Community consultation is now open on how we
can make LGBTQIA+ residents feel more
included in Greater Geelong.
We’re excited to be creating our first LGBTQIA+ Action Plan
2025-29 which will identify issues and actions that specifically impact our
local Rainbow community.
The City wants to know how
LGBTQIA+ inclusive our region is, how much progress we’ve made in this space,
what improvements we can make and key priorities for the City to act on over
the next four years.
LGBTQIA+ community members
and the broader community are invited to contribute by filling out our online survey or attending a workshop.
We are keen to hear your thoughts on participation in community life, building understanding
of LGBTQIA+ experiences, visibility, safety and aspirations for the future.
We’ll also be calling for
insights from the City’s LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee, Rainbow Youth Advisory
Group and Gender and Sexuality Program (GASP) participants, along with QHub’s LGBTQIA+
Service Providers Network. We started GASP in 1996 to ensure that the strength
and diversity of LGBTIQA+ young people are valued, celebrated and affirmed.
Mayor
Trent Sullivan
While the City has been recognised for its work in the
LGBTIQA+ space in the past, there is a lot of work to do.
LGBTQIA+
residents make valuable contributions to our cultural and social fabric.
We
want to address the societal stigma,
discrimination and other challenges
that our Rainbow community experiences through the City’s first LGBTQIA+ Action
Plan, to ensure a more inclusive region.
I invite LGBTQIA+
residents and visitors, and allies to have their say.
Cr
Sarah Hathway, Chair of Inclusion and Care portfolio and LGBTQIA+ Advisory
Committee
The action plan links strongly to the City’s strategic
direction for a ‘healthy, caring and inclusive community’.
This
engagement will identify community and stakeholder aspirations for LGBTQIA+
inclusion with respect to the core principles of understanding, inclusion,
visibility and safety.
The
City wants to have meaningful conversations with the LGBTQIA+ community to understand its key priorities to address over the
next four years.
At the advice of the LGBTIQA+
Commissioner’s Office, the City has been progressing work to meet the Rainbow
Ready Roadmap indicators for LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
A summary of our ‘Stage 2 –
Assess’ report is available to view, covering the current state of this
inclusion work, our progress against the 15 indicators and identifying areas
for improvement.