WayOut, a suicide prevention initiative for young gay and lesbian people in rural Victoria, is bringing a discrimination complaint against a business run by the Christian Brethren church. The hearing is to be heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal after nearly two years of preliminary legal proceedings.

The complaint arises from a 2007 incident in which the group claims it was barred from hiring the Brethren’s commercial campground on Phillip Island because of that church’s stance on homosexuality.

“One of the aims of WayOut’s camp was to take some of the kids most affected by homophobia and give them a bit of a break from the situations involving discrimination,” says Associate Professor Anne Mitchell, of the Australian Research Centre for Sex, Health and Society, “It is somewhat ironic that in the process they experienced what we say is further discrimination.”

Although the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act (1995) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, it provides exemptions for some religious organisations and people who discriminate because of their religious beliefs.  

WayOut will argue that such exemptions do not apply when the religious group is operating as a commercial entity and that the Christian Brethren’s description of why their religious beliefs required them not to allow the WayOut group to use their camping facilities falls outside the exemptions.    WayOut will argue that they should have comply with laws in the same way that any other business would.

“If these exemptions are interpreted broadly, they could authorise discrimination against a wide range of people on religious grounds - people who use contraception, people who have sex before  marriage, people of other faiths, agnostics, those in de facto relationships - just because the business in question has a church behind it and that Church has particular beliefs,” says Associate Professor Mitchell

The proposed camp eventually went ahead several months later without further incident – at a campground run by the YMCA, which is also a faith-based organisation.

“WayOut welcomes young people with religious beliefs and regularly work with religious groups,” says Mitchell, “They don’t feel the need to hide behind equal opportunity exemptions. Nor should churches. It’s time to end the exemptions.”

Source:  WayOut Media Release