IDAHOBIT
Wed May 2023
- This event has passed.
IDAHOBIT is the anniversary of May 17, 1990, when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the Classification of Diseases. While we celebrate this milestone and other advancements in LGBTQIA+ equality, the unfortunate reality is that these are all too-recent in our history:
The first Mardi Gras pride march was held in Sydney in 1978, which was met with violence from police. Those who marched were beaten inside police cells and had their names published by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Tasmania was the last jurisdiction in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality in May 1997. The majority of Australians today were alive during a time when it was illegal to be gay.
The Marriage Equality plebiscite was held in 2017. While marriage equality was passed, 38.4% of Australians who voted (4.8 million people) voted against it.
The first IDAHOBIT was held in 2005 and is today acknowledged by millions of people globally. While IDAHOBIT has evolved over these years, the purpose remains the same – celebrate the progress we have made while also raising awareness for the discrimination that LGBTQIA+ people still face today.