“Everyone deserves to love and be loved in return ... gender or sexual orientation has nothing to do with it.” – Maizy, a 24-year-old ReachOut Youth Ambassador from Western Australia.
Acceptance and equality can make growing up easier for young Australians. Amending the Marriage Act to accept a union of two people will signal to all young Australians that their love is equal to any other person's love.
Every month, nearly 20,000 young Australians visit ReachOut for advice on sexuality, sex and gender identity. About 65 per cent of them say that they're going through a tough time, and that they're looking for help.
Jono Nicholas, CEO of ReachOut Australia, says “It's clear from the large numbers of LGBTQI young people who visit ReachOut each month that sexuality is a pressing issue for young Australians. Sexuality is often a factor in bullying, feeling accepted and discrimination – all of which can negatively affect a young person's mental health. But this doesn't have to be the case.”
Christiana, a 19-year-old ReachOut Youth Ambassador from Victoria, says “Marriage equality will be a step in the direction of validating homosexual relationships, and reduce the social stigma surrounding them. This goes a long way to easing the stress of this affected group, especially young people, who are still very impressionable.”
In Australia, 81 per cent of young people aged 18–24 years support marriage equality (Galaxy 2012). ReachOut Youth Ambassadors, who volunteer their time to help young Australians through tough times, know better than most the impact that marriage equality will have on their peers.
“I have many LGBTQI friends who wish to marry their significant others. It makes them depressed and angry that they have not been allowed to do so ... they feel it's a breach of basic human rights,” says Maddison, a 19-year-old ReachOut Youth Ambassador from New South Wales.
Sam, a 22-year-old ReachOut Youth Ambassador from Victoria, says “Not having equality makes people feel ostracised, different, abnormal, shameful. It can lead to self-doubt, shame and guilt, which can decrease quality of life and be the start of mental health problems.”
The television show Married at First Sight recently sparked suggestions of a double standard when it comes to marriage, something that hasn't gone unnoticed by ReachOut Youth Ambassador Christiana.
“If we truly believed that marriage was a pure and religious thing, why have we allowed the social experiment Married at First Sight to be aired? If it's ok for complete strangers to marry for another's entertainment, then it should not be denied to those who love another of the same gender,” adds Christiana.
Marriage equality is important to young people, so it's important to us. With suicide and self-harm an issue of concern for 41 per cent of LGBTQI young people (Growing Up Queer 2014), it's clear that  equality can play a significant role in improving youth mental health. We hope to see equality achieved in the Marriage Act in 2015, and we hope you'll join the call for equality, too.
Here's what else ReachOut Youth Ambassadors say about marriage equality:
- “Marriage equality allows young people to feel free enough to be who they are without judgement from any other persons.” – Madeleine
- “We pride ourselves on being a country that provides equal opportunities for all. This cannot be successfully achieved until issues such as marriage equality have been dealt with.” – Rachael
- “Marriage equality is important for young people's mental health because they can be proud of who they are and have the same rights as everyone else instead of being told what they want is wrong.” – Amber
- “I believe everyone deserves to be loved and to show love to another, whether it be either man or woman. Some might say that they can do this without having to get married as such, but why should they have to have a limit? Love has no limits. If a man and a woman are able to bring together their families and friends for one day to show how much they love each other, then why can't two men do this? Or two women?” – Chelsea
- “People who might be in same-sex relationships deserve the right to be happy and get married too.” – Jake
- “We don't live in the Middle Ages anymore. Today’s society is more accepting of people’s personalities and lifestyles. A couple's love should not be dictated by a book written centuries ago!” – Zac
- “There are so many young people who are going through this, and they're are afraid of the judgment of others. We need to allow everyone to have the same opportunity.” – Zoe
- “I have lots of friends who can’t get married, have spent lots of money to go overseas to get married, who are discriminated against because technically their love is deemed illegal and quite simply can't enjoy the basic privileges of their straight friends.” – Sam
- “I’m gay and I know that one day I’ll want to get married, and I don’t want to have to leave the country to do it! I and many of my friends in the LBGTQI community feel like second-class citizens in this respect.” – Katie
- “Marriage equality makes a broad statement about equality of LGBTQI people in the community. This will show much greater acceptance and support, as opposed to the exclusion that can lead to mental health difficulties.” – Anonymous
This piece is one of many in a compendium of letters supporting marriage equality submitted to the Federal Government by the mental health sector, in an initiative led by Spur Projects. Other organisations who have presented letters include Mental Health Australia, the Black Dog Institute, headspace and Batyr.
Related:
- Mental health sector bands together for marriage equality, 3 June 2015, Media Release (PDF)
- Online service ReachOut.com critical for distressed LGBTQI young people, 13 Feb 2014, ReachOut Australia
- Preliminary data shows crucial role for online services in suicide prevention, 3 May 2015, ReachOut Australia
