Australian Politics and Policy - Senior, 2019a

Australian Politics and Policy
While Gillard is a prominent example, women, LGBTIQ+ people and people
from other marginalised groups who publicly engage in politics face abuse, hate
speech and at times violence – whether they are involved as candidates or media
commentators or are active on social media or in their communities and
workplaces. The ferocious online attacks on Yassmin Abdel-Magied, a young
Sudanese-Australian engineer, broadcaster and writer who made a Facebook post
on Anzac Day reading ‘LEST. WE. FORGET. Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine’, are
another example of hate speech at the intersection of race and gender. 94 At the same
time, effective communities and networks of marginalised people are flourishing,
giving support and discursive resources to members engaged in politics. 95 Backlash
and community-building effects are now being recognised as key elements of social
change.
Conclusions
More than ever, Australian political institutions are grappling with issues of gender
and sexuality. At the same time, communities and movements are demanding
that those with power use it to create a broader understanding of what politics is
and who can be part of it. By integrating an awareness of gender and sexuality
throughout the work of the discipline, political science can contribute to this
process.
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94 Shah 2019.
95 Hutchison 2016.
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