Archive for Research

SURVEY – Perceptions of police, crime reporting and feelings of safety

// May 6th, 2017 // No Comments » // Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) asked festival goers at the 2017 Midsumma and Chill-Out festivals to complete a community survey with part of the survey focusing on perceptions and experiences of Victoria Police. They’ve now put this survey online and would love to get a good response from the community.

VGLRL are interested in hearing from you about your perceptions of the police, reporting of crimes and how safe you feel.
We at the AVP urge you to help the VGLRL better serve our community by completing their short survey so we all can understand what issues are important to you.

As one of the key rights-focused lobby groups in Victoria, alongside TGV, the VGLRL will use this information to proactively champion LGBTI rights, concerns and influence the way the police work with our community.

The 5 minutes you spend visiting https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VGLRL2017 will be some of the most important minutes you ever contribute to community!

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

Grace

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

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

Grace

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

Same-sex partner bereavement study – participants wanted

// January 16th, 2016 // No Comments » // Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

Same-sex partner bereavement study – participants wanted by a Monash University research team who aim to investigate the experience of same-sex-attracted individuals who have lost a partner to non-AIDS-related causes. This study will provide valuable information regarding the supports that help individuals through bereavement.

Follow this link to participate:-
http://monasheducation.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_51RaR3DeMgxkRFP

Where men and women like (and hate) to be touched

// October 31st, 2015 // No Comments » // Around the globe, Media discussion, Research

Mark Frauenberger reports in Boing Boing about the results of a fascinating study by researchers from Aalto University in Finland, the University of Oxford, and the University of Turku in Finland who developed “relationship-specific maps of bodily regions where social touch is allowed in a large cross-cultural dataset of over 1,368 people.”

Find out who can touch you and where.  Checkout: https://boingboing.net/2015/10/29/where-men-and-women-like-and.html

Where men and women like (and hate) to be touched

Shouting back: Street harassment & justice research

// October 8th, 2015 // No Comments » // Research, Within Victoria

If you are currently aged 18 or over, live in Melbourne (including surrounding suburbs), and have ever experienced street harassment in Melbourne, you are eligible to take part in this research study funded by the La Trobe University ‘Transforming Human Societies’ Research Focus Area and being run by Dr Bianca Fileborn, from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, La Trobe University.

The AVP urges you to consider participating in this street harassment research

VISIT: STREET HARASSMENT SURVEY WEBSITE

Steet harassment can be a very common experience. It includes a wide range of harassing or abusive behaviours occurring in public spaces, such as:
excessive staring,
verbal comments/cat-calling,
and wolf-whistling.

While harassment is common, there is currently very little Australian-based research on street harassment. Likewise, despite the apparent prevalence of street harassment, it is often not responded to by the criminal justice system or through other avenues. The AVP experience is that violence is vastly under-reported and harassment is reported even less so.

Bianca Fileborne’s project explores experiences of street harassment, and potential responses to street harassment, in Melbourne, Australia. It seeks to document the characteristics and impacts of street harassment in Melbourne, and to explore what justice ‘needs’ victims of street harassment might have, and the ways in which these needs could be fulfilled.

FREE LGBT relationship enhancement program – register now!

// October 1st, 2015 // No Comments » // Relationships, Research, Within Australia, Within Victoria

LaTrobe University partnered by The Queensland University and Couple Care are offering a FREE LGBT relationship enhancement program.

This world first research is about making relationships better and stronger and helping same-sex couples achieve a higher level of relationship satisfaction.

Register your interest now:
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/school-psychology-and-public-health/sex-health-and-society/couples-research-program/gay-and-lesbian/entry-form

Contemporary GLBTI experiences of and attitudes towards Victoria Police Survey

// June 16th, 2015 // No Comments » // Research, Within Victoria

The University of Melbourne research survey seeking views of your interactions with and attitudes towards Victoria Police has now closed. The aim of this survey is to gather the experiences and opinions of policing from gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex (GLBTI) and otherwise non-heteronormative and non-gender-normative Victorian residents. We’ll update you with further information from the researcher as its made available. Original link here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/?sm=5q51XjTCZRlajzHlQxmpoftVvlapRBSkRKVRXQ2cPPE%3D

An alarming number of transgender people killed worldwide with differences in Australia pointing towards the need for funding to commence urgent work.

// May 13th, 2015 // No Comments » // Around the globe, International, Research

An alarming number of transgender people have been killed worldwide in the last seven years, outlined in newly revised report: TARGET=”_blank”>http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/alarming-number-of-transgender-people-killed-worldwide-in-the-last-seven-ye

VicAVP executive director Greg Adkins says that in Australia, where killing of transgender people remains low in number, physical and emotional violence may remain high yet hidden by under-reporting”.

“We believe the cut-through in addressing violence against transgender people in Australia may come through changing an inherently homophobic society, behind which transphobia can live.

“We use the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia and the release of this report to call on state and federal governments to drive this work with adequate funding to lift mental & physical health outcomes for communities impacted by both homophobia & transphobia.

“The recent Victoria government budget provides a model to the nation of how this body of work can be undertaken, yet more urgent community-led work must be funded and commenced, especially where violence impacts mental health outcomes.

“The Federal Budget shows that there’s much yet to be done to get national leadership up to speed towards changing an inherently homophobic society, behind which transphobia can live”, said VicAVP executive director Greg Adkins.

Report your experience of violence here: