18th April 2013

Marriage Equality and Queer Youth

Last night’s passing of the Marriage (Definition of Marriage) Amendment Bill, which once in force will allow any two consenting adults to marry each other, was a major milestone in the journey towards a nation free of homophobia and transphobia, says QSA Network Aotearoa, a Wellington-based national support network for LGBTQI youth in New Zealand.

The group praised the courage of lawmakers like Labour Party MP Louisa Wall, who introduced the Bill, and congratulated the 77 MPs who voted in favour of it at last night’s Third Reading, for being on the right side of history.

However, the group expressed concern that there are many serious issues affecting the wellbeing of LGBTQI youth in New Zealand that remain unaddressed by Parliament.

“Last night’s result reflects the fact that New Zealand as a nation stands resolutely against discrimination,” said QSA Network Aotearoa patron and New Zealand Olympic speed-skater Blake Skjellerup. “Growing up today is different to what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Each individual has a different story, their lives can be marred with struggles, and revelled with triumphs. We don't know their story, but we need to make an effort to. QSA Network was established to allow the youth of today to educate and support one another, no matter their sexuality or gender identity. A law may have changed, but it will take some time before we see a social change, and a true understanding of each others differences. QSA Network is about diversity and understanding. The youth of today are inspiring, and we should not be so quick to judge them for their differences.”

The Youth ’07 Report, published by the University of Auckland in 2009, speaks to the national crisis that blights high schools across the country; it found that ‘same/both sex attracted’ youth were at least five times more likely to commit suicide than their straight counterparts. “All bullying is horrific and unacceptable, but this disparity makes it impossible to deny that LGBTQI youth have it particularly hard,” says Skjellerup.

On Friday 17th May of this year, New Zealand will observe Pink Shirt Day, a day of action against bullying which began when two students in Canada distributed 50 pink shirts to classmates, in support of a fellow student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school. QSA Network Aotearoa will be working alongside a number of other groups, such as the Mental Health Foundation, to organise awareness-raising flash mobs all over New Zealand.

“Although bullying does affect a large and varied group of people, it is alarming to note that the Youth ‘07 statistics also show us that of those students who have been bullied, five times as many had been bullied because they were gay or because people thought they were gay, compared to their opposite-sex attracted peers,” says Skjellerup. “It’s really important to draw attention to how a large percentage of the bullying going on in schools is driven by homophobia and transphobia.”

QSA Network Aotearoa was founded in 2012 to support young people in setting up and sustaining Queer-Straight Alliances, also known as diversity groups, in high-schools, in order to make New Zealand schools safer for queer and trans* youth. It works to provide resources to students wishing to start and maintain these groups, which aim to provide peer support, combat bullying and spread awareness about issues queer and trans* students face at school. QSA Network Aotearoa is a non-profit trust that depends upon donations from individuals and groups to continue its work.

More information about the group, including how to get involved in the Pink Shirt Day campaign or donate, can be found out through contacting the group at hello@qsanetwork.org.nz

You can also visit them on the web at www.qsanetwork.org.nz or on their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/qsanetworkaotearoa.

About Us

QSA Network Aotearoa is an organisation that supports young people in starting, strengthening and sustaining queer straight alliances (QSAs)in New Zealand secondary schools. We connect QSAs to each other and community resources through peer support, leadership development, and training.

QSA Network supports young people in starting, strengthening, and sustaining QSAs and builds the capacity of QSAs to:

1. create a space where students can socialise in a safe environment
2. provide support for students who might be facing issues such as bullying
3.spread awareness about homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, gender identity and sexual orientation issues within the school.

What We Mean When We Say...

Queer : is a reclaimed word that represents sexuality and gender diversity. We use it to encompass lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, fa'afafine, and takataapui identities, as well as everyone in between and not sure. This word is used by many people, but it is also appreciated that it is not the preferred term for everybody.

Trans*: QSA Network Aotearoa uses the word 'trans*’ as an umbrella term for gender-diverse people, including for example; whakawahine, tangata ira tane, FtM, MtF, transsexual, fa'afafine, transgender, whakawahine, transmen, transwomen, akava'ine, leiti, genderqueer and gender-neutral people.

The Stats

Our experience as a queer and trans* focused organisation is that our communities are powerful, resourceful, and full of hope for change. Still, many young people are affected by massive and wide-ranging discrimination across Aotearoa.

The stats reflect this reality:

• queer youth are four times as likely to have attempted suicide

• Over 60% of queer youth have been physically hit at school and this group is more than twice as likely as their heterosexual counterparts to not attend school out of fear that they will be hurt or bothered

• They are also more than twice as likely to self-harm and three times as likely to experience depressive symptoms

• These elevated statistics indicate the coping mechanisms these young people have developed as a result of the harassment they experience within society and within their school

Similarly, trans* people in New Zealand face discrimination that undermines their ability to have a secure family life, to find accommodation, to work, to build a career and to participate in community life (HRC 2007)

The 2007 HRC Transgender report found that at worst, there was constant harassment and vicious assault.

For more information on issues facing young queer people in Aotearoa, visit the Youth 07 Report.

For more information on issues facing trans* people in Aotearoa visit the Human Rights Commision page: Trans people: facts and information

ENDS

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