IDAHOBIT

On Tuesday 17th May Ballarat High School celebrated IDAHOBIT. IDAHOBIT stands for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia. This day is celebrated across Australia, where we get to take a stand against discrimination and support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) people.

We had the pleasure of having a range of guests attend this event including a group of students from Ballarat Specialist School, and our guest speaker Ange Elson from Tiny Pride. Our students showed a wonderful display of inclusiveness and appreciation for all students at our school. 

While our flags were unveiled I had the privilege of saying a few words that a member of our school community shared with me:

“For IDAHOBIT day I would like to reflect on how far Ballarat as a community, has come in terms of acceptance of LGBTIQA+ people, but also the fact that there is still a long way to go.

When I was first questioning my sexuality, whilst I was a university student in Ballarat, I was told by a university employed counsellor that I couldn’t possibly be gay because “We don’t have people like that here”.  I went back in the closet.

Fast forward a decade and I was happy in a same sex relationship living in Ballarat.  We decided to get married, even though same-sex marriage was not yet legal.  When my boss found out, I lost my job at that small Ballarat workplace.

I got a new job at a large Ballarat workplace and went back in the closet, but when we were expecting a baby I asked for unpaid leave around the baby’s due date and I lost that job too.  I retreated back into the closet again.

When the government ran the divisive same sex marriage plebiscite 5 years ago, just over 70% of Ballarat voters, voted in favour of marriage equality.  This was heart-warming,  however, it also meant that almost 30% of Ballarat voters still believed that gay and lesbian people should not be treated as equals. 

Same sex marriage is now legal and there are better protections at school and at work to make sure LGBTIQA+ people can feel safe to come out, but many of us are still in the closet.  We still don’t feel safe.  Discrimination still exists.

IDAHOBIT day is a time to reflect on the various ways that LGBTIQA+ people are still discriminated against, consciously and unconsciously, and to make the effort to ensure we are part of the solution and not part of the problem.

I am proud to see how well supported LGBTIQA+ students are at Ballarat High.  It’s great to see students feeling safe to come out and reveal their true selves.  It’s great to see Allies embracing them.

When I came out one of my friends said “I don’t understand, but you are my friend and I support YOU”.  That was all I needed to hear.

LGBTIQA+ students – We support YOU!”

It was fantastic to see such an amazing display of inclusivity from our students and a huge thank you to all students who helped out with all of the tasks on Tuesday.

Georgia Leorke 

Mental Health Practitioner