“Absolutely it was not safe”: Indigenous LGBTIQSB+ experiences of education in Australia

Corrinne Sullivan; Duy Tran; Kim Spurway; Linda Briskman; John Leha; William Trewlynn; Karen Soldatic

doi:10.55146/ajie.v53i1.664

Authors

Corrinne T. Sullivan Western Sydney University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7051-8791
Duy Tran ACON https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7155-7592
Kim Spurway Western Sydney University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5721-5836
Linda Briskman Western Sydney University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5328-0339
John Leha AbSec - NSW Child, Family and Community Aboriginal Peak Organisation
William Trewlynn YarnnUp
Karen Soldatic Western Sydney University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8139-2912

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55146/ajie.v53i1.664

Keywords:

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, Indigenous, LGBTIQ , education, Australia

Abstract

Indigenous LGBTIQSB+ individuals occupy a unique intersection of identities that inform their lived experiences and the ways in which they navigate colonial settler educational institutions. Despite a considerable body of evidence demonstrating the importance of inclusion, educational policies in Australia remain outdated. These policies are frequently informed by a deficit approach that justifies the absence of Indigenous and gender/sexuality diverse content within school curricula. This further acts to shore up discriminatory practices and policies. Using interviews and workshops held with young Indigenous LGTBIQSB+ people, this article reports on the ways participants experienced educational institutional settings. First, participants reported on the kinds of policies and curriculum content that discriminated against and marginalised them, as well as highlighting some positive aspects of school and university. Participants also revealed the potentialities for Indigenous and LGBTIQSB+ inclusivity that could be facilitated within educational spaces. The article demonstrates the need for safer and more inclusive educational environments, which could be achieved through the decentring of settler knowledges and heteronormativity, transforming educational spaces at an institutional level to facilitate safety at interpersonal and collective levels.

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Author Biographies

Corrinne T. Sullivan, Western Sydney University

Corrinne Sullivan is an Aboriginal scholar from the Wiradjuri Nation in central-west New South Wales. She is an Associate Professor in Human Geography and the Associate Dean (Indigenous Education) in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University. Her research interests focus on experiences and effects of body and identity in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, as well as Indigenous education, with expertise in Indigenous curriculum and pedagogy development.

Duy Tran, ACON

Duy Tran is currently working as a Community Health Promotion Officer for the Peer Education team at ACON. Before this, Duy worked as a Research Assistant at Western Sydney University on projects investigating Indigenous LGBTIQ+ wellbeing and LGBTIQ+ lateral violence and micro-aggressions.

Kim Spurway, Western Sydney University

Kim Spurway is a Senior Research Associate with the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University. Kim’s work focuses on critical approaches to humanitarian emergencies, natural disasters, race, disability and gender/sexuality diversity.

Linda Briskman, Western Sydney University

Linda Briskman holds the Margaret Whitlam Chair of Social Work at Western Sydney University. Areas of research and activism include asylum seeker rights, Indigenous rights and challenging racism. She publishes widely in each area. Her most recent books are the co-authored Human Rights and Social Work: Towards a Rights-based Practice (Cambridge University Press, 2022, with Jim Ife and Karen Soldatic) and the co-edited Indigenous Health Ethics: An Appeal to Human Rights (World Scientific, 2020, with Deborah Zion and Alireza Bagheri).

John Leha, AbSec - NSW Child, Family and Community Aboriginal Peak Organisation

John Leha is one of BlaQ’s founding Directors and Chair of BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation Board as well as the CEO of the NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation (AbSec). John has worked extensively in the Indigenous sector across all levels of government and community-controlled organisations. John is a proud Birra Gubba, Wakka Wakka and Tongan man born and raised on Gadigal land, Sydney.

William Trewlynn, YarnnUp

William Trewlynn is one of BlaQ’s founding Directors, the Co-Founder and Managing Director of YarnnUp and a Board Member of The Land Back Foundation. He is a proud Aboriginal man with traditional ties to the Nucoorilma people of Tingha and Dunghutti people of Woolbrook, NSW. As a queer Aboriginal man, William has experienced firsthand the hardships the community face.

Karen Soldatic, Western Sydney University

Karen Soldatic is a Professor at the School of Social Sciences and Psychology and Institute Fellow in the Institute for Culture and Society, both at Western Sydney University. Karen’s research engages with critical questions of identity, race, ethnicity, disability and sexuality under settler colonial regimes of power.

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