DANI WRIGHT

Dani Wright is the Coordinator of the Freedom Centre - the WA AIDS Council’s peer support service for young people who are LGBTIQQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer & Questioning or otherwise sexually, sex &/ gender diverse). Dani also volunteers as the Board Secretary of Gay & Lesbian Community Services of WA and is passionately involved in many aspects of the Perth queer community.

Why have you chosen to represent this same-sex law reform campaign?

Same sex attracted people in Australia now have equal rights in most areas and the only way we can make the most of those rights is to know what they are! Wear It With Pride is central in educating and raising awareness so we can know and make the most of our recently reformed rights.

What sorts of same-sex discrimination have you as  / anyone you know experienced?

I’m lucky to have only experienced a small amount of discrimination and ignorance about being queer. I’ve had random verbal abuse on occasion, but a significant incident was when my partner and I bought our first property together. The real estate agent refused to acknowledge that we were a couple with a combined income. I was only working part-time and he wouldn’t see that we were combining our income in order to afford the mortgage repayments and kept insisting that I couldn’t afford my half of the repayments. Now that same sex couples are recognised in Australian legislation it will start to change the way we are treated in matters like these.

How do you think these reforms will make a difference to your life, or to the lives of those close to you?

Having my relationship recognised as equal to heterosexual defacto couples will definitely make a difference to me financially and in health and family related matters that I will encounter in the future. But most importantly, I feel like I live in a country that is so much closer to giving me full equality, respect and human rights.

Why do you think people should wear these 85 law reforms with pride?

Because we are proud people! And despite a history of discrimination and inequality we’ve reached an incredibly significant point in Australian history where we have equality in so many areas that we once didn’t!

Why do you think this is a huge step forward for Australia?

Part of it is the significant legal and financial implications, but I think it means much more than that. Research in the US has found that the mental health of gay, lesbian and bisexual people was markedly better in states that allow same sex marriage. I believe that having Australian same sex couples recognised equally in so many respects is an important step towards reducing the gap in poor mental health and suicide statistics between same sex attracted and heterosexual people in Australia. I hope this is one of many steps forward that will one day see discrimination towards people with diverse sexuality, sex &/ gender cease to exist and cause such disproportionately higher rates of mental health issues in Australia.

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