Showing that lesbians matter
The Victoria Police GLLO Show ran the inaugural episode of Lesbians Matter on February 16. Victoria Police and JOY 94.9 combined forces to promote lesbian safety with this new radio program.
Now on the third Wednesday of every month, between noon and 1pm, Lesbians Matter is committed to sharing vital information about safety and policing with our lesbian community. This hour is a dedicated space for lesbians to discuss issues that directly affect them.
Together with Leenie Fabri, JOY 94.9鈥檚 manager of people, services and culture, we will discuss the issues that concern you, as lesbians. Special guests will help us celebrate our lesbian community groups who are committed to lesbian safety and human rights, and who work tirelessly to provide us with a sense of belonging.
We want the topics to be driven by you so if you want to know about a certain issue or have a specific question relating to lesbian safety, health or support we would love to hear from you.
What are the issues you are facing? What questions have you wanted to ask police?
The idea for this program resulted from my (and other Victoria Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers 鈥� GLLOs) experiences in connecting with Victoria鈥檚 lesbian community.
We have found that of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, the lesbian community is the least likely to contact police to report a crime or to seek assistance or advice.
This could lead to assumptions that lesbians just aren鈥檛 having crimes committed against them. It would be nice if this was true but unfortunately it is not the case.
Anecdotally we know lesbians are victims of crime. A large percentage of these crimes go unreported so it is impossible for us, as police, to know how many offences have occurred. Because of this, we recognised that Victoria Police needs to do more work through the GLLOs to ensure we are meeting the needs of the lesbian community.
This hourly lesbian-specific show aims to provide a conduit between the lesbian community and Victoria Police and provide an opportunity for lesbian matters to be discussed.
As a Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer, I understand there is still reluctance for some in the lesbian community to approach police. Throughout history women have been told they should not have a voice, their opinion doesn鈥檛 matter and what happens to them isn鈥檛 important. For lesbians these ideas can be amplified because we have also been taught that as lesbians we have to hide who we are. That鈥檚 not right and it is time to change that.
Being a lesbian shouldn鈥檛 mean you have to sit back and take it. It鈥檚 time for lesbians all over Victoria to stand up and say enough is enough!
Don鈥檛 allow people to get away with making you feel that what has happened to you is not important. If you are the victim of a crime, Victoria Police wants to know about it.
This is your program, your opportunity to discuss any concerns you have. Let your voice be heard.
Email [email protected]
By Senior Constable Gabrielle Tyacke
