PREAMBLE
As a movement founded on a pillar of social justice, the Greens want to advance the rights of the LGBTIQA+ people because discrimination remains in many areas of life, such as law, policing, relationship recognition, housing, education, employment, health, prisons, immigration, and myriad other forums The term LGBTIQA+ refers to the identities of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer, Asexual and other people (LGBTIQA+). In different cultures, countries, languages and religions, the identities of people who cross sexuality, gender or sex boundaries are constructed in different ways, but they are oppressed by patriarchy, sexism, heterosexism and transphobia. The Greens wish to increase awareness, understanding and join the fight for full rights for the LGBTIQA+ communities.
VISION
The vision is to build a sustainable and just society where everyone is valued, respected and empowered regardless of their sexuality, gender identity or intersex status. The Greens envision a world free from discrimination based on sexuality, gender identity or gender expression — a world in which difference is accepted and celebrated.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the Greens is to support the LGBTIQA+ communities, organisations, movements, and individuals and continue to build relationships to advance the rights of these communities. We support legal and anti-discrimination measures as well as education to achieve this. The Greens support the LGBTIQA+ groups within Green parties and seek to grow the global LGBTIQA+ network comprising representatives of all Green parties.
ACTION PLAN
The action plan of the Greens is to eliminate heterosexism and transphobia from society. In keeping with the Green key values of diversity, social justice, equality, and feminism, the Greens support full legal and political equality for all persons including the LGBTIQA+ regardless of sex, gender, or sexuality. Therefore, the Greens strive to –
Rights of LGBTIQA+
- Acknowledge that LGBTIQA+ people have fundamental human rights and are entitled to equal protection of the law without any discrimination, including on the basis of sex, sexuality, gender identity, relationship, or intersex status
- Demand decriminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual relations, legal recognition of transgender people and people of marginalised genders, protection of the right to bodily autonomy including for intersex people, and equal rights for same-sex relationships
- Support the freedom to marry and otherwise be in a recognised relationship, and all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities thereof, without discrimination based on sex, gender, or sexuality
- Enact laws to defend the civil liberties, human rights and democratic freedoms of people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and intersex status
- Oppose all forms of discrimination and violence targeted at the -LGBTIQA+ individuals or community
- Ensure that intersex, transgender and gender diverse people are able to remove or alter their sex or gender on all official documents, consistent with how they live and identify, irrespective of their marital status, without the requirement for gender affirmation surgery or hormonal therapy
- Abolish laws against sex between men and between women, and all laws specifically used against sexuality and gender minorities
- Free all prisoners incarcerated because of anti-LGBTIQA+ laws
- Remove convictions for homosexual acts between consenting adults from legal records
- Decriminalise sex work
- Ensure the rights of the LGBTIQA+ individuals in regard to property, personal liberty, and life because of their sexual orientation and behaviour
- Oppose laws and policies that censor, ban, hinder, or repress LGBTIQA+ information, public behaviour, speech, work, and other initiatives.
- End humiliating interrogations by police and authorities of LGBTIQA+ people, including refugees and sex workers
- Consult with the community to evaluate policies and services impacting on the LGBTIQA+ community.
Discrimination
- Grant asylum to people persecuted in their own countries on the basis of their sexuality, gender identity or intersex status
- Recognise same gender relationships in immigration, ensure LGBTIQA+ people do not face discrimination in migration, student visas and labour migration
- Ensure that the public is informed about the historic and endemic discrimination against people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and their communities
- Enact anti-discrimination laws for people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and intersex variations.
