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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-05-17 Daily Xml
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INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:39): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question relating to discrimination.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Today is IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia. The Hon. Ian Hunter reminded this council recently that a 2010 La Trobe University study of 3,134 young people found a significant jump in homophobic violence in schools since 2005. The research also found a strong link between homophobic abuse and higher levels of self-harm and suicide. While young people aged between 15 and 24 are the highest risk bracket for suicide, if they are same-sex attracted the risk increases fourfold.

In the context of a need for support for this group, the Hon. Ian Hunter advised this council of his concern that South Australia's only stand-alone support program for LGBT youth, the Inside Out project, is threatened by this government. The government has decided to cut the Inside Out project's Friday night drop-in sessions and peer education training. In a report in blaze, Alex Durkin writes that workers say that the moves afoot would see:

A change in the definition of a client's vulnerability: sexuality would no longer be taken into consideration when defining someone as vulnerable.

The Chief Executive Officer of the AIDS Council of South Australia, Mr Dinnison, was quoted as saying:

GLBTI people in South Australia are all but invisible within public health policy in South Australia. Specific programs are needed to ensure that young gay, same-sex attracted and gender diverse people get the services they need.

I would note, in this context, that the Rann Labor government has already abolished the ministerial advisory council on gay health issues. I ask the minister:

1. As the minister responsible for the anti-discrimination legislation, does she consider that it is discriminatory to provide generic services which do not take into account distinctive vulnerabilities?

2. Will the minister act to ensure that any changes to support services to gay young people take into account their particular needs?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (14:41): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. Indeed, the issue of homophobia is unfortunately still alive and well in our community, and it is something that does indeed have considerable devastating consequences for our community. We know that, for those people who suffer this sort of discrimination, this can affect their health and wellbeing in a very significant way. We know that it can result in anxiety and depression, self-harm and, most importantly, even suicide.

This government is very committed to providing a wide range of support services to assist in promoting anti-discrimination, and we have very strong anti-discrimination legislation that deals with these matters. In relation to the specific services the honourable member refers to, they are obviously a matter for the Attorney-General, and I am happy to refer those to the Attorney-General and bring back a response.

The Hon. I.K. Hunter: And the Minister for Health.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: Yes, I was just going on to say that the Attorney-General is, in fact, responsible for broad aspects of the Equal Opportunity Act and, of course, the Minister for Health is responsible for health, safety and wellbeing programs, so he has responsibilities there. I will refer the relevant matters to those ministers in another place and bring back a response.

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