LGBTIQA+ inclusion
The University of Western Australia is committed to the inclusion and support of LGBTIQA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, asexual/agender or other diverse sexual orientations and genders) students and staff at the University. UWA has a proud history of support and allyship for the LGBTIQA+ community, and in 2002 pioneered the Ally Program which has subsequently been adopted by universities across Australia and New Zealand.
We have been recognised as a Bronze employer in the Australian LGBTQ Inclusion Awards, which are based on the annual Australian Workplace Equality Index.
Support
UWA offers a number of support services for LGBTIQA+ students and staff:
Resources for LGBTQIA+ people at UWA
All-gender toilets
All staff and students at UWA have the right to use bathrooms and changing rooms for their affirmed gender. A list of available all-gender bathrooms on UWA campuses will be made available soon.
General information
To learn more about LGBTIQA+ diversity and the lives and experiences of LGBTIQA+ people, enrol in the Peacock Project on LMS (see instructions to enrol under “Resources for Allies” on this page) or follow one of the links below:
- Beyond Blue: Understanding Gender and Sexuality
- Bi Alliance: Information for professionals working with people who are bisexual
- Intersex Human Rights Australia: Darlington Statement
- Living Proud WA Resources page
- The Pride in Diversity Resources include a Pronoun Guide. The UWA is a member of Pride in Diversity and staff can requests PiD resources via uwa-ally-spp@uwa.edu.au
External resources
- Urgent Help (24/7 services)
- Lifeline – 13 11 14
- Emergency – 000
Becoming an Ally
An Ally affirms the experiences and rights of LGBTIQA+ people and chooses to challenge the homophobic and heterosexist values of others in a variety of ways, including by individual example and personal awareness.
Allies are not identified as being heterosexual or LGBTIQA+. Allies are representative of the entire UWA community.
Since 2002, UWA’s Ally Program has worked to create a supportive and welcoming environment for LGBTIQA+ staff and students.
-
Become an ally
-
Training
-
Ally training workshop
-
The Ally Network
Information for researchers collecting DSG data
When collecting data on sex, gender, or sexuality, it is critical to design survey questions in a way that is inclusive of those with diverse sexualities and genders (DSG). Non-inclusive or exclusionary data collection practices can present a significant barrier to providing services to LGBTIQA+ clients and results in less accurate data collection.
For suggestions and best practices on collecting DSG data, we recommend reading the Canberra LGBTIQ Community Consortium’s “A guide to LGBTIQ-inclusive data collection”.
Policies
Our policies adopt an inclusive definition of family that encompasses a wide range of relationships: blood, marriage, affinity adoption and dependency. Family responsibilities include care for older people, people with disability, children, partners and ex-partners, and responsibilities associated with extended families irrespective of sexual gender or identity. Parental leave is accessible to staff of all genders and to staff in same-sex relationships
UWA’s efforts to promote and support the experiences of LGBTIQA+ students and staff are guided by our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies.
Our history
Our history Staff and students at the University have a long history of LGBTIQA+ activism. The Student Guild's Homosexuality Information Department (as the Pride Department was then known), in its inaugural year of 1979, ran a campaign to encourage students to come out without fear on campus.
As part of these efforts, a phone-in on homosexuality was organised for new students during Orientation. Sexual orientation was included in UWA's Equal Opportunity Policy from 1993 onwards, nearly 10 years before Western Australia included it in the WA Equal Opportunity Act 1984.
In 2001 UWA and the Student Guild conducted the ground-breaking Rainbow Project to discover the nature of staff and student attitudes towards diverse genders and sexualities. The results led to the formation of the Ally Program, a network of staff and students committed to creating an accepting and respectful environment for LGBTIQA+ staff and students. When UWA introduced the program in 2002, we became the first Australian university to introduce the Ally Program.
In 2016 we introduced our Transgender Policy to make improve conditions for transgender students and staff. In the same year, we became the first Australian university to undertake a study into the experience of UWA students of diverse genders and sexualities. The results and recommendations are informing future inclusion practices and strategic directions. UWA is a proud member of Pride in Diversity, a supporter of marriage equality and a supporter organisation of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia.
