Cochrane, Dixson and Dixson, ‘Inhabiting Two Worlds At Once’, 2023

B. Cochrane, T. Dixson, R. Dixson, ‘”Inhabiting Two Worlds At Once”: Survey on the experiences of LGBTIQ+ settlement in Australia’, Canberra, Australia: Forcibly Displaced People Network, 2023

Key findings:

We found that many reflected on negative and exclusionary experiences when accessing current support services and that participants found it difficult to find quality, holistic and inclusive assistance.
We found that participants reported very high levels of discrimination in all aspects of life including services, education, employment, housing and health care. Over 50% of the participants reported that the ongoing issue of discrimination affected their physical and mental health.
The report reveals the staggering fact that 60% of people who undertook the survey experienced at least one form of violence in Australia. This is fifteen times higher than the average Australian rate of 4.4% in 2020 to 2021 (ABS, 2022). Even considering the relatively small sample size, the high rate of violence is notable.
Over 50% of participants shared they didn’t feel comfortable in their ethnic community and the those who did feel included only did so when they did not disclose their LGBTIQA+ status to other community members.
The impacts of the COVID pandemic revealed that 10% skipped meals. Many were ineligible for any income support.
About the stage one report

The stage first describes the demographics of the participants to contextualise who has decided to participate in the survey. Then it focuses on main themes that emerged during the analysis:

Access to support services
Discrimination in Australia
Violence experienced within Australia
Community support and connection
Experiences during the COVID pandemic