ࡱ> ` Wfbjbjss .GX|,,,| | | N t***8"++4Gh+,"6,,,,^-4-GGGGGGG$HheK*:G| 5,,55:G| | ,,OG;;;5| ,| ,G;5G;;:@A,| | A,+ 0N5*d7flA FeG0GvARK8KAK| A0-R0;1T2---:G:Gn;---G5555 d  t Jt2 J| | |  SAME-SEX: SAME ENTITLEMENTS The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission National Inquiry into Discrimination Against People in Same-Sex Relationships: Financial and Work-Related Entitlements and Benefits  Submission from Womens Health Victoria, GPO Box 1160, Melbourne, 3001 [Details removed] Contact: [Name withheld]  HYPERLINK "mailto:whv@whv.org.au" whv@whv.org.au May 2006 Womens Health Victoria (WHV) is an independent Victorian state-wide womens health promotion organisation run by women for women. We work to identify and respond to the health issues of the women of Victoria through a feminist perspective and a social model of health. We are informed by, and encourage the validation of, women's experiences of health and ill-health. We promote women's right to control our own bodies in every aspect of health care and work to empower women and communities to act on health matters through the use of information. Our womens health information Clearinghouse forms the core of our organisation. It provides the basis for our work representing women and facilitates access to health information for a range of users from diverse locations. We work collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations. These include women's health services, general health services, womens services, funding bodies, policy makers, and individual health professionals. We are a learning organisation with explicit quality improvement processes. We aim to be a centre of excellence providing capacity building expertise in womens health information collection, analysis and provision, and organisational development. WHV welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissions request for submissions and congratulates the commission for seeking to address the exclusion of people in same-sex relationships from many financial and work-related entitlements and benefits. The development of a full understanding of how women in same-sex relationships are discriminated against when attempting to access financial and work-related entitlements and benefits is of specific concern to WHV given the strong connection between womens health and wellbeing, and their experiences of discrimination. It is vital that discrimination is recognised and used to inform the development of policies and future legislation. A number of key observations relating to women in same-sex relationships accessing financial and work-related entitlements and benefits are detailed below. General comments WHV is concerned about the ramifications of financial and work related entitlements that do not adequately account for the needs of women in same-sex relationships. The experience of discrimination by these women is of particular concern to given the strong correlation between experiences of discrimination and poor health. Evidence shows that the increased rates of substance abuse, depression, low self-esteem and attempted suicide recorded among same-sex attracted women, lesbians in particular, are a consequence of heterosexism,, the process of promoting heterosexuality as normative sexuality. Hence, legislation which does not adequately recognise people in same-sex relationships reinforces heterosexism and in doing so contributes to the health status of women in same-sex relationships. Legislation that privileges those in heterosexual relationships also infringes upon the rights of all Australians to live a life free from discrimination. Victorian women in same-sex relationships are influenced most acutely by the financial and work-related entitlements and benefits set out in Victorian and Federal legislation. In Victoria the passing of the Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Act and the Statute Law Further Amendment (Relationships) Act in 2001, through inclusion of domestic partners, recognised same-sex couples in a number of areas, including inheritance rights, stamp duty exemption and access to accident and workers compensation in instances where one member of a couple dies. At the federal level, in 2004 the term interdependency relationship was coined to enable those in same-sex de facto relationships to fall under the definition of a dependent person in some pieces of federal legislation. These Acts offered improved financial security to some women in same-sex relationships, though they did not seek to remove discrimination in all areas of law. Consequently, discrimination continues to have an impact on those in same-sex relationships. Recognition of domestic partnerships and interdependency relationships does not go far enough for the women in same-sex relationships who wish to have their relationships consistently attributed with the same economic privileges as opposite-sex marriages. For instance, federally legislated income taxation does not recognise women in same-sex relationships. The dependent spouse rebate is not applied to a financially dependent same-sex partner and other tax concessions and rebates available to same-sex couples, including medical expense rebates, are unavailable to same-sex couples. This legislated distinction between women in opposite-sex relationships and women in same-sex relationships is discriminatory. Indeed it contravenes Australias obligations under the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As Laurie Berg stated when launching this inquiry, if you dont have the same legal rights as a straight couple, the message is that your relationship doesnt count. The heterosexist ideology behind this message is a source of the social stigma and violence directed at people in same-sex relationships. The Victorian Government health portal Better Health Channel indicates that 40% of lesbians, as well as gay men, report workplace discrimination which may extend to limited promotions and pay rise prospects. The situation for lesbians is particularly concerning given their simultaneous exposure to heterosexism and sexism. If discrimination against