals mean for lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people in the context of their relationships and lives.

The AVP urges you to please take the time to complete this survey – follow this link:-
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LGBTAVDV

One in three in LGBTI community experiences street harassment – La Trobe University research reveals

// April 6th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Victoria

The Age newspaper today focuses on La Trobe University research that shines a light on the troubling behaviour many LGBTI people have to endure, often in plain sight, with about one in three having experienced street harassment.

La Trobe Researcher Bianca Fileborn (pictured above) surveyed 292 people throughout Australia, 54 per cent of whom identified as being sexually diverse, on their experiences.

Dr Fileborn said there was little difference between the types of harassment women and LGBTI people experienced. These include staring (65.1 per cent), comments (63 per cent), car horn honking (63.3 per cent), wolf-whistling (41.1 per cent) and unwanted conversation (42.5 per cent).

The Anti-Violence Project has long championed the cause of people experiencing street harassment and prejudice motivated violence, where an estimated 7 out of 10 people in metropolitan areas and 9 out of 10 in outer urban and regional/rural cities and towns are not reporting their experiences of violence and harassment to anyone.

AVP executive director Greg Adkins said “The saddest thing is that many LGBTI people think this (street harassment) is something they have to learn to accept; that it’s something that’s going to happen to them anyway. That’s just really sad and misplaced. No one should face harassment because of their gender or sexuality.”

People experiencing street harassment, prejudice motivated violence or relationship violence can report their experiences via the AVP website.

Read more here:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/street-harassment-of-lgbti-people-rife-la-trobe-university-study-finds-20160406-gnzq0z.html