ࡱ> HJI` 6bjbjss . 6 h $hlbA A VJ J J F  J J J  b :l0 , >* ,J V $z  AA4    $   27 May 2006 Same-Sex Inquiry Human Rights Unit Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 Via email: samesex@humanrights.gov.au Dear Sir/Madam Re: National Inquiry into Discrimination against People in Same-Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits Im not very happy about this National Enquiry or the way the people in your department have gone about it. I can see it now youll get about 20 submissions, and then come to the conclusion that the gay and lesbian community are not interested in changing the status quo. Have you actually told any gays and lesbians you are conducting this enquiry? Does anyone know you are seeking our input? Have you factored in the specific cultural issues and barriers which effectively ensure that most gays and lesbians wont publicly make a statement (at least not in writing), about our stories of discrimination? I am the Editor of [name removed], which is WAs monthly lesbian magazine. You would think HREOC might have sent me a Media Release or something so that I could inform lesbians in WA that you were conducting this enquiry. Yet today is the first time I have heard of HREOCs Inquiry and I heard about it from friends. You might also consider that many people would respond to the questions you are asking if you took the time to think about the best way of asking them. Bureaucratically setting up an Inquiry (which Im aware is standard practice for you), and asking people to write in, is never the best way of getting gays and lesbians to relate our experiences to you. I know, from talking to many lesbians in the past seven years, and writing some of their stories, that discrimination is rife. I know of numerous instances where lesbian couples have been denied the same levels of access to financial and work-related benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Numerous specific incidents. But would they tell you about it? Most wouldnt. Considering that most lesbians still cant take their female partner to the annual office Christmas party, I dont see how you believe they will tell you (faceless bureaucrats; the very symbol of the government which affects this discrimination in the first place) their stories and experiences. A far better way to have conducted this Inquiry would have been to talk to gay and lesbian community leaders in all states and territories, got them to organise public forums, which you could have attended, contacted gay and lesbian media outlets so they could have all let readers know what you were doing and then ask for written submissions. That would have given you a far more accurate insight into the experiences you are supposedly wanting to know now. As it is, the way this Inquiry has been set up, you wont hear from many people at all, Does this mean you will leap to the conclusion that same-sex couples are happy with the status quo, or maybe that there are so few of us that legislative change is not necessary? And is this what you wanted the Inquiry to say all along? Im sorry this isnt good enough. If youre going to come up with an initiative to improve the lives of same-sex attracted people, I think you need to be more serious about it. This Inquiry smacks of tokenism, and Im not happy to sit back and say nothing while you treat my community this way. If you REALLY want to know the answer to the questions you have posed, you need to do something different. While I support any attempt to improve the circumstances for same-sex attracted people, I dont believe this is good enough. Yours faithfully Ruth Wykes   456jhRUh/hR!3an~> ? 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