Breaking The Silence: Focus on WA’s First Nations LGBTQIA+ community

A new research project focusing on the lives of Western Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+ community is set to launch next month.

The Breaking The Silence project is led by Pro Vice Chancellor Equity and Indigenous and Head of Kurongkurl Katitjin at Edith Cowan University and queer Noongar man, Professor Braden Hill.

This June the project will be launched by Professor Hill and the Breaking The Silence team, with journalist and queer icon Narelda Jacobs taking on hosting duties.

The team will present a brief overview of the project’s key findings, and host a panel discussion featuring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQIA+ community members and researchers.

Professor Hill’s recent opinion piece condemning racism in Perth’s Queer community fast became one of the most read articles on OUTinPerth since its publication in March, and gave a small snapshot of just some of the information drawn from the research.

“My research focusing on the lived experiences of Aboriginal/LGBTQ+ people in Western Australia highlights the sense of exclusion that Blak Queers often feel,” Professor Hill wrote.

“For example: 41.9% of participants stated that they avoid mentioning that they are Indigenous on dating apps due to concerns about racism or stereotyping. Less than half (45.2%) felt a sense of belonging to the wider LGBTQ+ community. 40% experienced some form of microaggression from non-Indigenous people within the LGBTQ+ community in the last 12 months.”

“These findings are concerning and are reflected in the anger about this latest high-profile instance of racism in the Perth Queer community.”

Join the Breaking The Silence Community Forum on Friday 25th June from 4pm. For more information, head to trybooking.com

OIP Staff

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