Report - Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights

The effects on Salote and Lela are both material and nonmaterial. They are unable to live in <strong>the</strong>ir own
home with <strong>the</strong>ir partner <strong>of</strong> choice and have no privacy. The son has to deal with a domestic move
while studying at high school. The extended families experience greater strain on already stretched
resources. It puts pressure on both to end <strong>the</strong> already stretched relationship. Also, for women who
already are on tenuous and insufficient income, o<strong>the</strong>rwise productive time is spent trying to find
accommodation, so <strong>the</strong>y continue to be trapped in poverty.
Case Study 3 – Domestic Violence
Eta is sharing her personal testimony on violence inflicted against her by her past partner <strong>of</strong> five years.
Eta and her partner were living in separate family homes to avoid <strong>the</strong> community stigma and due to
<strong>the</strong>ir low incomes and family obligations. This put constant pressure on <strong>the</strong>m, and <strong>the</strong> only time <strong>the</strong>y
could be toge<strong>the</strong>r was at weekends at friend’s homes.
Eta was continually looking for unskilled and skilled work during that five years, facing continual
rejection with no explanation. She was depressed and her health suffered greatly. Added to <strong>the</strong> violence
against her own mo<strong>the</strong>r in <strong>the</strong> family home, after two years <strong>the</strong> violence in her own relationship was
almost too much to bear. The worst incident <strong>of</strong> violence was Eta being stabbed in <strong>the</strong> back with a kitchen
knife while her partner was drunk. Eta’s mo<strong>the</strong>r and sisters helped her as Eta refused to go to <strong>the</strong>
police or hospital, who would not be sympa<strong>the</strong>tic. But it was difficult for <strong>the</strong>m to help when <strong>the</strong>y could
not deal with <strong>the</strong> underlying causes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> violence, as <strong>the</strong> relationship itself was not recognised by
<strong>the</strong> family. Also, her family was already under considerable trauma from <strong>the</strong> male violence in <strong>the</strong> home.
Eta is finally out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relationship and now works at <strong>the</strong> Sexual Minorities Project. But <strong>the</strong> emotional
and physical effects <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> trauma are still felt by her today. This is <strong>the</strong> reality for many lesbian couples,
and <strong>the</strong> silences are even more pr<strong>of</strong>ound in this area, even within <strong>the</strong> community itself.
Case Study 4 – Sex Work
Mele left home because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> physical and verbal abuse she received from family members due to her
sexual orientation. By <strong>the</strong> time she was 17 years old she was living with her partner in a very unsafe,
low-cost, inner city motel, and had been engaged in heterosexual sex work since <strong>the</strong> time she was living
on <strong>the</strong> streets. She was in sex work for 5 years, trying time and again to get out, but not able to because
she had to send money to <strong>the</strong> village for her child and o<strong>the</strong>r family obligations. She is now 24 years
old and trying to make a life for herself working in retail for a minimum wage. For <strong>the</strong> moment she
is <strong>of</strong>f <strong>the</strong> streets. Today she has settled down and hopes to someday live with her partner in a home
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir own. Her partner who was also a street worker has settled down and is self-employed.
Networking with SMP has today empowered her and also with her experience has made it possible
for her to be on <strong>the</strong> SMP core collective.
Her reality is repeated over and over by o<strong>the</strong>r lesbians. From <strong>the</strong> first needs analysis done in 2003
with <strong>the</strong> help <strong>of</strong> Family Planning Sydney, we have a better idea <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> extent <strong>of</strong> homelessness,
depression, violence and alcohol and marijuana abuse experienced by <strong>the</strong> most vulnerable part <strong>of</strong> our
GLBT community. We also found that while people might say <strong>the</strong>re was no physical abuse in same
sex relationships, <strong>the</strong> evidence was <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>the</strong>re on people’s bodies, and anecdotally we know <strong>the</strong>re
is a lot.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 173