SRC President’s Report

At the time of writing, it is 50 years since Adelaide Uni Law Professor George Duncan’s death at the hands of police. The officers, members of SA’s “vice” squad – a notoriously anti-gay section of the police force – were never convicted.

At the time, an astonishing level of homophobia was enshrined in law. Police powers were so expansive that they could search a house without a warrant on suspicion of two men sharing a bed. They brutalised gay men with impunity as attempts to seek justice would see the victim incriminated instead. A leaflet, published by Melbourne Uni’s Gay Liberation group in 1973, asked: “Are homosexuals protected by the police? - you must be joking. We need to be protected from the police.” George Duncan’s murder sparked a campaign for gay rights that resulted in the decimalisation of homosexuality in South Australia, the first state in the country to do so.

Activists agitated on the university campuses, set up a new organisation – the Gay Activists Alliance – and, in defiance of antigay laws, published a gay rights newspaper, “Boiled Sweets”.

On the 15th of September 1973, activists held their very first Gay Rights march in Adelaide.

Public outcry, led by Adelaide students activists and reverberating onto campuses across Australia, was crucial in both pushing and justifying Don Dunstan’s gay law reform. The fightback caused such a

disruption that it was reported internationally. So this an important time to reflect on the role that students have played in decades of struggle for LGBTI rights.

More recently, through the National Union of Students, students were fundamental in the campaign for marriage equality. NUS threw itself into a “NUS says YES” campaign – calling huge rallies, daily stalls and stunts to tirelessly make the argument for a “yes” vote in the marriage referendum.

Still – just this year, despite passionate campaigning led by student activists, the religious descrimination bill almost passed into legislation. The bigots in the Labor and Liberal party still use civil rights as political football. So we’ve got a long way to go, and none of our gains are forever.

The anticipated Roe v Wade overturning in America shows how easily our rights can be overturned in liberal democracies. And history proves that we can’t trust the legal system or politicians to defend our rights. Our rights have always been won on the streets.

*Since this was written, Roe v Wade was overturned. Rallies supported by the SRC saw 5000 people hit the street in solidarity. Keep an eye out for an article expanding on the question of how to respond to Roe v Wade*

Whenever the right attacks women, gay or trans people, we need to mobilise, organise and fight back.