The Body Shop has partnered with Just.Equal Australia in a joint campaign to ensure LGBTIQA+ people are counted in the 2026 Australian Census.
There will be information about counting LGBTIQA+ people in the Census and a QR code linked to the Just.Equal petition about Census inclusion in all Body Shop stores across Australia from February 22 until April 17 2023.
“We applaud Body Shop for giving such a big platform to such an important issue of LGBTIQA+ equality and inclusion,” Just.Equal Australia spokesperson, Dr Sharon Dane, said,
“Until the Government knows how many LGBTIQA+ Australians there are, and can quantify our needs as communities, it is much harder to develop policies and programs to address these needs.”
“The support of businesses like the Body Shop will prove invaluable in ensuring the Federal Government sticks to its commitment of including us in the 2026 Census.”
The Australian Bureau of Statistics dumped proposed new questions on sexuality and gender in 2019, citing concerns there would be a public backlash over their inclusion and intervention from the office of then Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar.
The petition to count LGBTQIA+ lives in the 2026 Census, calls for specific questions identifying sexuality, gender identity and variations of sex characteristics.
In addition to Just.Equal Australia and The Body Shop, the petition is supported by Transgender Victoria, Equality Tasmania, Bi Alliance, PFLAG Capital Region, Working It Out, ATSAQ, A Gender Agenda and Queensland Council of LGBTI Health.
“The Australian Census occurs every five years and provides crucial information about the makeup of the population that helps inform how and where services are delivered to the Australian population. No Census has ever asked Australians questions on sexual orientation or variations of sex characteristics or whether they are trans or gender diverse,” the petition reads.
“Research shows that LGBTIQA+ Australians experience worse social and economic outcomes than other Australians, with members of these communities reporting difficulties in accessing health, employment and other services because of stigma and discrimination.
“The 2021 Census was an opportunity to recognise and understand this population for the first time in order for state, territory and federal governments to better meet their needs.”
LGBTIQA+ people are already counted in the Census in a number of other countries, including the UK and Canada.
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