Be proud, be inclusive
by
A pride flag soared at full mast outside Baw Baw Shire’s Drouin office last Wednesday for IDAHOBIT Day.
IDAHOBIT Day is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia and acknowledges the date in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of diseases and related health issues.
On Wednesday, the day was recognised by council with a special flag-raising ceremony.
In the morning, staff from all departments gathered and listened to speeches from mayor Annemarie McCabe, deputy mayor Michael Leaney and chief executive officer Mark Dupe.
Cr Leaney talked about his experiences as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and passionately encouraged people to speak out against discrimination.
“LGBTQIA+ people here and around the world encounter homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic discrimination in their day-to-day lives. In Australia today, 35 per cent of LGBTQIA+ people have experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months. With this discrimination comes a greater demand to feel recognised and valued amongst their peers, workplaces and communities.”
“2023 actually marks the 40th year since I came out as a 15-year-old back in 1983.
“We need to set a higher bar and not accept some of the crap we see floating around. Because I can tell you, pretty much every day as a gay person, I cop discrimination.”
In her address Cr McCabe outlined steps council had taken to become more inclusive and supportive of their employees, including recently incorporating gender affirmation leave into its enterprise bargaining agreement and actioning a Gender Equality Action Plan from 2021 to 2025.
“Baw Baw Shire Council is proud to stand with our LGBTQIA+ community, our friends, neighbours and family members.
“Everyone in our community deserves to feel seen and valued and we all play a role in promoting inclusiveness and diversity within our shire.
“At the end of the day, we’re all just human and we just want to live in happiness and achieve fulfilment, and we should not have fear in our lives, we should not have prejudice, and we should not have persecution,” Cr McCabe said.