By Molly Magennis
Footscray local and LGBTIQA+ advocate Melissa Griffiths is relieved the governments religious discrimination act has been shelved, although admits it’s only a matter of time before her community is challenged again.
The contentious bill was originally passed through the House of Representatives after a marathon session of Parliament on February 10.
Five Liberals crossed the floor with Labor and crossbenchers to eliminate the right of religious schools to discriminate against gay and transgender students.
As the bill stood at the time, transgender students were not protected from being expelled from school.
In 2014, after wrestling with the decision for some time, Ms. Griffiths made the choice to transition.
After slowly building up her social media presence, she’s become a growing advocate in the transgender community, speaking at International Women’s Day events, consulting companies on the implementation of gender diverse policies, and sharing her story with over 18,000 people across her social media platforms.
Melissa said while the world has become somewhat of an easier place for those grappling with their gender identity, or who are seeking to transition, Australia’s religious discrimination bill however has shown her there’s still a lot of work to be done.
“Why do we have to legislate on common sense on how to treat each other? It’s sort of a really sad society that people want to have this bill,” she said.
Melissa said the fact the bill did not protect transgender students from being expelled was horrible, and that the entire process had made her community feel anxious and fearful.
“It’s like, what are we going to encounter next?” she said.
“I just think we have to treat each other with dignity, respect and empathy, and I’ll keep doing what I can.”
