By Oliver Lees
A Sunbury and Cobaw Community Health (SCCH) team member has described the public debate around the federal government’s religious discrimination bill as “incredibly distressing” for those who identify as a member of the LGBTIQA+ community.
Politicians, the public and the media have been discussing the details of the Religious Discrimination Act in recent weeks, as the bill originally passed through the House of Representatives on February 10.
However a final decision on the legislation has since been delayed.
The debate has centred on the right of religious schools to discriminate against gay and transgender students.
As someone who works daily with LGBTIQA+ members of the community at SCCH, Rhani Dean-Talbett has seen firsthand the toll that the public discussion of the rights of gender diverse people in schools has had on their wellbeing.
“It’s particularly distressing for trans, gender diverse and nonbinary people because their identities, and their very existence is being publicly debated,” she said.
“LGBTIQA+ community members already experience poor mental health outcomes and that’s because of the marginalisation and stigma that they’re often receiving.”
Ms Dean-Talbott’s work is centred on creating inclusive spaces through community events, social support, in-school programs and training.
She said nurturing these environments was critical to improving wellbeing outcomes for young LGBTIQA+ individuals.
“Having safe spaces where people can actually live and be their true authentic selves without fear of discrimination or harassment is incredibly important,” she said.
“We want to increase these spaces in the community, not the other way around.”
