– Federal Parliament has passed Australia’s own version of Magnitsky Laws, which allows for targeted sanctions against individuals responsible for human rights violations. Emma Hoy spoke with one of the bill’s key supporters, Federal Greens Senator Janet Rice about the legislation, along with Nic Holas from the Victorian Pride Lobby about how they’d like the new legislation used to target abusers of queer people around the world.
– The Federal Coalition is pushing new legislation pitched as an anti-trolling bill. However, many have critiqued the legislation as doing little to stem trolling, instead they say, stifling free speech by making it easier for defamation lawsuits to be launched along with being a further erosion of online privacy. Pearl Cardis investigates.
– Discussions of the religious discrimination bill being pushed by the federal coalition often frames religiosity and queerness as mutually exclusive. That’s of course far from the case. There are many people of faith that are at risk of being impacted by the legislation. James Pembroke has spoken with several of them.
This is our final episode for 2021 and the last for Executive Producer Gavin Height at the helm. A massive thank you to all the hard work of The Informer team this year – Ryan Sambell, James Pembroke, Pearl Cardis, Emma Hoy, Hailey Pham, Chloe Macmillan, Shannon Colee, Dom Hennequian, Jack Cranjin, and Yuan Zhong. And thanks to you, our listeners, for tuning in. Have a great summer!
 

– World AIDS Day is 1 Dec so we look back at two stories from this season. One looks at exciting new research being undertaken in Melbourne into a potential cure for HIV, while in the other, we look into the concerning rising HIV infection rates in Indonesia.
– Continuing our retrospective – back in August when Australia pulled its last troops out of Afghanistan, unlike other western countries it refused to take in more refugees. Months later the Australian Gov has still not changed its policy, despite wide-ranging criticism. We spoke with Dennis Altman at the time who wrote an open letter to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marise Payne.

– The federal government has tabled its long-awaited Religious Discrimination Bill. The legislation would weaken some existing protections for LGBTQIA+ Australians and has been roundly condemned by queer advocates, among others. We speak to Equality Australia about what this legislation means for the community.
– Melbourne Queer Film Festival has been rocked by a boycott campaign after it refused to withdraw Israeli film The Swimmer from its program. Boycott organisers say the film, and allowing it to be aired, is pinkwashing, while MQFF says it has a duty to support a diverse range of filmmakers. We speak to both the campaign organisers and MQFF to find out what’s going on.

– New research by Vic Pride Lobby finds the vast majority of queer Victorians surveyed don’t trust or feel safe around police. We speak with Nic Holas of the Lobby about the findings, some of the impacts that the lack of trust can lead to, and what the police can do to improve their relationship with our communities.
– Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, sat down with us to chat about how he came to the role, the work he’s been undertaking, the issues he sees our communities are facing, and the importance of supporting and fostering regional queer communities.

 
– The Victorian state government has proposed changes banning deferrable medical interventions on intersex children until they are able to consent. The changes have been welcomed after years of campaigning by intersex advocates who highlight the mental and physical damage that can be done by interventions. We speak with a paediatric surgeon about how the system currently operates.
– Recently in Bulgaria’s capital, Sophia, a far-right mob led by a presidential nominee attacked a queer community centre holding an event for trans people and issues. What happened in the attack and how more broadly, how is the situation for sexual and gender minorities in Bulgaria? We spoke with a community leader at the community centre when it was attacked to find out.

– The board of Sydney Mardi Gras has proposed changes to its constitution that would mean a significant portion of the board is appointed by other board members, not elected by the organisation’s members. The motion will be put to a vote at an upcoming general meeting. Some in the organisation are critical of the proposal, namely the activist group, Pride in Protest.
– As Victoria comes out of what is hopefully its last significant lockdown, the usually vibrant arts scene is coming out of an 18+ month shutdown. We speak with some performance artists about how they’ve coped, what it’s like coming out of such a long shutdown, and what we as a community can potentially learn from how we adapted and changed to deal with restrictions.
 