women in same-sex relationships is to be eradicated then the sexist underpinnings of financial and work-related entitlements also need to be addressed. In order for discrimination to be countered, and measures of health improved, women in same-sex relationships must have their experiences validated. WHV would view the elimination of laws that enshrine sexist and heterosexist discrimination as a critical step toward this. The remainder of this submission will focus on discrimination in the area of superannuation and the limitations associated with using the term interdependency as a proxy for non-heterosexual relationships in legislation. Interdependency An interdependency relationship is defined as a close personal relationship between two people. Interdependency may be proven by meeting a variety of criteria, such as living together, provision of domestic, personal or financial support to the other person, sharing finances, having a partner as a nominee on superannuation or other benefits, or having shared assets. There are many limitations associated with interdependency. One characteristic of interdependency is shared finances. For women financial interdependency is limiting and socially sanctioned economic dependence can have grave consequences,. Financial independence is something which should be available to all women, to ensure that they do not end up in relationships where access to material needs can be manipulated by economically advantaged partners. Indeed the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women noted that, women's health is determined by the social, political and economic context of their lives, as well as by biology. At this conference the international prevalence of women who were economically dependent on men was identified as concerning and linked to women having a lack of influence in decision-making. This social reality has an adverse impact on womens health, and legislation that perpetuates womens economic dependence and/or interdependence in any form must be reassessed. This would ensure that women in both opposite and same-sex relationships are able to have control over their lives. An interdependency relationship, as outlined in current legislation, identifies economic interdependence as a criterion for securing some entitlements and benefits. Financial independence is thus discouraged. Ironically, the heterosexism evident in social security law law which does not recognise same-sex relationships may be financially advantageous to recipients in same-sex relationships who have working partners. These women do not lose benefits and thus are not forced into dependence. This is one of very few examples where people in same-sex relationships may benefit financially from discrimination. This small gain is superseded by the aforementioned plethora of laws which financially penalise women in same-sex relationships, however, it does reveal that the sexism inherent in laws pertaining to financial and work related entitlements need to be addressed. Simply recognising women in same-sex relationships in the same manner as those in opposite-sex marriages will not eradicate the economic disadvantage encountered by women generally. If improvements are to be made to the way in which financial and work-related entitlements are allocated then issues concerning gender need to be considered alongside sexuality. Abolishing promotion of financial dependence is central to this. Interdependency may also be critiqued on the grounds that it assumes that those in same-sex relationships use hetero-relations as a model for their relationships. Traditional hetero-relations are problematic for all women as they rely upon the relegation of women to the private sphere, while men occupy the public sphere. This system is entrenched in contemporary political and social institutions and is disadvantageous to all women. As a consequence many women in same-sex and opposite sex relationships wish to challenge this system. For instance, some lesbian feminists choose lesbianism and suggest that lesbianism is a way of life that intentionally challenges mainstreamed sexuality and relationship constructs. For these lesbians inclusion in what they define as masculinist/heterosexist culture is not something they strive for. Rather they wish to transform or subvert this culture ,. Given this it may be both inappropriate to assume that all women in same-sex relationships wish to be viewed in law as part of a couple, or that current legislation adequately serves women in heterosexual relationships. Women need to be presented with adequate opportunities to contribute to the re-evaluation of laws that hold patriarchal understandings of family and relationships at their core. Legislation addressing financial and work related entitlements and benefits are among these. Recognition of the differences between women in same-sex relationships and women in heterosexual relationships, as well as the differences between women in both groups need to be fully considered. While interdependency may be critiqued on a number of levels, legislation which acknowledges same-sex relationships is a vast improvement on that which does not. The introduction of interdependency has also brought a selection of financial gains which were previously unattainable. In terms of its relevance, in Victoria over 80% of the 652 participants in the 2005 Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby same-sex relationship survey were interdependent on at least one measure. Sixty percent had their partner as next of kin and/or shared some finances, 54.2% shared some assets, 50.1% nominated their partner on their superannuation or other benefits, 48% had their partner as the primary beneficiary on their will, and 6.2% shared legal parenting of children. This shows that people in same-sex couples are able to access some of the economic privileges previously reserved for people in heterosexual couples. However, the results of this study also showed that none of the measures for interdependency were able to be secured by 19.6% of the sample. This is significant given that the