Julian Punch MR
It is proposed that the Charter should set out simply and clearly what children and young people in out of home care can expect while they are in care. The Charter will also help them understand what to expect from life with their new families and make them feel safe and valued.
Development of a Tasmanian Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Children & Young People Out of Home Care
The Tasmanian Commissioner for Children Paul Mason has established consultation on a draft Charter of Rights and Responsibilities for Children and Young People in Out of Home Care in the State. The draft Charter now being consulted has been developed by representatives of the CREATE Foundation, the Fosters Carers Association of Tasmania and Children & Family Services. The draft Charter aims most importantly to promote more transparent and consistent standards of practice amongst people delivering out of home care.
It is proposed that the Charter should set out simply and clearly what children and young people in out of home care can expect while they are in care. The Charter will also help them understand what to expect from life with their new families and make them feel safe and valued.
While other States in Australia have a Charter of Rights Tasmania, Northern Territory and the ACT do not so this is an important time for the LGBTI Community to ensure protection of the increasing number of sexual and gender diverse young people reliant on home care in a sympathetic and safe environment. No matter their sexual preference!
In Australia the number of children and young people in ‘out of home care’ has dramatically doubled to 30,000. This increase raises many concerns about the quality of care and support for young people in this most critical period of development in an environment of love and acceptance. As well the Tasmanian Department of Health and Human Services is outsourcing many of their traditional roles causing a resulting lessening of duty of care. The concern for sexual and gender diverse young people of their rights to acknowledgement, respect and celebration of their diversity is of critical importance given the connection between homophobic intolerance, discrimination and intimidation causing dysfunction as against the development of a life long happy lifestyle. In Tasmania this connection is well established.
According to a study of health compromising and suicidal behaviours among young gay and bisexual men in Tasmania conducted at the Division of Community and Rural Health (DHHS) and issued in October 1999,
– 62% of the young Tasmanian gay and bisexual men surveyed had experienced physical assault, and 94% had suffered verbal abuse because of their sexual orientation,
– Young Tasmanian gay and bisexual men surveyed were two and a half times more likely to seriously consider suicide than their heterosexual peers
– Young Tasmanian gay and bisexual men were more likely to experience conflict with parents and peers, lose friends because of coming out, abuse alcohol and have unsafe sex.
The prepared draft Charter at this time does not directly include reference to the rights and responsibilities of sexual and gender diverse young people and children which is surprising given the research conducted by the Department of Health & Human Services represented on the drafting working party.
Professionals responsible for the selection of potential foster carers have recently approached the Tasmanian Coming Out Proud Program Community State Steering Committee. These professionals are concerned in the examination of the attitude of ‘religious’ potential foster carers presenting very strong negative attitudes to young people in care with diverse sexual preference. These ‘religious’ potential carers propose that ‘conversion programs’ should be provided as a legitimate remedy for children and young people in care with this ‘perversion’. Of more concern is that there are an above average number of potential ‘religious’ foster parents applying for state registration.
The COPP State Steering Committee has written to the Commissioner proposing
” The right for all children and young people’s cultural, sexual and gender diversity to be respected and celebrated and for access to their diverse community to be facilitated by family or carers” be included in the Charter.
In terms of the proposed corresponding responsibility clause in the draft Charter it is conversely proposed for young people in care to be encouraged “to respect the diversity of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality of all others’.
The Coming Out Proud Program through the four regional committees works to ” enable GLBTI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex) to come out with pride and live in their community as fully respected and participating members”. COPP has consistently approached the Commission over the failure of the right as expressed above. In regional Tasmania the COPP Liaison Committees constantly observe that individual, institutional, and religious group prejudice (homophobia and intimidation) in this area is connected to high rates of self-harm and suicide by young GLBTI people especially in regional and rural areas (six times the average).
If the right drafted by COPP can be enshrined in the Charter it will give an important basis for all professionals working in this area to undertake cultural awareness training and be accredited – so necessary in their work with young GLBTI people.
COPP would welcome submissions from other LGBTI organisations to the Children’s Commissioner but would see this as a core right not to be ‘watered down’. Sexual and gender diversity crosses over all attribute groups eg ethnicity, disability, race etc, etc. Co ordination on this issue and many more requires carefull coordination and consistency by all GLBTI organisations as against the corrosive and persistent homophobia of ‘religious’ organisations working at every level of government on selected issues like this.
Julian Punch
Coming Out Proud Program
WEB: www.comingoutproud.org
