Victorian premier apologises for history of criminalisation of homosexuality

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Victoria, Australia premier Daniel Andrews, speaking in parliament yesterday, apologised for the state's history of 'abominable' laws under which homosexuality could be punished with jail time.

"For decades, we were obsessed with the private mysteries of men. And so we jailed them, we harmed them, and in turn, they harmed themselves", said Andrews.

He noted that while those laws haven't been in force since the 1980s, many still have criminal records because of them. Many are trying to clear their records; so far, six have completed the process.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, eleven in 100 Australians identify as being a part of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex community. They have triple the general population's rate of depression, and six in ten admit they have been verbally abused.

Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said earlier, "Australia post-war was a very, very intolerant place towards gay people, particularly gay men, and today we're going to apologise for that."

His apology follows one earlier this year by the New South Wales parliament to the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras marchers in 1978, that apology led by the member for Coogee, Bruce Notley-Smith.

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Sources

AAP. "Victorian premier sorry for 'abominable' laws punishing homosexuality" — The Guardian, May 24, 2016
"Old Victorian laws criminalising homosexuality 'profoundly wrong', Premier says in apology" — ABC News (Australia), May 24, 2016
"Face the facts: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People" — Australian Human Rights Commission, May 24, 2016 (date of access)
Daisy Dumas. "NSW Parliament apologises to the 78ers who began the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras" — The Sydney Morning Herald, February 25, 2015

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