About Queer Displacements : Sexuality, Migration and Exile
Queer Displacements: Sexuality Migration and Exile is the first conference in Australia to address and discuss the issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ+) forced displacement in its complexity. The conference was attended by academics, non-government organisations (NGO), policy makers, government agencies, activists, asylum seekers and refugees.
Queer Displacements championed the voices and the lived experience of LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers, refugees, former refugees and otherwise forcibly displaced people. Queer Displacements has created a space for awareness raising, solidarity, building alliances and engaging the whole of society in ensuring justice, protection and solutions for LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement.
Queer Displacements were organised by two queer refugee women, Tina Dixson and Renee Dixson. The conference was hosted by the ANU Humanities Research Centre that provided financial and administration support.
We would like to express our gratitude to the following supporters who made this event possible: the ACT Government Office for LGBTIQ+ Affairs; the ANU Research School of Humanities; the ANU Gender Institute; UNHCR Regional Representation in Canberra; AIDS Action Council and Canberra Inclusive Partnership; the Herbert and Valmae Freilich Project for the Study of Bigotry; Asylum Seekers Centre; Settlement Services International; Miles of Love, Planet Ally and 25 individual donors. We also thank Canberra 2019 SpringOut Festival for information and promotional support.
Useful materials
- Queer Displacements conference final report can be found here.
- Queer Displacements conference program here containing abstracts and presenters’ biographies.
- Read and sign on to the Canberra Statement affirming the acute protection needs of LGBTIQ+ forcibly displaced people and calling for a set of urgent reforms to ensure access to safety and justice for LGBTIQ+ asylum seekers and refugees.
[please note that we are collating a repository of Queer Displacements presentations and other useful links. Check back in January 2020 for this information.]