IDAHOBIT: Equality is Union business
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 130 No 4, 20 June 2025, page no 26.
The QTU is committed to eradicating discrimination in schools and TAFEs. One way we do this is by marking days of significance.
At May State Council, held on May 17, we marked IDAHOBIT Day. IDAHOBIT stands for the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersex Discrimination and Transphobia.
The day’s purpose is twofold; to celebrate progress and to raise awareness of ongoing discrimination.
Equality Australia indicates that:
- 68 per cent of LGBTQIA+ employees are not out to everyone at work
- 2 in 3 LGBTQIA+ young people experience abuse due to their identity
- 35 per cent of LGBTQIA+ Australians have experienced verbal abuse in the past 12 months.
The Department of Education (DoE) has a clear policy that there is no place for discrimination in Queensland state schools. It actively promoted IDAHOBIT on its DoE and Teach Rural social media, asserting: “Every student and staff member deserves to feel safe, seen and respected for who they are.”
Further, the DoE stated: “Schools are powerful places of change. By creating inclusive classrooms, we can reduce stress, create support and improve the experience of young people”.
The DoE celebrated the Brisbane South State Secondary College’s Skittles Club; a “welcoming space for queer, neurodiverse and allied students to connect, laugh and be themselves”.
The DoE’s Teach Rural page featured QTU State Councillor Michelle Peters. Michelle’s teaching philosophy is grounded in kindness, and she recognises that visibility and acceptance are lifelines, especially in places where support can be hard to find.
That visibility can be life-changing and life-saving. Research shows that even just one layer of LGBTQ+ visibility — a rainbow lanyard, a progress flag or safe space sticker — provides a significant protective factor for students.
Many schools mark significant dates, such as IDAHOBIT and Wear it Purple, with schoolwide events to support the LGBTQ+ community. Popular options include rainbow free dress, face painting, and shoelace beading. Junction Park State School invited students to join a before school shoelace beading activity, with coloured beads representing the “colours for kindness to everyone”. They distilled a potentially complex notion in a beautiful, age-appropriate way.
But not every school has a LGBTQ+ student club or can run whole school activities. To QTU members in those schools, I encourage you to consider the significant impact that even small acts of LGBTQ+ visibility and acceptance have on the students you teach.
It doesn’t have to be much or cost a lot. Small acts of allyship tell students that they are safe with you. And you don’t need to be an expert; just be kind and willing to learn.
There is plenty of information available, including free DoE PD. See the Education Futures Catalogue for details. In Term 1 alone, more than 500 DoE employees participated in LGBTQ+ student inclusion training.
The department also has a specialist team that assists schools to support LGBTQ+ students. Whether it is OneSchool, camp, uniforms or toilets, schools do not need to grapple with complex questions alone. Members are encouraged to contact: lgbtiqstudentinclusion@qed.qld.gov.au.
Free school resources are readily available, such as those offered here.
And if you haven’t already done so, please sign up to the QTU’s Pride Action Network (PAN) at MyQTU. The PAN is open to all members who are part of the LGBTQ+ community or who are allies.
Together we can work towards eliminating discrimination and making our schools safe places for all.