Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby

Last updated

The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL) is the peak lobby group in Victoria, Australia for the attainment of equality, human rights and social justice for the entire Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (GLBTI) community.[ citation needed ]

Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term was originally used to mean "carefree", "cheerful", or "bright and showy".

Lesbian Homosexual woman

A lesbian is a homosexual woman. The word lesbian is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexuality or same-sex attraction.

Transgender Gender identity that does not match assigned sex

Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their sex assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual. Transgender – often shortened as trans – is also an umbrella term: in addition to including people whose gender identity is the opposite of their assigned sex, it may include people who are not exclusively masculine or feminine. Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to a third gender, or else conceptualize transgender people as a third gender. The term transgender may be defined very broadly to include cross-dressers.

Contents

VGLRL was created in October 1997, following presentation of a report to a public meeting which proposed a model for a Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby. This model was accepted, and 21 days later the Lobby held its first annual general meeting, elected a management committee, adopted the rules of association, and began the process of incorporation. [1]

VGLRL has worked on a variety of issues such as domestic partnerships, [2] access to in vitro fertilisation and adoption, [3] and an end to homophobic violence. [4]

A domestic partnership is an interpersonal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and others.

In vitro fertilisation assisted reproductive technology procedure (ART) in which a women’s eggs are fertilized by sperm in a laboratory instead of inside the fallopian tube (in –vivo)

In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in vitro. The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a laboratory. After the fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is implanted in the same or another woman's uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

Adoption process whereby a person assumes the parenting for a child born by other parents

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from the biological parent or parents.

In 2009, it criticized the application of the instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders in Australian dioceses. [5] VGLRL also initiated the national Equal Love campaign, in an effort to win marriage rights for Australian gay and lesbian couples. [6]

Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders is a document published in November 2005 by the Congregation for Catholic Education, one of the top-level offices of the Catholic Church.

Equal Love organization

Equal Love is an Australian-wide campaign initiated by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country. The campaign involves a range of community, union, student and activist organisations whose aim is to influence public and government attitudes towards LGBT couples through education and direct action.

Committee

The VGLRL Committee is voted in by its membership at an annual general meeting scheduled in the Spring of each year. The Committee of Management is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, and each member usually heads a portfolio or working group.

The Committee is made up of up to 10 current VGLRL members - four of whom must be men who identify as gay, bisexual, queer or same sex attracted, four women who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and two positions that are non identified. The Committee of Management is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, and each member usually heads a portfolio or working group. [7]

Current Committee members include: [8]

Convenors

The current Co-Convenor is Dale Park [9]

See also

LGBT rights in Australia Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Australia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Australia have advanced since the late-twentieth century. LGBT people in Australia are afforded protection from discrimination and are equally regarded as individuals who possess the same rights and responsibilities as others.

Transgender rights in Australia enjoy legal recognition and protection under federal and state/territory laws, but the requirements for gender recognition vary depending on the jurisdiction. For example, birth certificates and driver licences are regulated by the states and territories, while Medicare and passports are matters for the Commonwealth.

Intersex rights in Australia

Intersex rights in Australia are protections and rights afforded to intersex people through statutes, regulations, and international human rights treaties, including through the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) which makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person based upon that person's intersex status in contexts such as work, education, provision of services, and accommodation.

Related Research Articles

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association is an international organization bringing together more than 1,300 LGBTI groups from around the world. It continues to be active in campaigning for LGBTQ rights and intersex human rights on the international human rights and civil rights scene, and regularly petitions the United Nations and governments. They are represented in 140+ countries across the world, and are accredited by the United Nations for NGO Ecosoc consultative status.

The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex Law Association is an international association of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex lawyers. The group also welcomes law professors, judges, law students, paralegals and laypersons, as long as they are committed to LGBTI equality under the law.

The LGBT community has adopted certain symbols for self-identification to demonstrate unity, pride, shared values, and allegiance to one another. LGBT symbols communicate ideas, concepts, and identity both within their communities and to mainstream culture. The two most-recognized international LGBT symbols are the pink triangle and the rainbow flag. The rainbow flag, previously used as a symbol of unity among all people, was adopted to be a more organic and natural replacement without any negativity attached to it.

Community Action Against Homophobia

Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) is a community activist organisation based in Sydney, Australia. Since its establishment in 1999, CAAH has aimed to eliminate homophobia and achieve full equality for queer people—defined as "lesbian, gay, bisexual, same sex attracted, transgender, intersex or non-heterosexually identifying" in the CAAH constitution.