average length of current relationships among the respondents was 4.7 years, with 13.5% having been together for at least ten years. Opposite-sex married couples would automatically qualify for relevant entitlements regardless of the relationship length and financial arrangements, while people in same-sex couples may only acquire them once they have actively demonstrated interdependency. WHV acknowledges that for many same-sex couples proving interdependency is possible, however there are significant limitations. The most noteworthy of these is that interdependency relationships are not recognised in all pieces of federal legislation or by all federal entities, schemes and rebates. This includes Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, childcare rebates, house keeper rebates, and some pensions and compensation entitlements for same-sex partners of veterans. The inconsistent recognition of interdependency relationships results in those in same-sex relationships being excluded from receipt of many financial and work-related entitlements. This is not satisfactory. Interdependency may also be critiqued based upon the other measures used to assess same-sex relationships. The linking of interdependency to live-in relationships is narrow given that women in same-sex relationships may either choose to live separately or may not live with their partner due to fear, social or family pressure. These women should not be denied the entitlements made available to opposite-sex married couples, particularly when live-in relationships are a relationship form they would like to emulate, but feel they can not do so safely. To adequately overcome limitations in the allocation of entitlements it needs to be recognised that same-sex relationships take a variety of forms, and that the participants in these relationships may either wish to be regarded as financially independent as too do may women in opposite-sex relationships or may wish to have their relationships fully recognised within Victorian and federal legislation. In 1997 the Coalition of Activist Lesbians (COAL) outlined law reform options for lesbian families, highlighting that the preferred model for one legal area may be different for another. One solution tabled by COAL was the introduction of a federal choice based regime or relationship registry. This has been pursued in Tasmania, and a unique civil union scheme has been developed in the Australian Capital Territory. Evaluation of these regimes, if they are not overridden by federal legislation, may provide appropriate direction for how to reduce discrimination linked to financial and work-related benefits. Superannuation Same-sex couples have been recognised in superannuation law since the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Choice of Superannuation Funds) Act was passed in 2004. While legislation pertaining to superannuation of public sector employees and military personnel was not amended all other employees in same-sex relationships are now granted similar rights to their heterosexual counterparts. This recognition may have improved the financial positioning of women in same-sex relationships who have since lost their partners, but it has not reduced the gender divide that exists between women and men. Women require greater savings in retirement, because they have increased life expectancy, though their average earnings are less than that of men. Superannuation legislation does not adequately address this shortfall, making women-only households and women in same-sex relationships particularly susceptible to dependence on the aged pension in retirement. The system for recording superannuation benefactors is also problematic given the prevalence of heterosexism. In some workplaces listing a same-sex partner as a benefactor is not feasible. A same-sex relationship may be discovered by employers as superannuation forms commonly request that the employee indicate the address of their nominated benefactor. While it is possible for employees to contact their superannuation fund directly to change their benefactors this is a time consuming process. As gay men and lesbians have been identified in health research as populations which may be reluctant to have their sexuality recorded in their medical histories for fear of discrimination by health practioners, it is highly likely that they may similarly hesitate to list a same-sex partner as their benefactor when beginning a job. For teachers in Catholic schools this could be grounds for dismissal. In addition, the new industrial reforms make listing a same-sex partner even more risky for those in same-sex relationships as employers who have less than 100 members of staff no longer have to provide detailed justification for dismissing workers. The growth of casual employment also means that the number of hours allocated to employees in same-sex relationships may be reduced by homophobic employers. This is not readily able to be measured or proven. These outcomes bear directly upon the superannuation able to be accumulated by women in same-sex relationships. Conclusion Economic well-being and financial security are essential to achieving equity for women. WHV recognises that a persons health is partly determined by their work and socioeconomic status, and that having financial independence has a positive influence upon health. Financial and work-related entitlements and benefits that discriminate against women in same-sex relationships hinder their ability to achieve equality. WHV stresses that all people are entitled to fundamental human rights including the right to non-discrimination. WHV recognises that many of Australias laws continue to discriminate against women in same-sex relationships and identifies such laws as having an impact upon these womens health. WHV encourages law reform that is informed by people in same-sex relationships and mindful of the diverse needs and relationship forms women in same-sex relationships have.  Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health (2002). Whats the Difference? 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