LGBTIQ+ young people are part of an intergenerational rainbow culture – a diverse community that continues to face challenges including stigma, isolation and discrimination, which can lead to mental distress.
As a CAMHS clinician, it’s important to understand the cultural history and context of LGBTIQ+ communities in NSW and Australia, and the impact of societal and cultural attitudes, laws and history on LGBTIQ+ young people. This will help you to:
- affirm and demonstrate that you are interested in learning about their experience of the world and strengthening the therapeutic alliance
- understand some of the potential contributors to their mental health distress
- provide person-centred and trauma-informed support for better health outcomes.
Timeline of LGBTIQ+ rights in NSW
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Time immemorial
Experiences before colonisation
Aboriginal peoples have always had processes and ways of being and doing that includes their own understandings of sexuality, gender and sex characteristics. Today Aboriginal LGBTIQ+ people are a diverse and vital part of LGBTIQ+ communities.
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1788
British colonisation of lands now known as New South Wales (NSW)
Aboriginal understandings of gender, sexuality, family, community and bodily integrity impacted by colonisation, including both historical and current trauma.1
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Late 1788–1863
Sexual acts a capital offence in NSW
Australian colonies followed British anti-deviant laws such as the Buggery Act 1533, under which sexual activity between men could be punished with execution.
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1899–1900
Sexual acts downgraded from a capital offence
In the Australian colonies, punishment for the ‘abominable crime of buggery’ is life imprisonment.
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1924
NSW reduces the penalty for some sexual acts from life imprisonment to 14 years
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1957
Cooma Correctional Facility used to imprison homosexual offenders
This NSW prison was reopened on 8 March 1957 for the sole purpose of incarcerating homosexual offenders, and was the only institution of its kind in the world. It became a mainstream men’s prison in 1984, when homosexuality was legalised in NSW.2
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1970
Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) founded
One of Australia's first gay rights organisations, CAMP raised the profile and acceptance of Australia's lesbian and gay communities.3
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1978
The first Sydney Mardi Gras
On the ninth anniversary of the 1969 New York Stonewall Riots (which led to the birth of the gay pride movement), several hundred people marched from Taylor Square to Hyde Park in Sydney celebrating gay pride. When they tried to move through barricades, police moved in and 53 people were arrested; some of whom were violently assaulted by police.
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1979
Mardi Gras becomes a festival
The following year, Mardi Gras celebrations included a full-week festival, including the Gay Alternative Fair Day in Hyde Park. More than 3,000 people marched during the 10-year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, with no arrests.
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1980
Australian Transsexual Association (ATA) founded in Sydney
ATA founded by a small group of trans and gender diverse people to advocate for legal and social change, meeting at the Wayside Chapel.
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1981
Mardi Gras moves to summer
Pride Parade moved its date to summer and is now celebrated in February. June remains a month to reflect on the work of the community to fight for LGBTIQ+ rights.
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1984
Homosexuality legalised in NSW
Consenting sexual intimacy between two cisgender men aged 18+ was made legal in NSW by the Crimes (Amendment) Act 1984. Age of consent for heterosexual consensual sex was 16 years old.
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1994
Homosexuality legalised across most of Australia
The Human Rights (Sexual Conduct Act) 1994 legalised homosexuality in every state and territory except Tasmania, which followed in 1997.
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2003
Age of consent updated
The age of consent for sexual intimacy between cisgender men is updated to 16, to align with other age of consent laws.
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2007
Sexual orientation no longer described as a mental illness
Homosexuality is no longer considered a mental illness in NSW under Section 16(1d) of the Mental Health Act 2007.4
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2009
Same sex relationships legally recognised in NSW
The NSW Government introduces legislation allowing for the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, including property rights and other legal benefits available to heterosexual couples.
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2010
Intersex Human Rights Australia (IHRA) formed
This national body (formerly Organisation Intersex International (OII) and now know as InterAction) is founded by and for people with intersex variations and their families.
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2013
Intersex flag and rights in the spotlight
The now internationally recognised intersex flag is created by Morgan Carpenter of Intersex Human Rights Australia.5 The Australian Senate report Involuntary or Coerced Sterilisation of Intersex People in Australia raises concerns about medical ethics and the human rights of people with intersex variations.6
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2014
‘Gay panic’ defence for violence against LGBTIQ+ people removed from NSW legal code
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March 2017
Darlington Statement is published
This joint consensus statement by Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand intersex organisations and independent advocates sets out priorities and calls for equality by the intersex human rights movement.
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December 2017
Same-sex marriage legalised in Australia
Federal Parliament legalises same-sex marriage following a Marriage Equality Postal Survey.5
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July 2022
Disability rights
An amendment to explicitly include and recognise LGBTIQ+ individuals with a disability in NSW was added to the Disability Inclusion Act 2014.
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2024
NSW Equality Legislation Amendment (LGBTIQA+) and LGBTQ+ conversion practices bills passed
The Equality Bill was passed by NSW parliament, calling for increased right for LGBTIQA+ individuals living in NSW including access to gender affirming care, recognition and rights of rainbow families, workplace rights, sex work rights, identity document reform for trans and gender diverse people.
The conversion practices bill bans formal and informal LGBTQ+ conversion practices based on the false ideology that LGBTQ+ people have a ‘disorder’, are ‘broken’ or require treatment.
References
- TransHub. Understanding our roots. Sydney, NSW: ACON; 2021 [cited 11 Sept 2024].
- BBC News. Cooma jail: Prison that was once 'world's only jail for gay men'. UK; 2022 [cited Sept 2024].
- Kaplan G. The Meagre Harvest: the Australian women's movement 1950s-1990s. St Leonards: Allen & Unwin; 1996. p. 93.
- Australasian Legal Information Institute. Mental Health Act 2007: Sec 16. Sydney, NSW [cited Sept 2024].
- InterAction. An intersex flag. The Channon, NSW: InterAction; 2020 [cited Sept 2024].
- Parliament of Australia. Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia. Canberra, ACT; 2013 [cited Sept 2024].
- ABC News. Same-sex marriage bill passes House of Representatives. Sydney, NSW; 2017 [cited Sept 2024].