LGBT Labour

LGBT Labour, the Labour Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, is a socialist society affiliated to the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Originally called the Gay Labour Group, the stated purpose of this organisation is to campaign within the Labour Party and wider Labour movement to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, as well as to encourage members of the LGBT community to support the Labour Party.

LGBT movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century and influential in achieving social progress for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and transsexual people.

Helem Lebanese LGBT organization

Helem is a Lebanese non-profit organization working on improving the legal and social status of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT). Helem is the first LGBT advocacy group in the Arab World. Helem means dream in Arabic.

LGBT rights in Oceania Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Oceania

Oceania is, like other regions, quite diverse in its laws regarding homosexuality. This ranges from significant rights granted to the LGBT community in New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and the Pitcairn Islands to remaining criminal penalties for homosexual activity in 6 countries and one territory. Although acceptance is growing across the Pacific, violence and social stigma remain issues for LGBTI communities. This also leads to problems with healthcare, including access to HIV treatment in countries such as Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands where homosexuality is criminalised.

National LGBT Bar Association

The National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Association, formerly the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, is a national association of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals, law students, activists, and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender legal organizations. It was formally founded in 1989 and became an official affiliate of the American Bar Association in 1992. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and its current executive director is D’Arcy Kemnitz.

LGBT rights in Victoria Human rights

The Australian state of Victoria is regarded as one of the most progressive jurisdictions with respect to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

The Brazilian Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual and Intersex Association, is a national network made up of 203 member groups, including about 141 gay, lesbian, and trans groups, and about 62 "collaborating" organizations which are involved with human rights and AIDS. Since July 2009, ABGLT has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Sexual orientation and gender identity in the Australian military

Sexual orientation and gender identity in the Australian military are no longer considered relevant considerations in the 21st century, with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) allowing LGBT people to serve openly and access the same entitlements as other personnel. The ban on gay and lesbian personnel was lifted by the Keating Government in 1992, with a 2000 study finding no discernible negative impacts on troop morale. In 2009, the First Rudd Government introduced equal entitlements to military retirement pensions and superannuation for the domestic partners of LGBTI personnel. Since 2010, transgender personnel may serve openly and may undergo gender transition with ADF support while continuing their military service. LGBTI personnel are also supported by the charity DEFGLIS, the Defence Force Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex Information Service.

LGBT rights in Western Australia

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Western Australia have seen significant progress since the beginning of the 21st century, with the Parliament of Western Australia passing comprehensive law reforms in 2002. The Australian state decriminalised male homosexual acts in 1990 and was the first to grant full adoption rights to LGBT couples in 2002. However, the Surrogacy Act 2008 bans single people and same-sex couples from altruistic surrogacy agreements, making Western Australia the only jurisdiction within Australia to maintain such a prohibition.

The National LGBTI Health Alliance is a peak health organisation for LGBT and intersex organisations in Australia. A not-for-profit company, it was established in August 2007. The Alliance is currently chaired by Susan Ditter; Rebecca Reynolds is Executive Director.

Outline of LGBT topics Overview of and topical guide to LGBT topics

The following outline is presented as an overview and topical guide to LGBT topics.

Intersex and LGBT Relationship between different sex and gender minorities.

Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies".

Sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military

In the past most lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) personnel had major restrictions placed on them in terms of service in the United States military. As of 2010 sexual orientation and gender identity in the United States military varies greatly as the United States Armed Forces have become increasingly openly diverse in the regards of LGBTQ people and acceptance towards them.

References

  1. Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby , retrieved 15 October 2008
  2. "New laws to mirror marriage rights for gay couples", Herald Sun , 5 December 2007, retrieved 15 October 2008
  3. Nader, Carol (1 May 2008), "Equality may lead to cut in payments", The Age , retrieved 15 October 2008
  4. "Vic: Gays live in fear, report", AAP , 20 June 2000, retrieved 15 October 2008[ dead link ]
  5. Melbourne Catholic Church to 'test' potential priests for homosexuality
  6. About Archived 2010-03-16 at the Wayback Machine Equal Love, retrieved 2010-01-27
  7. http://www.vglrl.org.au/about/constitution
  8. http://www.vglrl.org.au/get-active/vglrl-committee
  9. http://www.vglrl.org.au/get-active/vglrl-committee