Date: Sat, 23 Sep 1995 15:21:43 -0500 From: leto@werple.mira.net.au (Brendon Wickham) Subject: (Australia) Brother Sister News - 23/9/95 BROTHER SISTER - QUEER NEWS FROM DOWNUNDER Issue 89 This and previous postings are archived for the QRD. Point your URL to http://werple.mira.net.au/~leto/news/index - or go through the Pacific Region of the QRD at http://www.qrd.org/qrd/world/pacific/ =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ LESBIANS DUMPED IN BEIJING *Lesbians around the world have reacted with anger and disappointment over the Beijing World Conference on Women's decision to omit the words "sexual orientation" from the Platform for Action document, whose contents were finalised last Friday.* But senior representatives of the Australian delegation said: "To get it through would have been a miracle. It was a victory even to have it discussed." The frantic, all-night drafting session took place against a background of alleged harassment and intimidation of delegates by Chinese security agents overseeing the conference. While outside the conference Australian women reported being jostled, abused and deprived of documents and equipment by Chinese security personnel, opposition to their cause inside the chamber was fronted by unlikely combination of international conservative factions. Led by the Vatican, Catholic countries threw in their lot with Muslim nations and right-wing groups from North America in lobbying to block progress on issues such as abortion, reproduction and lesbian rights. Head of the delegation from Australia's Coalition of Activist Lesbians (COAL), Barbara Palmer, said, "Just to get [the words] 'sexual orientation' into the draft document was a victory." However, she said tangible achievements were made in paragraph 97 of the Platform for Action, which confirms women's ownership of their bodies and gives each a right to choose their own "sexuality". Palmer said those two victories were part of a deal struck with conservatives, the price of which was sacrificing "sexual orientation". "Sexuality," in that context, was not seen as synonymous with "sexual orientation." When the last UN World Conference on Women was held ten years ago, only the Netherlands was prepared to advocate lesbian rights. But fellow COAL member Eileen Pittaway, who was in Beijing to represent the Women's International League of Peace and Freedom, said lesbian visibility and articulation at the accompanying Non-Government Organisation (NGO) Forum on Women was so great that "a joke went around that there was a correlation between IQ and being a lesbian." She said lesbians took the lead in a number of the NGO Forum's 25 separate caucuses, only one of which was specifically about lesbianism. COAL, the only exclusively lesbian group to receive formal accreditation to attend the conference, was joined by 10 international groups with coalitionist agendas. Pittaway scored a major victory herself, persuading the conference to accept the classification of rape committed by soldiers during military actions as a war-crime. She said the move had initially been opposed by Yemen, who feared any statistical increase in those who could be classified as refugees. Instances of harassment and abuse by Chinese security staff included a raid on the lesbian tent at the NGO Forum, when literature from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), none of it relating to China, was seized. The Chinese had previously agreed not to intervene with activities on the NGO site. In other cases, exiled Tibetan women with Australian passports were harassed and shoved by Chinese security officers, at one point prompting the physical intervention of the Australian ambassador. A nightly meeting arranged by Australian delegates, Womenspeak, was disrupted by security staff who claimed the meeting was political and therefore illegal. Women persuaded officials to allow the meetings to continue by moving chairs from rows into small circles, which suggested discussion rather than rhetoric. Highlights included the first ever out-lesbian to address a UN conference, a 23 year old South African Palesa Beverley Ditsie, and a 1,000 strong lesbian march through the NGO Forum grounds. Marchers held banner and wore badges supplied by the IGLHRC, saying: "Lesbian Rights are Human Rights." Ben Widdicombe, SSO BATTLE FOR AIDS COUNCIL CONTROL *Intense lobbying in recent weeks has shifted the focus of Monday's Victorian AIDS Council elections to a battle for control by a largely HIV positive team versus a team made up largely of experienced AIDS care professionals.* Current AIDS Council president, Bradley Engelmann heads the Community Team which comprises five openly positive men and one openly positive woman. He describes his team as "committed (and) with considerable first-hand practical experience of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on our lives, as people living with the virus, as carers and as educators". "We will advocate vigorously for the best possible HIV/AIDS services during the restructuring of the state health system and urge for the needs of all positive people to take precedence over economic rationalism," he said. In opposition is the Stronger Together Team, headed by Victorian Council of Civil Liberties executive director, Joseph O'Reilly. "We are a group with a broad knowledge and experience of the organisation, who seek to bring the various components of the AIDS Council together," O'Reilly said. "It is our strong belief that an inclusive approach to the involvement of members in the organisation is the only way to ensure an effective fight against HIV and the efficient provision of services and advocacy." Members of the Community Team include former women's working group convenor Susan Paxton, support care team co-ordinator Barry Janes, PLWHA treasurer Gary Glare, care team co-ordinator Pam Turnbull, founding Candlelight Vigil member Tom Carter, support convenor Daniel Coase, PLWHA convenor Joe McCluskey, general practitioner Jonathan Anderson, former support co-ordinator Chris Thurgood and PLWHA management committee member Peter Davis. Members of the Stronger Together Team include past AIDS Council vice-president David Menadue, community nurse Maureen O'Brien, past committee member Ian Gould, recent AFAO president Tony Keenan, support program member Dean Michael, HIV/AIDS Legal Service initiator Lauren Finestone, Fairfield Hospital social worker Colin Briton, AIDS Housing Action Group employee Patrick McGee and general practitioner Jonathan Anderson (a candidate for both teams). The battle for control heated up this week with the release of a pamphlet by the Community Team attacking opposition candidate Maureen O'Brien, saying: "To vote for Maureen O'Brien and her team is to accept that the interests of all positive men and women can be adequately represented