Each year on 17 May, communities across Western Australia and around the world mark IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against LGBTQIA+ Discrimination.
This date reflects a significant global turning point. On 17 May 1990, the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. It was a recognition of a simple but important truth: diversity in sexual orientation is not a flaw or illness. Discrimination, not sexual orientation, is the source of harm.
More than thirty years on, IDAHOBIT remains an important moment for reflection.
While legal protections have progressed, equality of experience has not kept pace for many LGBTQIA+ people. Safety, inclusion and respect can still feel uncertain or conditional, particularly in workplaces, education settings and public life. This gap between formal protections and lived reality shapes how people participate, connect and contribute.
In Western Australia, the Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) provides important safeguards. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender history and sex is unlawful across areas such as employment, education, housing, and access to goods, services and facilities. Protections against sexual harassment are also in place.
These laws reflect shared values of fairness and dignity. At the same time, they are not complete.
Some LGBTQIA+ people, particularly those who are trans, gender diverse or intersex, continue to rely on federal legislation, including the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), to address gaps where state protections remain limited. This highlights that while progress has been made, the work of ensuring consistent and comprehensive protection continues.
It is also important to consider how these gaps are experienced in everyday life.
Research consistently shows that LGBTQIA+ communities experience higher levels of psychological distress, anxiety, depression and self‑harm than the broader population. These outcomes are not inherent to identity. They are shaped by stigma, discrimination, exclusion and the ongoing fear of rejection.
Fear influences how people move through the world.
When people do not feel safe, they may begin to self‑censor. They might avoid drawing attention to themselves, decline opportunities, or hold back in workplaces, classrooms or community spaces. Time and energy are spent assessing risk rather than learning, contributing or leading.
This is a human response to environments where inclusion does not yet feel secure.
In workplaces, recent findings from the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) 2024 show LGBTQIA+ employees are less likely to feel they can be themselves, experience a sense of belonging, or maintain positive mental wellbeing compared with their non‑LGBTQIA+ colleagues. Many are also choosing not to be open about their identity at work.
In education, similar patterns emerge. Schools and learning environments remain common places where LGBTQIA+ people experience discrimination. Students report lower feelings of safety, increased exposure to bullying, and higher indicators of harm, particularly for transgender and gender diverse young people.
IDAHOBIT invites us to reflect on what inclusion looks like in practice.
How do our workplaces, schools and services create environments where people feel safe to be themselves? Where are systems supporting participation, and where might barriers still exist? What does it look like to move beyond protection on paper to inclusion in everyday experience?
When people feel safe, they are more likely to participate fully in their communities. When participation is supported, individuals, organisations and communities all benefit.
IDAHOBIT is an opportunity to recognise both progress and the work still ahead to ensure equality of opportunity and equality of outcomes for all Western Australians.
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