Somewhere Over the Rainbow: The Perils of Protection for Queer Asylum Seekers
Date/Time
Date(s) - Mon 9 May 2016
18:30
Location
Haydon-Allen Lecture Theatre ("The Tank")
Categories
This event is being organised by the Rainbow Refugee Action Committee, which is part of RAC. All are welcome.
Anna Brown will speak at a Canberra Rainbow Refugee Action forum on what is happening to GLBTIQ refugees seeking asylum in Australia. Everyone is welcome. Anna is in contact with Ashkan and Nima. These two men have been open about their relationship after fleeing separately from Iran and meeting in detention on Nauru. Found to be refugees, they have been resettled on Nauru. They face frequent bashing from locals and live confined to their home. They have one outing a week accompanied by guards to go grocery shopping. Under Nauru’s laws they can be jailed for 14 years just for being gay. They were just looking for somewhere they could be safe.
What will it take to stop Australia’s war on refugees? What do people from sexual and gender minorities face when they flee persecution? There are many LGBTIQ people caught up in Australia’s onshore and offshore refugee detention centres. They face daily violence, vilification, and isolation.
Anna Brown is a Victorian Australian of the Year finalist for 2016 for her work as a human rights lawyer and equality advocate. Anna leads the work of the Human Rights Law Centre on LGBTI rights. Anna is chair of the Human Rights Committee of the Law Institute of Victoria and Co-convenes the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.
