[News] [Australia] ALSO’s groundbreaking anti-homophobia campaign

[Stephanie Stevens]

Gay News Network, Australia


10 Aug 2012

ALSO’s groundbreaking anti-homophobia campaign

Michael Magnusson


The ALSO Foundation is launching a unique, national TV ad campaign
addressing homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.

Former ALSO CEO Crusader Hillis has been overseeing the campaign
called No To Homophobia. Hillis told MCV that the Department of
Justice commissioned a report on homophobic harassment which was
prepared by the ALSO Foundation in partnership with the Victorian Gay
and Lesbian Rights Lobby, TransGender Victoria, Anti-Violence Project
Victoria, along with a reference group from government and community.

The report was delivered in June 2010 and recommended wide-ranging
social marketing campaign to tackle homophobia, transphobia and
biphobia. A full campaign was estimated at $300,000 but the Department
of Health provided $50,000 in funding to develop a campaign featuring
two 30 second television commercials.

“The campaign was designed in the second half of 2010,” Hillis said,
“but because of the financial issues at the ALSO Foundation was not
filmed and developed until the end of 2011 and all through this year.”

“There's a team of consultants working on the project, most of us
doing it largely in a pro bono fashion. Everything from the television
production company, Brand Strategy TV to the communications
consultant, website developer and designer have all put in enormous
amounts of work for small returns. The Human Rights Law Centre,
Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and headspace,
have become major supporters of the campaign, either donating funds or
pro bono work to develop the campaign.”

Hillis said the No To Homophobia campaign commercials will screen on
free-to-air Victorian television and on Foxtel nationally. The
commercials will also be available via Youtube. A No To Homophobia
Facebook and Twitter group has also been created and a postcard
promoting the campaign and website will be distributed across
Victoria.

Hillis said the commercials are ground breaking in that they use
television and deal with all three areas of sexuality discrimination.

“There’s never been a television commercial about homophobia, let
along around transphobia and biphobia.”

Hillis said the commercials are supported by a website which works on
three ideas: Get Informed, Take Action and Find Support.

Information is available at the website defining different types of
homophobia. People can also find information about their rights, find
support agencies and learn how to take action in different
scenarios.Depicting everyday scenes of low level harassment of LGBT
people the commercials are aimed at mainstream Australia.

The commercials are supported by a comprehensive website which works
on three ideas: Get Informed, Take Action and Find Support.
Information is available at the website defining different types of
homophobia. People can also find information about their rights, find
support agencies and learn how to take action in different scenarios.

“An enormous amount of research from around the world was incorporated
into the 2010 report, and this has been carried across into the
website, and to a large extent to the social media sites on Facebook
and Twitter.,” Hillis added.

The commercials are expected to be screening by the beginning of September.

Information: notohomophobia.com.au <http://www.notohomophobia.com.au/>
and facebook.com/notohomophobia
<http://www.facebook.com/notohomophobia>


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