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Updated 12th March 2024

OUR BLOOD IS SAFE - LIFEBLOOD NEEDS TO KNOW

Australia was the first nation to remove a lifetime ban on blood donation for gay and bisexual men, and trans women (GBmTw) who have sex with men, in favour of a 12-month abstinence deferral period, which was subsequently reduced to a 3-month deferral. Australia, however, has since fallen behind like-minded countries. The UK, US, and Canada have removed deferral periods based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In these countries, all prospective donors are screened with the same questions, a process referred to as Individual Risk Assessment (IRA).

Read more about our campaign and sign our petition here...

Updated 20th April 2024

LGBTIQA+ HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSIONER

Just.Equal Australia has been advocating for several years for the appointment of an LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Commissioner to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

An LGBTIQA+ Commissioner would ensure our rights are given the same priority as the rights of other groups that are currently represented by commissioners. The need was clear when the AHRC failed to issue a single statement in defence of LGBTIQA+ human rights between September 2021 and August 2023, despite escalating attacks against our rights.

In a welcome development, the Australian Human Rights Commission has recently launched an inquiry into the threats to trans and gender diverse human rights. You can make a submission here.

But this doesn’t lessen the need for a stand-alone LGBTIQA+ Commissioner. Just.Equal is actively lobbying members of federal parliament to ensure an LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Commissioner is appointed as part of current federal negotiations over religious and sexuality discrimination reforms.

INTERNATIONAL WORK

Just.Equal Australia continues to advocate for the rights of our communities overseas and supports our members' activities with regard to institutional struggles for equality by our peers in other countries.

JEA regularly monitors and publishes news reports of progress or otherwise of moves towards lgbtiq equality as well as regressive / harmful actions by governments and powerful actors in other nations. Sadly, awareness and publicity are mostly all we can do. However, occasionally JEA is able to take direct action.