- Remove exemptions of religious organisations from anti-discrimination laws
- Harmonise age of consent laws ensuring there is no distinction between heterosexual and non-heterosexual sex
- Ensure that society is free of discrimination based on family formation or relationship status, or the sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status of parents and carers
- Ensure that LGBTIQA+ persons do not face police violence and harassment through training programmes of police
- Create a police force that has the skills, numbers, training and public trust to provide safety and a sense of security to the LGBTIQA+ communities
- Enable a political system that allows LGBTIQA+ to have a better chance at voting for and electing persons that represent their interests
- Within the queer communities, oppose all instances of sexism, racism, transphobia and discrimination against people with disabilities and HIV
- Ensure LGBTIQA+ individual or family access to social housing with adequate privacy
- Include and celebrate diversity as essential for social justice and equality
Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Identity
- Recognise transgender and non-binary gender identities
- Add protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex people by introducing hate crime legislation
- Ensure that trans and gender diverse young people have freedom to affirm their gender
- Enact laws to explicitly include gender and sexuality identity and expression as protected grounds of discrimination
- Enact law to include gender and sexuality identity and expression in hate sentencing and hate propaganda provisions
- Support the right of all persons to self-determination with regard to gender, sex, and sexuality identity
- Support the right of intersex and transgender individuals to be free of coercion and involuntary assignment of gender or sex
- Remove sex and gender from all birth and identity documents
- Introduce a requirement for provision of gender-neutral public toilet facilities
Health
- Support the right of LGBTIQA+ persons to receive healthcare, without discrimination, harassment, or violence based on sex, gender, or sexual orientation
- Ensure access to a full range of publicly-funded health services for all persons no matter their sex, sexuality, gender identity or intersex status
- Oppose involuntary medical or surgical treatment — including the involuntary treatment of children — to assign gender identity or sex
- Support access to health, medical and surgical treatment for assignment or reassignment of gender or sex, based on informed consent
- Ensure adequate funding for services to address the whole-of-life health and welfare needs of people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and intersex variations
- Ban reparative, sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapies
- Consult and develop training programmes directed at achieving diversity and inclusiveness and eliminating heterosexism transphobia and prejudice based on gender status
- Train service providers to give care to people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and intersex variations and their families
- Introduce legislation for transgender rights so as to improve health services for trans patients
- Invest in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and treatment so that everyone can access free comprehensive confidential HIV testing and treatment, and that prophylactic medications are available to all who want to take them
Education
- Support public education to end prejudice and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
- Support the right of LGBTIQA+ persons to receive education without discrimination, harassment, or violence based on sex, gender, or sexual orientation
- Ensure that the education system provides age-appropriate information to students, and training and resources to teachers, about respectful relationships and the diversity of sexuality, gender identity, intersex variations and family structures
- Remove government funding for schools and colleges that teach that LGBTIQA+ people are sinful, sick or inferior
- Include sexual orientation and gender identity in teacher training
- Encourage schools and rainbow youth organisations to work together to reduce drug abuse and suicide
Relationships and Domestic Violence
- Ensure that all de facto relationships have equal status in law and government policy regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status
- Ensure equal access, regardless of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or marital status, to adoption/fostering, altruistic surrogacy and assisted reproductive treatment
- Ensure accessible and inclusive family and domestic violence prevention programmes, reporting mechanisms and support services for people with diverse sexualities, gender identities and intersex variations and their families
- Support equal rights to marriage regardless of the sex, sexuality or gender of the partners
Sexual and Reproductive Health
- Provide all forms of contraception, including condoms and other safer sex supplies, free through pharmacies
- Provide for free, safe and legal access to lawful terminations of pregnancy by a qualified medical practitioner
- Ensure reproductive justice, based on the full protection of the human rights of the pregnant person
Children
- Support the right of children to be cared for in loving homes, regardless of the sex, gender, sexual orientation, or marital status of the parents
- Support the right of all persons to consideration for adoption and foster parenthood without regard to sex, gender, or sexual orientation
- Ensure equal rights and protections, including recognition of legal parentage, for children with same-sex and gender diverse parents
Employment
- Outlaw discrimination against those perceived to be LGBTIQA+ in all employment, hiring, promotion and career paths, and ensure coverage in industrial law, including same sex relationship entitlements
- Work with trade union movement to advance the rights of LGBTIQA+ workers, including LGBTIQA+ caucuses within unions
- Protect the rights of LGBTIQA+ workers in the informal economy
Miscellaneous
- Consult with communities and representative groups of people with diverse sexualities, diverse gender identities and intersex variations, on the development of policies and programmes relevant to them
- Fund LGBTIQA+ community organisations to support people with diverse sexuality, gender identities and intersex variation, with shelter, media, youth, aging, health, education, crisis, counselling and education services
- Remove discrimination against gay, lesbian, transgender, gender diverse and intersex athletes in competitive sport
- Support culture, arts, festivals, tourism and events for communities of diverse sexualities and gender identities
- End targeting of LGBTIQA+ book stores and businesses; end hate speech or vilification on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity
- Coordinate the participation of Green politicians and activists in the various LGBTIQA+ events in order to assure wide Green representation
- Support and catalyse international advocacy for an end to state-sanctioned discrimination and violence against LGBTIQA+ individuals and communities
- Aim to build a more sustainable and just society where everyone is valued, respected and empowered regardless of their sexuality, gender identity or intersex status
Reference:
https://greens.org.au/policies/sexual-orientation-gender-identity-and-intersex
https://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-release/2015-09-11/green-party-announces-lgbtq-strategy
https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2019/12/10/green-party-launches-commitment-to-lgbtiqa-people/https://www.globalgreens.org/Liverpool2017/Resolutions/Advancing-LGBT-Rights
https://www.greenparty.ie/policies/justice-reproductive-rights-gender-recognition/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-green-party-lgbtqia-r_b_9996462
