200 Amnesty activists march for global same-sex rights, nsw, Amnesty International Australia

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200 Amnesty activists march for global same-sex rights

Published on 14/03/2009
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersex Network (NSW)

Participants in the Amnesty International float at Sydney Mardi Gras Parade 2009
Participants from the Amnesty International float in Sydney Mardi Gras Parade 2009

Our LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Network had a resoundingly successful Mardi Gras, culminating in the famous Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday night, 7 March 2009.

Some 200 marchers took their place in our float making it one of the biggest, if not THE biggest participation rate Amnesty has ever had for the night.

Extensive media coverage was received for Amnesty International, on commercial TV networks, pay TV, print media and the Internet, spreading our important message far and wide

Such a success is only the result of months of planning and hard work by our Network’s dedicated team of volunteers who laboured long hours to prepare and decorate the float. Our float highlighted that in 7 countries the death penalty applies for same-sex love and in a further 77 countries people can be imprisoned for same-sex love. This dovetailed nicely with the overall Mardi Gras theme - “Nations United” - in the quest for equal same-sex human rights.

The weather was kind with a balmy evening welcoming our activists as they proudly marched some two kilometres up Oxford Street, down Flinders Street and on to Moore Park. “Every voice counts,” our T-shirts proclaimed, as the 300,000-strong crowd went wild, recognising the hard work the LGBTQ Network does in fighting for same-sex, bisexual and transgender human rights here and around the world.

A launch night at the NSW Action Centre on the Wednesday before the Parade also was a great success with 4 guest speakers highlighting difficulties and discrimination faced by LGBTQ people immigrating to Australia, as well as discrimination and human rights abuses suffered overseas in countries such as Singapore.

All agreed that the Parade and the various other events leading up to it were a resounding success, achieving significant media coverage both for LGBTQ rights and Amnesty International’s fight for recognition of those whose basic human rights have yet to be recognised around the world.