interview about workplace discrimination
rainbow wellington's achievements and goals
equality in nz: though pretty much everything is technically legal, it doesn't mean that there's not still heaps of discrimination
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it's very hard to find any statistics about lgbt people in new zealand
SCOBIE, CLAIRE. "LGBTI In The Workplace." Acuity 2.5 (2015): 54-56. Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre. Web. 24 July 2016:
Global companies now recognise that inclusion of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) communities is a significant work issue. In part this is because academic research on stigmatised identities – when people hide an aspect of themselves because of a stigma – has been shown to have a tangible impact on performance and productivity. “We find that with LGBTI people there is a tremendous amount of energy expended in trying to hide who they are because of fear that it will impact their workplace relationships and their careers,”HRC rights of sexual and gender minorities 2010
2013 amendments to the Sexual Discrimination Act (1984). “It is illegal at a federal level to discriminate or treat someone differently because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,” says Hough. “We now have a federal law that says, ‘you can’t do this’.” Despite legislative changes and the LGBTI communities becoming more acknowledged within broader society, an estimated 30-40% of people remain closeted at work. (This number is likely to be much higher for transgender or intersex individuals )
During [transition] Skinner lost her job and a year later is still unemployed, having applied for more than 350 positions in retail. “I would like to see application forms give another option rather than male or female, but include ‘other’,” she says.
..changed his name and returned to the workforce. Yet he found many employers didn’t “want to deal with transgender, it’s too much for them”. Unlike with the other members of the LGBTI community, there is a societal lack of education around transgender and intersex.
New Zealand is progressive in the formal legal equality protections provided to most sexual and gender minorities. Yet full legal equality has not been achieved; discrimination remains and appears pervasive in some areas; and barriers exist in the pathways to equality and security for some groups.
In just over 25 years, New Zealand has moved from a society where homosexual activity was illegal to one that promotes tolerance and understanding by respecting the diversity of individuals of all sexual orientations and, increasingly, diverse gender identities. This progress would not have been possible without years of activism and advocacy by civil society groups and the courage displayed by those who spoke out publicly as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex people.
Equality is affirmed by visibility, because it acknowledges a person’s place in society. In New Zealand, the visibility of diverse sexual and gender minorities helps to prevent stereotyping and remove barriers to equal participation. [???? some visibilty, anyway]
Visibility is a particular issue for sexual and gender minorities in relation to data collection. Official estimates of populations defined by sexual orientation and gender identity and relevant data on discrimination and social wellbeing are needed to monitor human rights status and to evaluate the economic, social, cultural and other impacts of policy and legislation on sexual and gender minorities. For example, the limited statistical information available about the lesbian population limits the health sector’s ability to monitor the health risks that lesbians face. Reliable data is also often required when agencies are seeking funding to provide services to target specific needs within the community. Lack of data may therefore lead to a lack of funding for community services. No official data is collected about sexual orientation. This is of particular concern to those civil society groups and individuals who have lobbied unsuccessfully for data collection for many years. The absence of a question on sexual orientation in the census and in population-based surveys, especially health surveys, is viewed by some as discriminatory. Data is collected on other forms of identity 43 protected from discrimination under New Zealand law, such as ethnicity, marital and family status, and religious belief. This issue echoes concerns raised about the lack of adequate data on disability in official statistics. 44
The Commission’s 2004 report noted that the lack of official data collection, including any census question on sexual orientation, was a serious impediment to advancing the rights of sexual and gender minorities. 46 Concerned at the lack of progress, in 2009 the Commission convened a roundtable with Statistics New Zealand and lesbian, gay and bisexual community leaders to discuss the official collection of sexual orientation data. A clear community view emerged that the absence of a question on sexual orientation was regarded as a fundamental violation of the rights to equality, participation and security. Concerns were expressed that the lack of official data limited the State’s ability to measure health, social and other outcomes and identify policy priorities for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Statistics New Zealand has expressed concern that homophobia and discrimination may result in negative reactions to a sexual-orientation question. 47 This may result in a poor-quality census response or in resistance, undermining the veracity of the data. The Commission has recommended that Statistics New Zealand establish an advisory group to enable consultation with diverse lesbian, gay and bisexual communities around the collection of sexual orientation data. 4
The Commission received 241 approaches relating to sexual orientation human rights issues between 2005 and 2009. The major areas of complaint related to discrimination (particularly within employment and when accessing goods and services), safety in schools, lack of official sexual-orientation data, the inability of same-sex couples to legally adopt or to marry, restrictions on blood donations, and the situation of lesbian and gay clergy.
Since the 2004 report, the number of complaints and inquiries to the Commission about discrimination faced by trans people has increased. There were a total of 272 such complaints and inquiries between 2005 and 2009.
Security and safety remain important issues for sexual and gender minorities, particularly trans and intersex people. A significant development in the past decade has been deeper understanding of gender-based violence – namely violence based on actual or perceived sex, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. 72 Gender-based violence includes, for example, violence against men who are, or are perceived to be, effeminate or homosexual or otherwise not to conform to social expectations of male roles or behaviour. The use of violence against people based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or sex is frequently grounded in misogyny and what it means to be a ‘real’ man or woman. Understanding this rationale exposes why, for example, the use of provocation as a defence to a murder charge has been so repugnant to sexual and gender minorities. 73
More than a quarter of submissions to the Transgender Inquiry raised concerns about the harassment, security and safety of trans people. These included examples of trans people who had been violently assaulted and hospitalised because of their gender identity.
