LGBTQ+ students in faith-based schools are getting discriminated against and the government is allowing it. Why is that? In 2018 the Liberal National Coalition promised to protect LGBTQ+ children in Australian faith-based schools, yet have failed to do so even though they have been suffering and waiting for a promised decision made 4 years ago. More recently in 2022 the Coalition made supposed progress to this bill by now ‘protecting’ gay (not transgender) students from expulsion, however it doesn’t change the fact that these students are allowed to be gay or have a view on their gender, but are forced to repress and hide who they are because of a government enforced bill which states they cannot express themselves. How are these students supposed to have hope in their community and future if the government, the people who are supposed to protect them, are allowing, and encouraging this bill that damages and discriminates?

Transgender students and adults are viewed differently simply for being who they are. Transgender people should have all the same rights as a cisgender (non-trans) person, but because of the proposed amendments to the religious discrimination bill, this will not happen. Transgender students at schools are almost never recognised for who they are, constantly getting misgendered and discriminated against. How could the whole reason a kid is kept out of a school be based on an aspect of their life that has nothing to do with school?

In 2020 Mark Latham proposed the parental rights bill; nicknamed anti-trans kid’s bill. If this bill was accepted the changes would have banned students from coming out to teachers without parents’ knowledge, prohibited trans students from playing school sports aligning with their gender, required trans students to have a full medical transition to use bathrooms aligning with their gender, and require full parental consent before any discussion of matters concerning gender of sexuality. Statistically two thirds of LGBTQ+ youth have had family members make negative comments about them or other LGBTQ+ youth, and 48% of those who are out to their families have been made to feel bad about their gender identity or sexual orientation. This bill would have taken away students’ ability to confidently come out to family when they are ready, with only 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ youth finding their homes to be LGBTQ-affirming how can u be sure that is safe for them to do. By giving those parents the right to know would’ve removed LGBTQ+ youth’s safety and comfort. The fact that this bill was even considered proves how damaging the government is for LGBTQ+ youth.

The greens senator Janet Rice commented that “a child who started high school in 2018 when the commitment was first made, will graduate in 2023… perhaps, these kids will see the change made while they’re in year 11,” this statement was indirectly saying that for the current generation of students it is too late to protect them. 

Five liberal members crossed the floor to support an amendment prohibiting discrimination against trans students. There are 77 members of the liberal coalition that hold seats in the house of representatives and only 5 crossed the floor to support transgender children. This is the government that the community is supposed to have trust in, and only five members are willing to protect all transgender students. The Religious Discrimination Bill was then shelved due to the 5 members crossing the floor which would’ve led to a law against discrimination towards transgender children. When the government decided to shelve the Bill, the idea that trans students do not deserve the same protection under the law as cisgendered students was made very clear.

Attorney-General Michaelia Cash said, “a move to immediately strip church schools of the ability to discriminate against transgender students would raise complications over bathroom and uniform requirements, and risk eroding the ethos of single-sex religious schools.” She is primarily stating that the laws of discrimination against transgender students shouldn’t be changed because it is ‘too complicated’. This was only one of the arguments against protecting LGBTQ+ students. So students, children are meant to fend for themselves when they have little to no people fighting for them?

The main idea of the Religious Discrimination Bill is to give legal protection against discrimination for people of faith, however being controversial because it allows people of faith to discriminate against others. The government’s proposed religious discrimination laws would have preserved the right of religious schools to expel students and staff based on their gender identity, despite providing protection for gay students and staff. In shorter words the government are giving faith-based schools the right to discriminate against students for being gender-diverse or transgender.

In an article written by Jewel Topsfield and Madeleine Heffernan, a transgender student, named Miles Wade made a statement about when he went to use a male specified public restroom and was adjusting his binder, a grown man chased him down the street and attacked him. “a grown man beating up a 16-year-old in broad daylight”. This truly shows the world we are forced to live in and how retaining the right to expel transgender students from faith-based schools, makes the broader community believe it is ok to discriminate on the basis of faith.

A school in Brisbane (Citipointe Christian College) made a statement saying that they would only enrol students based on the gender that corresponded with their biological sex. Imagine being 13/14 years old and going into a new school in a new town, excited for a fresh start just to be torn down by teachers, principal, mentors, etc., that is something that deteriorates a student’s confidence, self-expression, personality, and identity. That student could be your child, your nephew, niece, nibling, or grandchild. This might be happening right under your noses, and no one is doing anything to fix it. In this world with so many problems the government refuses to fix something that could be changed easily.