SPEAKERS at a Bendigo Pride Fest event have shone a light on their experiences of sexual, cultural, and religious discrimination and marginalisation.<\/p>\n
The session included multicultural, multi-faith stories, poetry and readings at the La Trobe Art Institute and brought together a group of LGBTQIA+ individuals from around Australia to share their experiences last Sunday.<\/p>\n
According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, people who identify with several minority groups, such as LGBTQIA+, First Nations, immigrants, women, the elderly, and others are especially vulnerable to overlapping forms of discrimination; a concept referred to as intersectionality.<\/p>\n
Aisya Zaharin, a PhD student at the University of Queensland, shared her story of not feeling accepted by her religious community because of her gender, and questioned her own internalised beliefs on gendered behaviours.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy it\u2019s problematic, is that when you try to pass as a woman you actually open to certain societal beauty standards, and in the end, it can be discriminatory against people who cannot pass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a general level, I expect people to understand the concept of intersectionality.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to explain that the concept of privilege is not something about what you have to go through, it\u2019s about what you never have to go through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Medical GP Dr Vitor Rocha emphasised the need for increased multicultural awareness in communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cLanguage defines culture, language defines cultural behaviour, language also defines people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDecolonising words is extremely important. Cultural knowledge has the same importance as any other form of education.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Rocha also said healthcare workers need better training on intersectionality and how to work with LGBTQIA+ individuals specifically.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the role of health promotion and public health organisations who are federally funded to ensure compliance and training is happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPEAKERS at a Bendigo Pride Fest event have shone a light on their experiences of sexual, cultural, and religious discrimination and marginalisation. The session included multicultural, multi-faith stories, poetry and readings at the La Trobe Art Institute and brought together a group of LGBTQIA+ individuals from around Australia to share their experiences last Sunday. According […]<\/p>\n