Safety and security is a particular issue for young people, especially those who identify as queer or belonging to other sexual minorities. The Youth 2007 Survey analysed responses from more than 8000 secondary-school students about outcomes for same-sex-attracted and both-sex-attracted students. The survey revealed high levels of resilience and vitality among queer youth, and some health improvements since 2001. However, it also revealed higher levels of bullying, depression and suicide attempts experienced by these students compared with opposite-sex-attracted students. 74 The survey included no data on trans youth.
Trans and intersex students face additional barriers linked to their gender identity or sex diversity. These may include not being able to participate in sex specific activities (such as sport), use sex-segregated facilities (such as toilets), or express their sex/gender identity (for example, through using the appropriate name and pronoun on school rolls or wearing the appropriate school uniform).
THOMAS, HEATON. "Acceptance of LGBT people still a way to go." Manawatu Standard 03 Feb. 2015: 3. Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre. Web. 24 July 2016.
A Westpac survey on workplace equality found acceptance towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people was only "surface-deep", as at least a quarter of this community had felt oppressed at some point.
Only 49 per cent of the LGBT people surveyed felt they worked with colleagues who were accepting of their life choices.
The survey of more than 1000 people, including 250 from the LGBT community, found more than a third actively hid their sexuality.
People often said things like "that's so gay" without realising the term was offensive.
"The drip, drip, drip of subtle digs can actually end up more serious," Winn said.
suicide risk for gay/bi youth
One-fifth of gay and bisexual youths have attempted suicide and about half have harmed themselves, a new report shows.
The Youth '07 report has revealed that more than a third of gay or bisexual secondary school pupils had seriously considered suicide in the past year.
The report, led by Dr Simon Denny, of Auckland University's adolescent health research group, also showed higher rates of alcohol and drug use, sexually transmitted infections, and mental-health problems among gay and bisexual pupils in comparison with their heterosexual peers.
Borissenko, Sasha. "Inside & Outside : Sexual & Gender Diversity And The Legal Profession." Lawtalk (Online) (2015): Index New Zealand. Web. 26 July 2016.
RainbowYOUTH communications manager Toni Duder says there are no concrete figures relating to the number of LGBTIQ people in New Zealand. While Statistics New Zealand is looking into whether or not to change its approach, it does record same-sex relationships, but not identities. At the 2013 Census, there were a recorded 16,660 people living in a same-sex couple relationships in New Zealand – 7,340 male and 9,310 female. “We at RainbowYOUTH believe that marriage equality, while a huge and important step, is not nearly the end for gaining identity affirming rights for LGBTIQ people.
Adams, Jeffery, Pauline Dickinson, and Lanuola Asiasiga. "Mental Health Promotion For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender And Intersex New Zealanders."Journal Of Primary Health Care 5.2 (2013): 105-113 9p. CINAHL Complete. Web. 26 July 2016.
International research has reported higher rates of depression,^"' anxiety,^'''* and substance abuse'"" among GLBTI people. In New Zealand, the most robust links between sexuality and mental health have been made in the results from the Christchurch Health and Development Study, which determined non-heterosexual populations are an at-risk population for suicide and mental health problems."" Predominantly homosexual males in the study were found to experience mental health problems at over five times the rate for exclusively heterosexual males, including suicide attempts (28.6% and 1.6%, respectively) and suicidal ideation (71.4% and 10.9%)." Findings from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study have also confirmed a link between sexual orientation and self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempted suicide."
2. Gay teen youth suicide rates.Studies in New Zealand have shown same-sex high school students have higher rates of depression, suicide, self-harm and alcohol misuse than their heterosexual peers. It seems these statistics have been facing the gay community for decades now, and apart from a few tours of schools focusing on gay bullying, they have never been fully accepted nor addressed. Do gay youth need to be treated as differently from straight youth and gay youth suicide rates addressed seperatly from all teen suicide? The use of language is easily addressed. The use of ‘gay’ and ‘fag’ and ‘homo’ as everyday insults accepted by society has to change. It is not accepted to call someone a ‘nigger’ as an everyday insult in the school yard. So nor should anti-gay terms be accepted at schools at any stage. Of course, when we have a P.M. who happily states ‘gay’ means qierd and lesser, it clearlt illustrated how far we still need to go. We need to make our youth aware the future is fantastic and they are an important part in the future of New Zealand. And cherish them.3. Gay teen homelessness.This is connected with point 2. There are no figures in New Zealand for homeless teens, but stats out of America show gay youth are 4 TIMES more likely to be homeless than their straight peers. The reasons in America are religious parents who will not accept that their child is gay. NZ needs clear studies and we need numbers on what the stats are like for our country in relation to homeless gay teens. And we need to help them.4. Violence against gay people.Every weekend, and I mean that sincerly, my facebook feed is full of stories from around the country of casual violence experienced by gay people. We all know that NZ has huge issues with random violence, but when someone shouts ‘DIE FAGGOT’ as they are kicking a gay in the head, we are certainly seeing this directed at gay people. The police need to prosecute them as hate crimes and the sentence should be harsher. And people need to take care of each other when we are out now.
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