by the single openly positive individual in the team". It also claims that voting for the Stronger Together Team would be to "elect a Board dominated by social workers, service and welfare providers, denying PLWHAs appropriate representation and relegating them to the soup kitchen". Joseph O'Reilly said it was unfortunate O'Brien had been targeted in the campaign saying the election should be fought on policy issues not personal condemnation. "It is unlikely anyway that Maureen will get elected given that she is number two on our ticket for vice-president." He said that just because only one person is running as openly HIV positive doesn't mean there are not other people who are positive on the Stronger Together ticket. "AIDS Council policy is that it is everyone's right to choose confidentiality regarding their HIV status, but here we are demanding something different from those standing for election." O'Reilly said his team was very much about providing choice for voters: "It is healthy that a community organisation such as this is robust enough to offer choice." Bill Calder CREDIT UNION PLAN IS LAUNCHED *Australia could have its first gay and lesbian credit union next year if a research project currently underway reveals its feasibility.* A group of lesbian and gay professional people calling themselves the Gay and Lesbian Financial Institution Research Project has been working for six months in Sydney and Melbourne on a business and community research project to see how lesbians and gay men would react to the idea of having their own bank. The convenors of the group, Gina Lyons of Melbourne and Tim Dyce of Sydney formally announced the project this week saying there would be gay and lesbian community meetings in the two cities later in the year to discuss the research findings. "The first phase has just been completed," Lyons said. "And the research already shows a high level of enthusiasm for the project." Dyce said a credit union was a good option for the gay and lesbian communities because it gives the members control over their own financial resources. "The first phase of the research shows that there would be strong community support for a credit union, as long as it is run with sound financial expertise." Both convenors stressed the project would only go ahead if the financial projections and the community needs showed the credit union to be viable. ASIAN COMMUNITY UNDER MICROSCOPE *Leading lesbian and gay academics from Asia and Australia will converge on Sydney next week for a two day conference called 'Emerging Lesbian and Gay Communities'.* Hosted by the Australian Centre for Lesbian and Gay Research at Sydney University, the conference will focus on the growing and developing gay and lesbian community in Australia and what is occurring in the Asian region. The international conference is on Friday September 29 and Saturday September 30 at Wesley College in the University of Sydney. Leading academics, activists and community development workers from China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand, Thailand and Australia will be speaking at the conference. Some of these speakers have incurred the displeasure of their governments for their outspoken views. Conference organiser Dr Gerard Sullivan says that gay and lesbian communities in Australia and other Western countries have been studied and much has been written about them in recent years. "However, little attention has been given to ethnic minorities in the lesbian and gay community or to lesbian and gay men in the Asia-Pacific region. The conference will provide a forum to discuss the social, economic, political and cultural situation of lesbian and gay minorities in Australia and lesbian and gay communities in neighbouring countries," he said. The impact of HIV/AIDS on ethnic minorities and in Asia will be considered. Other issues which will be discussed are racism in the gay and lesbian community, homophobia in ethnic communities, and the civil rights of lesbians and gay men in Asia. The conference is open to members of the public and interested parties should contact (02) 646 6588. LOCAL CHRISTIAN MILITIA: 'LET GAYS DIE' *Christian militia extremists sold stickers and magazines demanding the death penalty for gays at this year's Spring Hill Fair.* Stickers reading "Gay rights? The only right gays have is the right to die" and "Register poofters, not guns, before they kill us all" were prominently displayed on the stall. The extremists also tried to sell and give away hundreds of copies of the glossy, Gympie-based hate rag, Lock, Stock and Barrel (LSB). One of the three random issues collected by Brother Sister featured a grossly misleading article on HIV/AIDS which claimed the virus was probably already airborne "like the common cold" and could also be spread by bed bugs, mites and the humble moquito. Similarly, the most recent edition features a story titled "Bible law says Death to Sodomites: Are you free to say it?" which advocates the death of gays "by fair means or foul". The story, like many others in the magazine, was written by Gympie gun shop proprietor, Ron Owen, who is standing for parliament under the 'Constitutionalist' banner in the forthcoming Federal election. Other stories warn against the so-called 'New World Order', the United Nations, governments, banks, Jews and communists. To resist the international conspiracy, readers are advised to stockpile hidden caches of weapons and ammunition and refuse to pay taxes. Iain Clacher =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ BOTTOM LINE The Matt factor Does anyone else think that Matt from Melrose is too sickeningly NICE? Honestly, just how helpful can you be? Well it seems real life is pretty similar as we hear the news that Doug Savant volunteered for an AIDS fundraising event that involved thousands of cyclists riding between major cities and will raise about $5 million. We don't deny that he's being very considerate and all, but his quotes are a little squeamy: "the [bikes riding in] were the most devastating and emotionally powerful thing I've ever seen." And he says he hopes to convey the message "that Doug Savant, who is so blessed to play the character of Matt, has a real commitment to the community as well . . . I am not just an actor living in the show and sitting at home," he said, "but my involvement with these rides has been as enriching to my humanity as anything I have ever done." Ikky! Brendon Wickham =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Brother Sister is a fortnightly newspaper published in Melbourne, VIC and Brisbane, QLD, Australia. I have selected the main news stories as well as items of interest. Overseas media who utilise any or all of the above material please credit Brother Sister as your source (and by-line if it is listed). Thank you. Brendon Wickham