– As Melbourne emerges from another tough long lockdown, we hear from some queer pubs about how they’ve managed while their doors were shut and how important queer spaces are for the community.
– Burundi is a small country nestled in the middle of Africa that has seen significant civil war in its not-too-distant past. While widespread violence isn’t a feature of the political process in recent years, homophobia from the state and society is increasing. Burundi passed its first laws against homosexuality in 2009, banning both male and female homosexual acts. In such a climate, speaking out isn’t easy or necessarily safe. We spoke with a brave anonymous individual who shed light on the experience of queer people in the country.
– It’s Aussie Ace Week, which brings attention, celebrates, and advocates for the ace community. We hear from one of the organisers about what’s happening.

– The Australian Human Rights Commission has released a report recommending non-medically necessary interventions on intersex children be banned until they are able to give consent. We speak with intersex advocate, Tony Briffa, who has been calling for the changes for years.
– Although abortion was ruled a constitutional right in the US in the 1970s, opponents have long tried to restrict access through various state legislation. Texas has passed laws so strict it’s essentially a de facto ban. We investigate how women’s constitutional rights have been circumvented.
– New pop-up Covid vaccination clinics specifically tailored for the queer community open this week. We speak with Victoria’s new LGBTIQ Commissioner, Todd Fernando, about why vaccination clinics for the queer community are helpful, and about the impact lockdowns have had on the queer community.
– A private prison in Victoria was nominated for a trans inclusion award, angering some in the queer and First Nations communities.

– NSW has a new premier in Dominic Perrottet. A self-declared social conservative, he has previously expressed opposition to marriage equality, abortion, and support for Donald Trump. Is social progress under threat? We investigate.
– Victorian Parliament has passed reforms on Assisted Reproductive Treatments. We speak with the Vic. Pride Lobby about how the reforms benefit rainbow families, but also how they didn’t go far enough.
– Scotland has introduced wide-ranging LGBTQI issues and history into its school curriculum, from age-appropriate discussions around gender and sexuality, to the history of the gay rights movement–the curriculum is hoped to reduce queerphobia. We speak with one of the activists that pushed for the changes, and an Australian education academic about how Australia is lagging behind on inclusive education.

 
– A petition calling for gender-affirming surgery to be covered amassed over 100,000 in a matter of days. Currently, the surgery isn’t covered and is extremely expensive. We speak with Sally Goldner from Transgender Victoria about what impact Medicare coverage could have.
– The EU has been applying pressure to Polish province governments over ‘LGBT-Free Zone’ ordinances that have been passed by many provinces since 2019. With the threat of funding being withheld, some have dropped the ordinances. We speak with academic Cai Wilkinson about if the changes might lead to improvements on the ground for sexual and gender minorities in Poland.
– There’s been a long trend of gay bars closing. While there’s debate about the causes, the outcome means that there are fewer physical queer-focused spaces for people to meet. We speak with one new bar owner determined to buck the trend, as he opened the Gold Coast’s only gay bar, after several years of there being none in the region.

– Despite Victoria leading the country with many LGBTQIA+ reforms, the parliament has one of the lowest numbers of out LGBTQIA+ people. A new campaign launched by the Vic Pride Lobby seeks to change that. We speak to Vic’s first and only elected out lesbian Harriet Shing about what needs to be done to increase representation.
– Covid has led to lengthy delays in gender-affirming surgery. We find out what impact the delays are having on people.
– Yarra City Council has voted unanimously to begin including ‘A’ in LGBTQIA+ in all council materials, along with mandating training for all councilors to help better understand issues impacting the queer community. We speak with the mayor about the changes and learn about the experience of asexual and aromantic people in the community.

 
– Vic Gov announces it will follow through on its promise to ban workplace discrimination of LGBTQI teachers in independent religious schools. We speak to the Vic Pride Lobby, Independent Education Union, and a queer teacher in a religious school about discrimination allowed under current laws.
– The Federal Government is considering introducing a community sponsorship refugee program, similar to programs in Canada and New Zealand. We speak to queer refugee peer advocates from the Forcibly Displaced People Network and Many Coloured Sky about the issues faced by sexual and gender minority refugees and some of the benefits that could come from community sponsorship.

– NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham headed a parliamentary committee to assess the anti-trans education bill that he had introduced into parliament himself. We speak with Greens MP David Shoebridge, Equality Australia and Teddy Cook about these concerning developments.
– Manchester Pride has come under significant community criticism for corporatisation and ceasing funding for LGBT support services. We speak to the organisers of a counter-march.

 
– Vic Gov to broaden anti-vilification laws to include sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and HIV status. We speak with Vic Pride Lobby about how the reforms came about and what their impact will be.
– Prominent trans-woman in Cameroon violently attacked after being sentenced to five years jail under draconian anti-homosexuality laws. We speak to human rights advocates in Cameroon about the situation for sexual and gender minorities in the country.
– Research has found over 60% of queer youth don’t feel safe at school. We speak with a queer youth psychologist about the impacts of this on mental health and ways to address the issues.

– Drug trials for a HIV cure are about to begin in Victoria. We speak with a lead researcher of the trial, along with Thorne Harbour Health and Living Positive Victoria about the impact a cure could have on affected people.
– Grindr has revolutionised how many queer people meet globally, allowing people to explore their sexuality discreetly, easily meet queer locals while traveling, make new friends, and of course, find sex. But it’s not all good news. We hear from researchers studying some of the app’s impacts, including addiction and perpetuating hierarchies.
– Under President Putin, Russia has become increasingly more hostile towards sexual and gender minorities. We speak with the creators of a new Russian short film that aims to counter negative rhetoric, who risk falling foul of anti-LGBT laws merely for making the film.

– With Afghanistan under Taliban control once more, we hear from the Afghan Australian Women’s Association & Prof. Sha-ahram Akifahrzadeh about what it could mean for human rights in the country.
– Dennis Altman gives his views on the Australian Government’s refusal to take in extra refugees, given the humanitarian crisis and Australia’s involvement in the war.
– OnlyFans, an online platform popular with independent sex workers, announced it was banning sexually explicit content. We hear from content creators about the impact that de-platforming can have on sex workers.

– Victoria is set to decriminalise sex work after years of campaigning by advocates. We speak to Fiona Patten MP who led the legislative review about why it’s taken so long for progress on law reform, and Jules Kim, CEO of Aus. Sex Workers Assoc. Scarlett Alliance, about what impact decriminalisation will have for sex workers.
– Covid stay-at-home orders keep the community safe from Covid, but what if home isn’t a safe place? New research shows that LGBTQIA+ U25s are at greater risk of abusive homes, and that during Covid many have had to return to abusive environments. We speak with Queer Space about the concerning findings.

– Germany has some of the toughest anti-hate speech laws in the world and they were tested for the first time in the country’s highest court after Facebook removed several posts deemed hateful. While the laws make it easier to challenge and remove online hate speech, the laws have caused some concern for civil rights observers, with potential for them to be misused to stifle political dissent.
– Indonesia has one of the fastest growth rates of HIV in the region. We speak with a researcher and health professional from Java about the political causes of the rise and the creative ways advocates are working to turn the tide on rising infections.
– With people battling and dying from covid in hospitals, we speak with a frontline healthcare worker who treated patients during the UK’s first wave.

The Tokyo Olympics has seen a record number of out Olympians. We look at how rising visibility at elite levels can have a positive impact, and where more work needs to be done to increase inclusivity.
The Chinese government has censored a number of pro-LGBTQIA+ groups on the WeChat social media platform. We look into the treatment of sexual and gender minorities by the government, and how Chinese society is progressing.
New Zealand looks set to ban conversion practices. We assess the proposals, and how it compares to Victoria’s legislation.

More and more people are identifying as non-binary and gender diverse. We investigate the rise in the reported statistic | The Vic. Pride Lobby ran a campaign during last year’s local government elections calling for inclusive LGBTQIA+ reforms. We assess the campaign’s success, and how to track councils’ performance | Side Gallery in Brisbane is giving space and a platform to LGBTQIA+ artists. We speak with the gallery owner and resident artists.