While 75% of the 1 in 10 young Australians who are same-sex attracted or gender diverse experience some form of abuse, the situation is even worse overseas. Being gay is outlawed in 76 countries. It is punishable by death in 7.
Whether gay or straight, you can help to change this by attending the Human Rights Summit.
On the eve of the International Day Against Homophobia, Victorian secondary students will come together to learn about the struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) people across the world and take action to promote human rights.
The Summit will include:
- a keynote address from the Hon. Michael Kirby AC CMG, former High Court justice and international human rights advocate,
- workshops on the causes of homophobia across the world,
- a roundtable discussion with international human rights activists about the work already being done to fight homophobia and transphobia,
- the drafting of a UN resolution on human rights we will present to the Australian Government to take to the United Nations,
- a model General Assembly where we'll try out our resolution before presenting it to the Government,
- a post-summit party organised by Minus18!
The Summit is open to young Victorians in years 9-12. You don't need to be LGBT to participate - you just need to be interested in LGBT rights across the world.
The Summit is a joint initiative of UN Youth Victoria, Minus18, WayOut, the Safe Schools Coalition Victoria, and Rainbow Network Victoria.