Annual Report 15/16

1 Annual Report 15/16 Annual Report 15/16 2 Annual Report 15/16 Contents Introduction by Angie Greene, CEO p.3 Meet our Committee Members p.8 Stand Up Events Ambassadors p.10 Sponsors & Supporters p.14 In Black & White The mental health of LGBTIQA people is among the poorest in Australia. Homophobia needs to be eliminated. p.16 Overview Stand Up Events supports the LGBTIQA communities throughout Victoria in an effort to raise awareness for sexual and gender equality and challenge hetero-normative thinking and behaviour in our society and our sporting culture. p.20 Move In May Launch The Stand Up Events and CGU’s Move in May launch occurred on Wednesday the 17th of February, 2016. p.26 Stand Up Events Workshops Stand Up Events is set to implement and operate a specifically designed Prevention Program throughout urban and rural junior sporting communities in Victoria, which targets the prevention of depression, physical and mental abuse, and suicide amongst our LGBTIQ youth. p.28 3 Annual Report 15/16 4 Annual Report 15/16 Angie Greene I grew up in a wonderful family that consisted of talented athletes. My brother, Steven, played AFL for 5 years and VFL for 3 years. My father, Russell, is in the Hawthorn Hall of Fame and my Grandfather, Frank Sedgman, won 22 tennis grand slams. Sport has always been a huge part of my family. I to suicide. Put the LGBTIQA community into the am incredibly proud of my family’s achievements, equation and they are 4-5 times more likely to however there was always something I very much suicide than their heterosexual counterparts, 14% disliked about the sporting culture I was exposed more likely to attempt suicide, with 50% of Trans to. As I matured I realised my dislike of the culture people attempting suicide at least once in their was due to the inequality that exists within it. To lives. These statistics speak volumes and reflect state that I am genuinely passionate about making to us how much needs to change. a change in this space is an understatement. My passion has stemmed from both personal and The main goal of Stand Up Events Melbourne sociological reasoning. Inc. (Stand Up Events) is awareness. We hope to implement preventative programs into sporting I am the youngest of three. I have two older communities. Education and awareness is vital brothers, one is gay and one is straight. to creating change. We are not here to speak to the people that already believe in equality and Growing up, I witnessed two very different inclusion, we are here to speak to the people journeys of two equally talented men due to their that may not understand the impact that their differing sexual orientations. Watching these behaviour and language has on those around two different journeys caused me heartache, them. I realised how important this was after frustration, and fuelled my desire and passion hearing my father‘s story. to create change. I imagine this is also where my fierce protectiveness towards those who are » I am the youngest of three. I have discriminated against comes from. two older brothers, one is gay and The statistics surrounding the Lesbian, Gay, one is straight. « Bisexual, Trans, Intersex, Queer and Asexual (LGBTIQA) Community are harrowing. I lost three The thing I admire most about my father is not friends to suicide before I turned 24, all male. his achievements, but his honesty. He is from the Just as I turned 29, our group lost another friend, Melbourne suburb of Frankston and he started another male. playing AFL when he was 16 years old. He came from a pretty rough area and was engrained very I believe that our current suicide statistics tell heavily in the football culture. He just wanted us an important amount about how we are to in. Words such as Homo, Poofta and Faggot conditioned, our expected gender norms and our were unapologetically prevalent in his vocabulary, sexuality. Men are 2 times more likely than women yet he did not identify himself as a homophobe. 5 Annual Report 15/16 » Growing up, I witnessed two very different journeys of two equally talented men due to their differing sexual orientations. Watching these two different journeys caused me heartache, frustration, and fuelled my desire and passion to create change. « 6 Annual Report 15/16 It was when my father matured and started having kids that his protective nature was born and he became more aware of how he treated people, his language and his behaviour. This awareness was magnified when he realised from a very young age, that he had a gay son. Even before my brother “came out” to him, my father was speaking up to his friends in conversations when they used derogatory and discriminative language, because he knew that this would affect his son in the future. My father now speaks very opening about how he carries guilt from his younger days, expressing that he deeply regrets how many people he may have hurt due to the impact of his language. He stated recently; Using the words faggot and Poofta was just part for the course in footy. I still reflect on how many people I might have hurt,” (The Age, 16th of May, 2016). Homophobia is a massive issue but we all have the choice to make our world a safer, happier, inclusive and healthier place for everyone. The power of change is in the hands of individuals. I have chosen to target sport for several reasons. The first reason is because I have seen first hand the impact that exclusive cultures have on those that do not feel included. My brother Brent stated recently; „You remove yourself from that situation just so you don‘t have to deal with it,“ and „So I haven‘t been to a footy match for years and years and years just because I haven‘t felt welcome.” (The Age, 16th of May, 2016). The fact that anyone feels that they have to remove themselves from certain areas of society is simply not OK. The second reason is the fact that the people who “come out” in sport are highly disproportionate to any other field, especially in team sports. This speaks volumes about what is happening within our sporting culture and this needs to change, especially when Australia is known for its love of sport. Australia should be place where every single person feels welcome, which it currently is not. Sport is a home, a religion, and a community to a significant amount of people in Australia. I believe that if we can make sport a more equal and inclusive culture, not only for the players and clubs, but for the members in the crowd, this has the potential to cause a ripple effect throughout society and create a more embracing and equal society for all of us. 7 Annual Report 15/16 Annual Report 15/16 7 »Homophobia is a massive issue but we all have the choice to make our world a safer, happier, inclusive and healthier place for everyone. The power of change is in the hands of individuals.« 8 Annual Report 15/16 Our Committee Our Management Committee is responsible for Stand Up Events overall performance and compliance. They provide an abundance of strategic direction, effective governance and leadership. Matthew Spangher Matthew is currently a professional AFL footballer. He has played for 11 seasons for the west coast Eagles, Sydney swans and the hawthorn football club. He was a member of the 2014 premiership team. Matt has been actively involved in the fight for equality for a number of years. He has joined a number of players on the IDAHOT campaign. Matthew‘s close ties to the LGBTIQA community is what encouraged him to become more actively involved. His experience with football communities provides a strong foundation to assist in the development of the stand up education programs. Jon Griffin B.Ec / CA Jon is a director of APL Financial Chartered Accountants and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and has been advising not for profit organizations for the previous 20 years. Jon completed a Bachelor of Economics in 1978, a Diploma of Financial Services in 2006 a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment in 2014. He is also a registered company auditor, registered tax agent and a registered self-managed superannuation auditor. In a paid and unpaid capacity Jon consults and audits more than 25 not for profit and charitable organizations in Australia. Jon’s passion is providing Stand Up Events with support and inspiration so the organization can do its best work. Patrick Vagg Patrick is an Associate at Oakley Thompson & Co, with 9 years’ experience in corporate/commercial litigation, insurance and personal injury law. He holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and History) from the University of Notre Dame Australia. Patrick practices with a strong commercial acumen, commercial awareness and has a strong interest in non-for-profit, social services and LGBTIQA issues in the community. 9 Annual Report 15/16 Stuart Gillespie Stuart is a director of his own consulting business (Kynnections Consulting) with over 20 years experience working in senior and middle management roles in Local Government, driving numerous change management and business improvement opportunities and leading a number of major community and regional development projects. Stuart brings experience in all aspects of governance in government and community from Board memberships at the Maribyrnong Moonee Valley LLEN; Flemington Neighbourhood Renewal, Latitude (Directions for Young People), The Melbourne Employment Forum and Victorian Multicultural Commission Regional Advisory Council.

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