Co-Convenor's Report

Secretary's Report

Campaigns Report

Events and Fundraising Report

Treasurer's Report

Auditor's Report

Summary of Achievements

Anti-Violence Project

Gay and Lesbian History Project

Thank you

ANNUAL REPORT 2000-2001

Anti-Violence Project Report

This will be the last report of the activities undertaken by the GLRL's Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project (AVP). Despite the devolution of the AVP from the GLRL in April 2001, we continued to provide a range of anti-violence and victim support programmes right up to the time of devolution. In fact during the annual Mardi Gras festival season we recorded a significant and dramatic increase in the number of lesbians and gay men reporting incidents of homophobic violence. These incidents included experiences of homophobic violence around Mardi Gras events and celebrations as well as reports of violence that were street based and from people experiencing domestic violence. There were reports of violence from lesbian and gay men living in metropolitan Sydney city and rural NSW.

Whilst the summer months traditionally see an increase in reports of homophobic violence, the summer of 2001 was the busiest for the AVP in over four years. As has been the case for so many years, the violence was often accompanied by insensitive or discriminatory health care worker or police responses and this serves to complicate a victim's recovery through this form of secondary violence.

A continuing challenge for our communities is the poor response by the NSW Government to the mental health needs of lesbian and gay victims of hate crime. The Government continues to fund religious based organisations exempt from anti-discriminatory laws as the first line of support for survivors of violence. The reality is that many gay and lesbian survivors report to us that they simply do not access such services in recognition of past experiences of poor service by church groups or even in anticipation of homophobic service. When gay and lesbian survivors have accessed such services, many examples of homophobic or insensitive service have been reported to the AVP. Clearly the NSW Government has an obligation to ensure non-discriminatory and gay & lesbian affirmative victim support services. Simply contracting out to church based groups to provide these services are not good enough.

A number of community education campaigns were conducted by the AVP during the year including the highly successful and popular 'Danger Lurks in the Emerald City' (the Dorothy posters) and funding components of the award winning 'Hey Hetero' artwork during the Mardi Gras Festival. Further, in recognition of the increasing reports of violence experienced by gay men after making contact with other men over the internet or telephone chat lines, the AVP developed the 'internet/chatline' safety campaign. This was the first such community safety campaign of its kind in Australia.

A significant victory during the year was the NSW Department of Education adoption of the 'Community United Against Violence' campaign materials for every high school in NSW. This comes after six years of very hard work and lobbying to encourage the Department of Education to adopt the GLRL's ongoing programme of anti-homophobia work with young people. The campaign focuses upon 'family values' in promoting anti-violence and includes a popular website www.stophomophobia.org.au. There were also posters featuring anti-homophobia advocate and popular Australian actor Annaliese Braakensiek speaking out against violence.

The AVP provided a number of anti-violence workshops and responded to many requests from community members and secondary & tertiary students for information and resources. We also ensured lesbians and gay men who had experienced violence were provided with referral and client advocacy in partnership with the NSW Police Service and health & welfare providers.

We wish to thank all the staff members of the AVP for their work during the past year and patience in the lead up to the devolution. We especially thank Roy Bishop for his work as acting Executive Officer. Thank you also to the many volunteers who have given generously of their time and energies to the AVP over not only this past year but the many years of the Project.

Thanks also to the Belvoir Street Theatre who hosted a benefit night for the AVP in conjunction with the opening of the Laramie Project. We also acknowledge and thank the Attorney General's Department and South East Health, NSW Health Department for the grants received to undertake anti-violence work. South Sydney City Council also provided a generous rental subsidy for the AVP's office accommodation.

As members will be aware, in 2000 - 2001 the GLRL Committee implemented recommendations from the 1999 Investigation Report in the organisational relationship between the AVP and the GLRL conducted by Gail Mason and myself. This report recommended the devolution of the AVP and was endorsed by the immediate past Committee. In late 2000 the current GLRL Committee resolved that another lesbian and gay community organisation operating the AVP would be best suited to undertake the health grant component of our work. This would allow the GLRL to do what we do best which is fighting for equal rights for gays and lesbians and ultimately ensure the best use of public funds in providing referral and support for victims of anti-lesbian and anti-gay hate crime. As well as delivering anti-violence social marketing campaigns that are increasingly demanding a high degree of sophistication and planning to be effective.

The devolution process saw the NSW Health Department proceed with a tender for the health grant to administer the AVP. This administrative process was unfortunately very long and drawn out with a significant burden placed upon the Committee and Executive in terms of our time and energies in winding up the work of the AVP.

The AIDS Council of New South Wales was successful in the tender process and already in the few short months since devolution a number of activities and campaigns have been implemented by ACON including our internet/chatline safety campaign for gay men. We wish ACON every success in administering the AVP and were very pleased to provide ACON with the AVP name and logo as well as many other resources to undertake this important work as soon as possible.

In reflecting back on the GLRL's AVP, we first began work in this area in October 1988. The GLRL together with the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service conducted the Streetwatch survey into violence against lesbians and gay men. Anti-violence work at the GLRL grew out of the findings of the Streetwatch Report in 1990. Since our first government funding in 1991, the GLRL has done a range of anti-violence work led by the AVP. Over the years our work has been financed from a number of sources including a recurrent grant from NSW Health and other grants from the NSW Attorney General's Department, NSW Department for Women; South Sydney City Council and sponsorship from both within and beyond the gay and lesbian communities as well as from moneys fundraised directly by the GLRL.

During the last ten years the AVP has helped hundreds of lesbians and gay men in crisis following homophobic violence. We have run an extraordinary number of workshops, seminars and other forums on community safety and self-defence. We have developed a range of highly successful and well respected community safety and educations campaigns including the 'Homophobia: What Are You Scared Of?' campaign that has set the benchmark internationally for similar campaigns. We've worked successfully in partnership with Aboriginal communities and people from non-English speaking communities as well as disability advocates to design safety and violence prevention campaigns. We have actively lobbied for change in government programmes and been a consistent and tireless advocate for government responsibility in ending violence against lesbians and gay men in NSW, spearheading the campaign for improved police services to our communities. We published groundbreaking community organized research on the violence experienced by our communities and our reports such as 'Streetwatch', 'Off Our Backs' and 'Count and Counter' are well known and referenced. All these achievements have been recognized both inside and beyond our communities with a range of awards to the GLRL for our work in anti-violence work.

The GLRL may look back at the achievements of the AVP with a great sense of pride, satisfaction and delight. We look forward to continuing our anti-homophobia work albeit in a different form in the coming years because violence against lesbians and gay men is a rights issue that the GLRL will continue to fight against.

Anthony M. Schembri
Convenor
Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby