Competing Rights. Time to Review the Sex Discrimination Act 1984
LGB Alliance Australia wrote to federal parliamentarians calling for a review of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. The letter argued that gender identity provisions have eroded the sex-based rights of women, girls, lesbians and gay men, citing the Giggle v Tickle case, and asked Parliament to find an accommodation allowing both sets of rights to coexist.
It raised four key concerns: single-sex spaces, the medicalisation of gender-distressed young people, the erasure of same-sex attraction, and restrictions on freedom of expression.
The full letter is below.
LGB Alliance Australia is a national organisation representing lesbian, gay and bisexual people across Australia. We have been calling on Australian governments to review the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 since 2023, because we believe there has been an overreach where gender identity rights have undermined the rights of many Australians, including women, girls, gay men, and lesbians.
Our appeal is simple: that all parliamentarians be willing to weigh the sex-based rights of men and women and the rights of transgender people together, with an open mind and an understanding that nuance is required.
We do not believe the 2013 Parliament intended to elevate the rights of trans-identifying people over those of women. The current Parliament has both the opportunity and the responsibility to clarify the law. The recent Federal Court case Giggle v Tickle has exposed the conflict now built into the Act.
To parliamentarians who have not yet engaged with the broad gender identity issue, there are four key concerns:
The rights of women and girls to single-sex spaces and services, so that their privacy, dignity, and safety are preserved.
The medicalisation of young people who experience distress about their sex, a growing share of whom would otherwise grow up to be gay or lesbian.
The erasure of homosexuality: homosexuality is attraction to the same sex, so when “man” and “woman” are defined by gender identity rather than sex, “gay” and “lesbian” lose their meaning, and the basis of same-sex attraction is dissolved.
Freedom of expression, where a belief in biological sex, and concern for the safety, dignity, and privacy of women and girls, cannot be voiced without risk of vilification.
We ask you to extend the same compassion you would extend to a person claiming a gender identity to everyone affected by these questions. This includes detransitioners who have suffered serious and lasting medical harm; parents of gender-distressed children; gays and lesbians unable to hold single-sex events, young children exposed to these adult ideas in their schools and social networks; medical professionals and teachers who have been silenced or sanctioned for raising concerns about the care of children and young adults; and women and men who have advocated for the rights of women and girls.
We do not believe a society is well served when the rights of women are displaced by the claims of gender identity. We ask you to help find an accommodation that resolves the conflict and allows these rights to coexist.
Of course, there is a diversity of views in the LGB community. Some will be indifferent. Some will never have heard of our position. Some will oppose it. Some will support it. Some will support it but feel unable to say so, silenced by the culture of compliance that has taken hold of their organisations. Many will know that weakening women's rights is, in the long run, harmful to gay and lesbian rights. Many will understand how harmful it is for society to diminish women's sex-based rights in favour of gender identity rights.
LGB Alliance Australia does not support any political party. We represent people from across the political landscape who hold differing views on many issues, and it is the role of the Parliament to listen to those different voices. We ask all parties to conduct this discussion with decency, and to include those who have been disenfranchised by it.
We would welcome the opportunity to have a conversation about important public policy issues that directly impact our members.