AME Health Fact Sheet
There is a direct relationship between allowing same-sex couples to marry and better health outcomes for gay and lesbian Australians and their families.
AME has produced a fact sheet which outlines what this relationship is. It can be accessed by clicking here.
The health fact sheet refers to various studies which look at the relationship between marriage equality and better health outcomes.
These references are included below.
References for the Health Fact Sheet
1. For workplace discrimination see, ‘The Pink Ceiling is Too Low: workplace experiences of lesbians, gay men and transgender people”, NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, 1999, http://glrl.org.au/images/stories/the_pink_ceiling_is_too_low.pdf. For hate crime see Mason, G., “Violence against lesbians and gay men”, Australian Institute for Criminology, 1993, http://www.aic.gov.au/documents/D/2/2/{D22F8857-A477-4BA0-BAB8-5C04C2B1E7E9}vpt2.pdf
2. For more on health risk in young people see Writing Themselves in Again, the 2nd national report on the sexual health and wellbeing of same-sex attracted young people. Australian Centre for Sex, Health and Society, http://www.glhv.org.au/files/writing_themselves_in_again.pdf
3. For more on health risk in young people see “Writing Themselves in 3, the 3rd national report on the sexual health and wellbeing of same-sex attracted and gender questioning young people”, Australian Centre for Sex, Health and Society, http://www.glhv.org.au/files/wti3_web_sml.pdf
4. Australian national LGBTI Health Alliance submission to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee inquiry into the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2009, http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/legcon_ctte/marriage_equality/submissions/sublist1/Sub_m65.pdf
5. AMA Sexual Diversity, Gender Identity and Health, 2002, http://ama.com.au/node/552
6. The US DHHS notes that exactly how marriage relates to better health is still uncertain and requires further research
7. Spedale D., and W. Eskridge, Gay Marriage: For Better or Worse? What We‟ve Learnt from the Evidence. Oxford University Press, 2006
8. Herdt, G., and R Kertzner, “I Do, but I Can‟t: The Impact of Marriage Denial on the Mental Health and Sexual Citizenship of Lesbians and Gay Men in the United States”, Journal of the National Sexual Research Centre, Issue 1, Vol 3, 2006, pp.33-49.
9. King, M., & A Bartlett, “What same sex civil partnerships may mean for health”, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2006;60:188-191
10. Badgett, M.V., N. Goldberg and C. Ramos, The Effects of Marriage Equality in Massachusetts: A survey of the experiences and impact of marriage on same-sex couples. UCLA School of Law, 2009. Also, When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage. New York University Press, 2009.