(Re)Claiming Health: The Human Rights of Young LGBTIQ+ Indigenous People in Australia

Authors:
  • CSCorrinne T. Sullivan
    Corrinne T. Sullivan
  • KSKim Spurway
    Kim Spurway
  • JLJohn Leha
    John Leha
  • WTWilliam Trewlynn
    William Trewlynn
  • KSKaren Soldatić
    Karen Soldatić
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Abstract
The human rights of both LGBTIQ+ and Indigenous peoples are far from realized. When conjoined, intersecting identities reveal how racism and queer phobia affect well-being, negating the right to health and resulting in devastating impacts on people’s social, cultural, and emotional well-being. This paper documents the lived experiences of a sample of young gender- and sexuality-diverse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from a research project conducted in New South Wales, Australia. Their perspectives reveal how, for this cohort, discrimination and privation is manifest at the family, community, and institutional levels. This paper informs an understanding of human rights as experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+-identified peoples, where racism and queer phobia are evident in the spheres of education, employment, and service provision. Adopting a critical human rights stance, our analysis illustrates how settler colonialism manifests through the processes and outcomes of settler colonial institutions and structures. “These are structural colonial problems that aren’t gonna be fixed by services.” —survey participant

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