Lesbian Action Group want to exclude trans women but say ‘we don’t hate them’
People holding a trans flags. (Getty)
A gender-critical lesbian group is continuing its push to exclude trans women, but has said: “We don’t hate trans people.”
The Victoria-based chapter of Lesbian Action Group (LAG) is appealing a Human Rights Commission ruling that prevents the exclusion of trans women from its public gatherings.
LAG has argued that their events should remain exclusive to cisgender women, saying they want “young and emerging lesbians” to find safe spaces without “biological males” in attendance, despite the fact Victorian and federal law recognises trans women as women.
Spokesperson for the organisation, Nicole Mowbray, told the ABC: “We don’t hate trans people.
“We fully support trans people living their best lives and creating their own spaces and having their own events. There’s plenty of trans-only events, and that’s fine. We would just like to be afforded the same right.”
In January, LAG had its request to overturn a previous ruling, and make its events for cis lesbians only, denied.
In September 2023, the Victoria-based group applied to the Australian Human Rights Commission for an exemption from the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) so they could hold events for “lesbians born female” only, thus excluding trans and bisexual cis women.
Under the 2010 Equal Opportunity Act, the state of Victoria can grant temporary exemptions to anti-discrimination laws if it can be proved that the exclusion would “help the act’s goal of promoting equal opportunity” and the proposed action was “a reasonable limitation on the right to equality set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities”.
The human rights commission ruled against the group, saying that granting an exemption could lead to further exclusion of, and discrimination against, transgender women.
The group sought to overturn the ruling, but on 20 January senior member at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Stewart Fenwick upheld the original decision.
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