Call For The Queensland LGBT Community To Help Academics End Gay Hate Crimes

Bond and Griffith universities in Australia are calling for assistance from the LGBT communities within the Queensland area to try and help them bring gay hate crimes to an end.

Dr Alan Berman, Socio-Legal Adjunct Research Fellow at Griffith University, one of the academics leading this project, spoke with Queensland Pride, of how the project had already achieved a good response to their ‘Stop Gay Hate Now’ survey, both on the internet and at the Brisbane Pride Fair Day in June, but how they also needed at least 200 more by the end of October if the research project was going to be able to properly gauge Queenslanders’ experience of homophobic violence, and also be seen to have enough credibility by political and legal institutions in Queensland.

When all the surveys have been completed, Berman and his fellow researchers, will then work to compile the results into a report for presentation in March 2010. Within this report, there will not only be the findings of the survey, but also recommendations for both legal and political institutions in the state to help reduce the levels of violence against the LGBT community.

The results Berman has analysed so far indicate this is an issue that is definitely in need of some attention, with a large number of LGBT people in Queensland still facing significant levels of violence and harassment, particularly in the country and regional areas. It also indicates the need for a better relationship between the police and the LGBT community with results showing three quarters of these gay hate crimes are never reported.

The findings of this report are definitely going to make interesting reading, but it’s likely that the political impact it will have won’t be quick, as sadly Queensland has long been one of the  least accepting states for  the LGBT community in Australia, having not decriminalised homosexual acts between men until 1990. Nevertheless, even  if progress is slow, the fact that this report is being produced, and will be seen not only by the state, but the world, means that there is likely to be a lot of support and pressure for the changes that need to be made, to be made.

You can learn more at Queensland Pride.

Photo by David Jackmanson.