13 May 2022

IDAHOBIT 2022: show your support for our LGBTIQ+ community and you could win Geelong Cats Pride merch!

To celebrate IDAHOBIT this year, Deakin University, together with the Geelong Cats, are showing their united support of the LGBTIQ+ community by celebrating IDAHOBIT while raising awareness of the work that is still needed to eliminate discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people.

About IDAHOBIT

IDAHOBIT is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia & Transphobia and is held annually on 17 May. It marks the anniversary of the World Health Organisation’s removal of the classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1990 and celebrates LGBTIQ people globally while raising awareness for the work still needed.

Our LGBTIQ+ community needs your support

Our LGBTIQ+ communities are diverse and have varied experiences. As a society, we’ve made significant steps towards supporting, celebrating and respecting LGBTIQ+ communities and while the majority of LGBTIQ+ people feel supported, there is still work to be done to ensure that all LGBTIQ+ people feel safe, supported and celebrated by family, peers and the general community. It’s also important to understand that LGBTIQ+ people may face discrimination or disadvantage based on the many intersecting parts of their identities, including ethnicity, language, faith, class, socioeconomic status, ability, and age.

Recent studies show:

• LGBTIQ+ people continue to experience discrimination stigma, and abuse in many aspects of their lives [1] resulting in higher rates of depression and anxiety in the LGBTIQ+ community than the general population.
• More than half of LGBTIQ+ people report being treated unfairly to some degree because of their sexual orientation in the past 12 months [2].
• More than three-quarters of trans and gender diverse people report being treated unfairly to some degree because of their sexual orientation in the past 12 months [3].

No one should experience violence or discrimination because of their sexuality or gender identity. Together, we are asking you to listen, learn and show your support the LGBTIQ+ people in your family, school, workplace and the wider community. Lead with respect and ask what they need to feel safe.

Listen

Hearing the stories of members of the LGBTIQ+ community is a powerful way to gain a better understanding of their experiences. There are many stories to be heard, here are just a few that we encourage you to listen to:

• Sarah’s story – Stories like Sarah’s highlight the way that Deakin Residential Services focuses on the RESPECT values to create welcoming, safe and inclusive communities on campus.
• Rob’s story is his experience of being treated differently and how he is overcoming depression. His story is part of the Stop. Think. Respect. Campaign by Beyond Blue.
• Sally and Manika tell their story as part of the Pride, Respect, Equality campaign highlighting the important role that families can play in supporting and celebrating LGBTIQ+ loved ones. 

Learn

• Find out how to be an active ally for LGBTIQ+ people, champion LGBTIQ+ communities and call out inequality where it exists.
• Respect people’s pronouns and demonstrate respect through using inclusive language. Learn about inclusive language and how to apply it.
• Learn about the impacts of discrimination and how the things people say and do can impact on mental health and wellbeing.
• Proud2Play are hosting a free lunchtime event on IDAHOBIT! Register for the ‘Allyship in sport and movement settings’ session to learn about allyship, how to be an active ally to LGBTIQ+ people and how to respond and address discrimination and adopt inclusive behaviours.

Show your support

Go rainbow for IDAHOBIT – have your photo taken on the Pride Stairs on your campus and submit it via the form below to go into the draw to win one of two prize packs with a total value of $210!

• Geelong Cats Pride hoodie and cap
• Geelong Cats Pride badge tee and scarf

Entries close at 5pm on Friday 20 May 2022 and we’ll announce the winner on Monday 30 May 2022. Good luck! Terms and conditions below.

This competition is now closed. Congratulations to winners Elisha Bhattarai and Chloe Dijkmans!

How we are showing our support for the LGBTIQ+ community

The Geelong Cats showed their support for the LGBTIQ+ community this year when they hosted their first home Pride Round match during the AFLW season to celebrate inclusiveness in football. Both the men’s and women’s players got behind the game wearing rainbow during training sessions as well as their first ever AFLW Pride Guernsey providing a powerful message of inclusion and acceptance.

Deakin launched the Pride Stairs at all four of campuses in celebration of Deakin’s commitment to inclusion and seek to create a sense of belonging. The stairs are a symbolic representation of the Pride Progress Flag and includes transgender Pride flag colours, black and brown stripes to represent marginalised LGBTIQ+ communities of colour plus the traditional rainbow flag colours.

Deakin University and Deakin University Student Association (DUSA) are proud to have an exciting new membership with Pride in Sport. Pride in Sport is a national not-for-profit sporting inclusion program specifically designed to assist sporting organisations of all levels with the inclusion of employees, athletes, coaches, volunteers and spectators with diverse sexualities and genders. Joining Pride in Sport is a key step for Deakin, to ensure that all people have the right to freely participate through the implementation of inclusive practices to ensure the safe and equal inclusion of LGBTQIA+ identifying people.

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