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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-13 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:49): I rise today to draw members' attention to International Day Against Homophobia, which is being held this coming Sunday. On 17 May each year, International Day Against Homophobia is celebrated around the globe. International Day Against Homophobia was originally planned as a national day of action in Canada. It has since grown to an international day of action, with events planned around the world.

So, why 17 May? Well, it was on 17 May 1990, which is not that long ago, that the World Health Organisation officially removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. Up until that time, officially, I was mad!

Whilst WHO formally recognised this self-evident truth almost two decades ago, some communities around the world still see homosexuality as something either abnormal or even criminal. With that in mind, this year's theme is Homosexuality Knows No Borders because, of course, homosexuality is natural and everywhere. We are part of every community and are citizens of every country.

However, more than 80 countries around the world still criminalise homosexual behaviour with a variety of penalties. In seven of these countries the penalty is death. Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen all carry the death penalty for homosexual acts between consenting adults. That is correct: in seven countries around the world people are executed by the state for loving the people they love. In many more places the state turns a blind eye to vigilante style acts perpetrated against gay and lesbian victims. This is happening all around the world in all different kinds of societies.

Recently, some attention has been given to the executions of men and children in Iraq. These men had received a death sentence because they were homosexual. Gays Without Borders reported on 27 March that 128 prisoners were on death row in Iraq, many charged with the 'crime' of homosexuality. It is something that I have spoken in parliament about in the past.

Stories are coming out of the war torn nation of men, women and even children being tortured and summarily executed because their life does not conform to a doctrine of Islam that suggests that murdering children is more moral than living gay. An underground railway has been set up, similar to that seen for those escaping slavery in the United States 200 years ago, providing safe houses in Iraqi cities to help gay people escape persecution.

Another country where homophobia is rampant is the seemingly carefree holiday island of Jamaica. The act of homosexuality is still illegal on the Caribbean island and, despite violent attacks, police are unwilling to investigate even the most horrible of crimes. Some human rights campaigners even refer to Jamaica as the most homophobic place on Earth.

A story in The New York Times published in February last year highlighted how bad things are on that island, as follows:

For years, human rights groups have denounced the harassment, beating and even killing of gays here, to little avail. No official statistic has been compiled on the number of attacks. But a recent string of especially violent, high-profile assaults has brought fresh condemnation to an island otherwise known as an easygoing tourist haven.

In Russia, two Gay Pride organisers were arrested in March this year and charged with propaganda of homosexuality to minors.

The trial of Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur is yet another example of homophobia. The charges of sodomy to defame a political opponent demonstrate how ingrained prejudice is in some communities around the world.

This Sunday I will be joining the AIDS Council of South Australia to celebrate sexual diversity at its Stars Against Homophobia event at Higher Ground. ACSA has been collecting community stories about how homophobia has impacted people's lives. I will be reviewing these stories on the day and hope to be able to bring some of them to the attention of members of the council in due course.

I encourage all members to take a moment on Sunday to think about how they might go about addressing the issue of homophobia. Challenging bigotry and hate whenever it occurs in day-to-day conversation would be a great start.

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