Community Action Against Homophobia
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Community Action Against Homophobia (CAAH) is a community
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
organisation based in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Since its establishment in 1999, CAAH has aimed to eliminate
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
and achieve full equality for
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
people—defined as "
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
,
gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
,
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
, same sex attracted,
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...
,
intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...
or non-
heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to ...
ly identifying" in the CAAH constitution.


History

CAAH began in 1999 with a group of students already active within the Sydney queer student movement. At a time when student dissent against aggressive government policies was reaching a fruition across the country, the queer movement was no exception, and groups like the Cross Campus Sexuality Network (CCSN) were already active in
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. However it was felt that these groups were not properly engaging with the broader community and so an offshoot was created which combined a more radical political message with an intent to galvanise the broader community around issues of liberation and representation. In 1999 Collective Action Against Homophobia was formed to protest against a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
anti-gay organisation known as
Courage Courage (also called bravery or valor) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, h ...
, which preached a message that
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
was a disease that needed to be cured. Activists managed to have that meeting shut down and the organisation removed from university campus. The collective was then disbanded. In 2000 a new group taking inspiration from the defunct Collective Action Against Homophobia formed Community Action Against Homophobia, taking the democratic principles and practices of the previous group and broadening the scope to include general community members as well as students.


Politics

CAAH's politics are mostly
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
. CAAH's origins in the student movement in Sydney are reflected in an underlying commitment to social justice issues and solidarity with other struggles. In its early days CAAH was active in generating
queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
blocks for
anti-globalisation The anti-globalization movement or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist m ...
protests, union rallies, student protests, anti-war demonstrations and other diverse left-wing causes. CAAH members' political views range across the spectrum of politics in Australia. Some members are also members of political parties, including the Labor Party, Greens, Socialist Alliance and Socialist Alternative. As the organisation changes various means are employed to effect change and these have altered the focus of the organising from a predominantly student based body to a community organisation that uses lobbying and persuasion as well as protest and civil disobedience to achieve its objectives.siti caah


Campaigns


Equal relationship recognition

CAAH's campaign for equal relationship recognition is an all-inclusive campaign for equality. While some organisations concentrate on a single model of relationship recognition, CAAH demands that all choices be available to all people regardless of their sexuality or gender. This includes de facto relationships, civil unions, and marriage. Together with
Australian Marriage Equality Australian Marriage Equality (AME) was an advocacy group driven by volunteers who came together to pursue the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. AME partnered with a diverse range of organisations and supporters across the country to ...
and
Equal Love Equal Love is an Australian-wide campaign initiated by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country.Same Sex Marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
National Day of Action in Sydney on the weekend closest to the anniversary of the same sex ban passed on Black Friday, 13 August 2005. CAAH was instrumental in the successful Marriage Equality Campaign and was pivotal in calling the protests of up to 50 000 people in Sydney in 2017. These protests were crucial as they pressured the then Liberal government to call a referendum, which resulted in more than 60% of Australians voting "yes".


Queer refugees

CAAH supports people who faced homophobia and persecution in their home countries because of their sexuality and/or gender, and as a result seek
asylum in Australia Asylum in Australia has been granted to many refugees since 1945, when half a million Europeans displaced by World War II were given asylum. Since then, there have been periodic waves of asylum seekers from South East Asia and the Middle East, ...
. These
asylum seeker An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
s are imprisoned by the Australian government in detention centres such as
Villawood Immigration Detention Centre Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located in ...
.


Greens anti-discrimination amendment

CAAH also supports
Lee Rhiannon Lee Rhiannon (formerly O'Gorman, ''née'' Brown; born 30 May 1951) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales between July 2011 and August 2018. She was elected at the 2010 federal election, representing the Aus ...
's private members' bil

that would amend
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
anti-discrimination legislation. Currently, private schools and businesses with fewer than six employees are permitted to discriminate on sexuality, disability, gender or age. Lee Rhiannon's bill would remove the special exemptions for private schools and businesses employing fewer than six people.


Criticism

CAAH undertakes campaigns in conjunction with the
Equal Love Equal Love is an Australian-wide campaign initiated by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country.Australian Marriage Equality Australian Marriage Equality (AME) was an advocacy group driven by volunteers who came together to pursue the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. AME partnered with a diverse range of organisations and supporters across the country to ...
organisations. CAAH have been criticised for their radical slogans and campaigning methods.
Rodney Croome Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT rights activist and academic. He worked on the campaign to decriminalise homosexuality in Tasmania, was a founder of Australian Marriage Equality, and currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasm ...
, National Convener of Australian Marriage Equality, has expressing his concerns on this issue, saying, "It is also a double standard to demand respect for same-sex relationships without showing the same respect in return". A previous Co-convenor of CAAH has also strongly expressed his concern.


See also

*
Australian Marriage Equality Australian Marriage Equality (AME) was an advocacy group driven by volunteers who came together to pursue the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. AME partnered with a diverse range of organisations and supporters across the country to ...
*
Equal Love Equal Love is an Australian-wide campaign initiated by the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby in an attempt to win gay and lesbian couples marriage rights in the country.LGBT rights in Australia Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Australia have advanced over the latter half of the twentieth century and early twenty-first century to make Australia one of the most LGBT-accepting countries in the world, with opinion ...
*
List of LGBT rights organizations This is a list of LGBT rights organizations around the world. For social and support groups or organizations affiliated with mainstream religious organizations, please see ''List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences''. For organizations ...


References


External links


Anti-discrimination amendment
{{LGBT in Australia LGBT political advocacy groups in Australia 1999 establishments in Australia Anti-homophobia Organisations based in Sydney