WIMMERA Pride Project leaders have welcomed two major steps forward for the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Horsham woman and project co-founder Maddi Ostapiw said the group was thrilled the Victorian Country Women’s Association had resolved to support marriage equality at its state conference, which finished on Saturday.
The association will now advocate for equality for all Australians under the Commonwealth Marriage Act.
On Tuesday, the state government apologised to people who had received criminal convictions for having sex before homosexuality was decriminalised in the early 1980s.
Wimmera Pride Project is a support network for the region’s LGBT+ community.
Ms Ostapiw said she was pleased with both the resolution and the apology.
“LGBT+ campaigners are constantly pitted against rural and regional organisations,” she said.
“It is a welcome change to find the CWA, a group many would mistakenly believe to be conservative, is willing to add its voices to the majority of Australians who simply want to see same-sex and gender diverse couples granted equal marriage rights.
“The vote to support same-sex marriage on behalf of Victoria’s Country Women’s Association is exactly what LGBT+ people need now.”
The association’s social issues committee said the group should be advocates for all women whose entitlements and rights were diminished under current laws.
Ms Ostapiw said the decision transcended age, location and religion.
“It proves that no matter how or where you were brought up, morality and the will to do what is right for others will triumph,” she said.
“The women of the CWA are the mothers, wives, and friends of LGBT+ people, and it’s wonderful to see them take on our issues as their own.”
Premier Daniel Andrews issued the state's apology.
Ms Ostapiw said the decriminalisation of homosexuality three decades ago was a momentous moment in Australian LGBT+ history.
“To see the government willing to officially apologise for those whose lives were ruined by the laws is a welcome step forward,” she said.
“So many of our peers and friends were never able to reach their full potential in life because they fell victim to what was effectively a legally sanctioned hate crime.
Ms Ostapiw said it was devastating to think the state government apology was needed at all.
“The Wimmera Pride Project cannot speak for the people that were hurt by these laws,” she said.
“But we hope that the apology will serve as a reminder to our state that bigotry and hate against LGBT+ people have no place within our government, our court system, or any other institution.
“Apologising cannot heal the wounds of the past, but it might lead to a better future.
“Our government and legal system used to criminally convict people based on their sexual preference.
“While this part of our national shame cannot be wiped away, nor the lives it stole restored, at least the government is willing to take responsibility for the wrongdoings of the past and apologise for them.”
Mr Andrews told The Age the laws cast a long, dark shadow of prejudice that still stood today.
“Our apology is one small but meaningful way to right that historic wrong,” he said.