home|contact us|sitemap

THE ALSO FOUNDATION

The ALSO vision is the creation and celebration of a diverse, strong, safe and inclusive GLBTIQ community that contributes to and is respected by broader communities.

We aim to realise this vision and improve the lives of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Inter-sex and Queer people by;

CELEBRATING and acknowledging our communities' strengths and those of our supporters

ADVOCATING to secure equitable access to rights, entitlements and services

LEADING through building relationships/partnerships within and beyond our community

INVESTING in growing and developing individuals and groups within our diverse community.

The Autum edition of the ALSO newsletter '&ALSO' is now on-line.

Click here to download your copy in PDF format.

This issue includes stories on the following

ALSO's new premises
Melbourne Out Games Conference
Upstart Alley Partnership
ALSO's Diversity Reference Group
A Wrap-Up of ALSO's Summer activities
Homophobic Harrassment Campaign
Sexual Health Championships
New Member and Board Member profiles

If you would like to request a printed copy (while they last) please e-mail adrianp@also.org.au

PRESS RELEASE 12/03/2008

New Register to recognise committed Relationships

The ALSO Foundation is pleased to see that members of the GLBTIQ community will be able to formally register their relationships in Victoria after the Legislative Assembly last night passed historic legislation.

The Relationships Register builds on the State Governments 2001 reforms that amended 57 Acts of Parliament to remove discrimination against same-sex and unmarried couples.

CEO of The ALSO Foundation Ms Lyn Morgain said today that this was “an important step in assisting our communities to access their rights and entitlements and will be a useful tool in helping to ensure service providers and others, provide couples those benefits to which they are due”

“This will not give new rights, she said but will help couples to secure those rights to which they are entitled’

“It will also serve as a pertinent reminder to those that might persist in their denial of the legitimacy of our relationships”

“The government is to be congratulated in taking these steps as are all those who voted to make it law”

This Press Release can be downloaded in PDF format here

THE MELBOURNE DECLARATION

(as ratified at the 2008 1st Asia Pacific Outgames)

The dignity of one depends on justice for all.

Preamble
We, the delegates to the inaugural Asia-Pacific Outgames Human Rights Conference, affirm the founding principle of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, passed by the General Assembly of the United Nations sixty years ago, that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. The Declaration was adopted by participants in the Montreal Outgames Human Rights Conference as part of the Declaration of Montreal in 2006. We take this to be a self-evident truth the realisation of which drives the shared political agendas of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people everywhere.

We reaffirm the right of every individual to express who they are, and to live and be loved, free from violence, harassment, discrimination and stigma. We reject as unjust the imposition of gender, gender identity and sexual orientation norms by many governments, societies and institutions in the Asia-Pacific region. We reject attempts to silence ways of being and loving that do not conform to these norms and all attempts to justify their imposition in the name of law, custom or belief.

In the spirit of the Declaration of Montreal we affirm the following human rights principles in relation to LGBTIQ persons:

1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

2. The right to protection against violence and discrimination.

3. The right to form families and to have our relationships and families recognised.

4. Freedom of expression, association and assembly, including sexual freedom and the freedom to love.

5. Respect for, and access to, social, cultural, political and economic rights.

Call to Action
We call on all LGBTIQ people, organisations and allied communities to advocate for these principles and all rights enumerated by the United Nations. We call on all Governments of the Asia-Pacific region to change their laws, regulations, practices and policies to respect and endorse these principles. Finally, we call on future Outgames conferences to continue the struggle for human rights so that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can enjoy lives free of prejudice, discrimination and homophobia.

ALSO Supports...

Homophobic Harrassment Campaign

This new campaign was launched on 30th January by Commander Ashleigh Dickinson, VEOHRC CEO Helen Szoke and ALSO President Neil Paterson. The launch included a poster series, postcards a new website "SpeakUp!" and a press release.

The campaign is a partnership of Victoria Police and  GLBTIQ community coalition comprising The ALSO Foundation, The Anti-Violence Project, The Victorian AIDS Council, The Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby (VGLRL),and TransGender Victoria, Minus-18 and the Rainbow Network.

Supported by the City of Melbourne and Department of Justice..

The campaign’s objectives are twofold:

• Improvement of the level of reporting of acts of harassment and abuse - as recorded by either the Victoria Police or Anti-Violence Project.

• Improved awareness of the importance of reporting to the overall safety and well being of the GLBTIQ community

For further information visit www.speakup.asn.au