I was struck by David Marr's article in today's SMH, noting that NSW law "allows private schools to expel gay students simply for being gay", in actuality for being out and for not "repenting" when put on the spot in DADT environments.
The law is the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (NSW), the subject of unsuccessful reform bids such as the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Equality in Education and Employment) Bill 2005 (NSW). That Bill sought to removes certain exemptions in the 1977 Act, so as to prohibit private educational authorities from discrimination in education on the grounds of sex, transgender status, marital status, disability, homosexuality or age. It also sought to prohibit private educational authorities from discrimination in employment against certain applicants and employees on the ground of sex, transgender status, marital status, disability and homosexuality and to provide that an existing exemption in relation to the provision by religious
bodies of social, charitable or welfare services to the public, or to the provision of primary, secondary or tertiary education by religious bodies. Such bodies enjoy tax advantages and often receive very substantial funding from Commonwealth and state/territory governments.
NSW Attorney-General, John Hatzistergos, perhaps conscious of the coming election, reportedly characterises the statute as necessary "to maintain a sometimes delicate balance between protecting individuals from unlawful discrimination while allowing people to practise their own beliefs". Wrap one's belief in a cope & cassock, invoke the Koran or other sacred text, and the discrimination is, of course, no longer "unlawful".
NSW law exempts private schools from any obligation to enrol or deal fairly with LGBTQI students, with expulsion requiring neither disruption, harassment nor what the SMH dubs "the flaunting of sexuality", as "being homosexual is enough".
Being - or merely being perceived as - LGBTQI can result in children and young people experiencing a very tangible hell at the hands of their peers, teachers and guardians, with last year's third Writing Themselves In report [PDF] on the Sexuality, Health and Well-Being of Same-Sex Attracted Young People noting pervasive vilification and physical violence. That cruelty is implicitly endorsed by institutions that quarantine minors from rights that are recognised elsewhere.
Marr quotes then attorney-general Paul Landa as explaining "The facts of political life require acceptance of the claim of churches to conduct autonomous educational institutions with a special character and faith commitment". We certaintly can't let mere human rights get in the way of the sacredness of the facts of political life and religious dogma.
Marr goes on to quote ACON chief executive Nicolas Parkhill as condemning the law as -
deeply offensive, patently unethical and damaging to our society on multiple levels. Recent research shows that young same-sex-attracted people are up to 14 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers and that 80 per cent of the verbal or physical abuse they experience occurs in schools.Greens MP David Shoebridge is elsewhere quoted as commenting that there is no place in the 21st century for any school expelling young students because of their sexuality -
Allowing religious schools to reinforce this negative experience by giving them the right to expel the victims of homophobic attitudes is incomprehensible.
It is remarkable that the Labor attorney-general will stand up to defend the right of a private school to sack a teacher for becoming a single mother, but stays silent when young people are being actively discriminated against for being honest and open about their sexual identity.Without indulging in religious hatred one can question the cruelty or lack of compassion evident in clerical resistance to human rights within the sphere of education.
NSW deserves more from its leaders than silence and fear in the face of the well-connected and well-resourced religious lobby.
It is the job of governments to protect the vulnerable, not bow to the powerful.
Frères humains qui apres nous vivezDr Lynne Hillier, in asking whether tackling homophobia in schools is "in the too hard basket", acutely commented that -
N'ayez les cœurs contre nous endurciz,
Car, se pitié de nous povres avez,
Dieu en aura plus tost de vous merci.
Vous nous voyez ci-attachez cinq, six
Quant de la chair, que trop avons nourrie,
Elle est pieça devoree et pourrie,
Et nous les os, devenons cendre et pouldre.
De nostre mal personne ne s'en rie:
Mais priez Dieu que tous nous vueille absouldre!
1. Historically there has been broad institutional backing for homophobic beliefs through the church, psychiatry, psychology and the law. Despite many of the institutions later reneging on those beliefs, they remain pervasive today and are behind homophobic bullying at school and in the community.We might make a small but useful start in freeing some kids from hell by removing anti-discrimination exception and by refusing, as society, to reward homophobic institutions with gifts from the state.
2. It is harder for those working with young people to challenge homophobic abuse than other bullying, such as that based on race or gender. This is because teachers and others are fearful of a backlash from parents and the community. They are fearful of losing their jobs or of being accused of encouraging that lifestyle or of being homosexual themselves. Young people often complain that the abuse is ignored.
3. It is more difficult for young people to access help. To get help young people have to disclose their sexuality. This is often too great a risk to take and so they bear the abuse in silence with no support. This is when they are most at risk of self-harm and suicide.
4. The alienation from homophobic bullying is likely to be more absolute. It is enacted systematically against a person on the basis of suspected membership of a group, however, unlike members of other minority groups who often share their minority status with their families and are therefore supported by them, parents of same sex attracted young people are in most cases heterosexual and expect their children to be heterosexual as well.
