International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia
Northern Sydney Local Health District staff are being called on to dress in the colours of the rainbow on Monday 17 May – the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) – to celebrate LGBTQIA+ people and raise IDAHOBIT recognises the date – 31 years ago on May 17 1990 – when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. In Australia, 75 per cent of LGBTQIA+ youth will experience some form of discrimination and 35 per cent of LGBTQIA+ Australians have experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months. Executive Assistant to the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Todd Backhouse is the co-chair of the LGBTQI+ employee awareness for the work still needed to combat discrimination. network and said days like IDAHOBIT provide an opportunity to teach people about the inequity and discrimination against sexuality or gender diverse people in society.
Staff getting into the spirit for IDAHOBIT
“With a name like IDAHOBIT people are bound to ask ‘what is IDAHOBIT? What does that mean?’” Todd said. “It’s an important beat to help people understand marriage equality isn’t the end of the fight against LGBTQIA+ discrimination in Australia. “Celebrating diversity is a powerful thing, and we see how over the years Mardi Gras and positive messaging has helped the LGBTQIA+ community. “But it’s also super important to add the shade to all that light and give people perspective – so they can see the reasons celebrations, acknowledgments, attention and education in this space is important because
discrimination still exists.” Staff are encouraged to get involved in the day by wearing something colourful, place posters up around their workplace showing their support for the LGBTQIA+ community, or send a photo holding an IDAHOBIT sign to NSLHD-ODTeam@health.nsw. gov.au to be posted on the NSLHD Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Further information, resources and IDAHOBIT support signs can be found on the IDAHOBIT website at https://www.idahobit.org.au/ For staff interested in joining the LGBTQI+ Employee Network, please contact NSLHD-ODTeam@health.nsw. gov.au.
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