Standing in Solidarity: Wear It Purple Day at ASRC Raises LGBTQIA+ Awareness

(AUSTRALIA) The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre marked Wear It Purple Day 2025 on Thursday, August 28, hosting conversations, staff events, and client engagement under this year’s theme, “Bold Voices, Bright Futures.” The focus sat squarely on LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum—individuals who, even after fleeing persecution, often face long waits, complex legal steps, and ongoing risks while they try to rebuild their lives in Australia.

The ASRC’s message was simple and urgent: visibility saves lives, and a fair refugee system—backed by timely decisions—can mean the difference between safety and danger for people whose very identity makes them targets.

Timing and Purpose of Activities

The centre timed its activities ahead of the national Wear It Purple Day campaign on Friday, August 29, aligning visibility with practical steps that matter for asylum seekers. ASRC lawyers and program staff highlighted how identity‑based persecution continues to drive protection claims.

• Consensual same‑sex sexual acts remain criminalized in 64 countries.
• 12 countries either enforce or allow the death penalty for those acts.

For many LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, the path to safety is not just about crossing a border; it is about proving who they are in systems that can be slow, confusing, and emotionally taxing.

Legal and Administrative Changes: The ART

The broader legal context is changing. From October 14, 2024, Australia began shifting migration and refugee review functions from the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to a new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The government says the ART aims to be fairer, more transparent, and more consistent across cases, including gender‑based claims.

The 2024–25 Federal Budget backed this overhaul with $854.3 million over four years, with funding directed to regional access and better user experience. These changes matter because asylum processing times have grown sharply in recent years.

• Average processing times rose from 334 days (2018–19) to more than 1,000 days (2022–23).
• Interviews and visa grants often take years, amplifying stress for people already at risk due to sexual orientation or gender identity.

Wear It Purple Day at ASRC: Practical Supports

At the centre’s Footscray hub and across programs, Wear It Purple Day became more than an awareness moment.

• Staff wore purple and discussed trauma‑informed practice, safe referrals, and privacy‑protective case strategies.
• Small signals—a pinned purple ribbon, a rainbow lanyard, a caseworker asking about pronouns—were emphasized as crucial ways to let clients know a space is safe.
• Lawyers focused on explaining how clients can share difficult experiences while retaining full control over what is shared and when.

These measures are everyday tools to help people survive long procedures and regain a sense of self after years of hiding who they are.

Compounded Risks Faced by LGBTQIA+ Asylum Seekers

ASRC lawyers report many clients face overlapping harms:

• Family rejection often leads to homelessness.
• Community violence can force people into hiding even after arrival.
• Official documents may not match a person’s lived gender or name, complicating appointments, forms, and job applications.
• Some clients come from countries where state actors were part of the harm, making trust slow to build.

Through its Human Rights Law Program, the ASRC runs a Gender Clinic that offers targeted legal help for women and LGBTQIA+ clients whose claims require sensitive, detailed evidence and careful preparation.

National Campaigns and the Role of Visibility

Wear It Purple Day has grown into a national touchstone for inclusion.

• Youth‑led groups like Minus18 run campaigns encouraging schools, workplaces, and sports clubs to wear purple and host events.
• Governments and universities support public activities—gallery nights, talks, exhibitions—that bring artists and activists into conversation with students.
• Surveys show visible support (a rainbow sticker, a purple badge) can lift LGBTQIA+ young people’s sense of safety and help asylum seekers find services.

For asylum seekers, those signals can open doors to support that otherwise feels out of reach.

Small visible cues can redirect someone from isolation to services, and for asylum seekers that can be life‑changing.

Policy Priorities and ASRC Advocacy

On Wear It Purple Day, the ASRC tied visibility to clear policy asks:

• End offshore processing.
• Abolish temporary protection visa settings.
• Expand permanent protection pathways and improve family reunion rules.

Why this matters:

• Temporary visas deny stability to people who have already proved they need protection.
• Without permanent status, refugees cannot plan long term or sponsor family members who may still be in danger.
• For LGBTQIA+ applicants, family separation is especially damaging; partners and chosen family are often central to safety and mental health.

ART Expectations and System Design

As the ART beds in, expectations are high that the unified tribunal will:

• Reduce fragmentation and confusion across review pathways.
• Deliver more consistent outcomes, particularly for complex identity‑based claims.

Advocates stress the ART must implement:

• Trauma‑aware interviewing and clear timelines.
• Training and guidance so identity‑based claims are understood within a person’s lived realities.
• Registry systems that allow safe lodging of sensitive evidence.

Analysts, including commentary from independent platforms and VisaVerge.com, suggest that consolidating review work into one tribunal can promote consistency and help applicants with complex claims.

Policy Shifts and Case Backlogs

The replacement of the IAA and AAT with the ART began on October 14, 2024. The federal commitment of $854.3 million over four years includes funds for:

• Regional service access.
• Tools that improve application usability.

Long wait times remain the main pressure point. For LGBTQIA+ claimants, delay increases risks:

1. Risk of exposure in unsafe housing with little privacy.
2. Worsening mental health from forced concealment.
3. Patchy access to medical care, including gender‑affirming care.
4. Difficulty collecting timely evidence—witnesses move, records vanish, fear persists.

The ASRC recommends that ART design incorporate trauma‑informed processes and consistent practices for documenting identity‑based harm.

Services and Legal Pathways at ASRC

The ASRC’s Human Rights Law Program and Gender Clinic blend legal assistance with practical supports.

A typical case plan might include:

1. Detailed client interviews using plain language and allowing breaks.
2. Evidence mapping to list safe-to-gather items and alternative sources (human rights reports, country experts).
3. Privacy planning for communications and storage of sensitive material.
4. Support letters from trusted community members when safe.
5. Referrals to medical or psychological care, with clear consent steps.
6. Safety checks around social media, messaging apps, and email.

Legal tests focus on whether a person faces serious harm because of who they are, and whether the state is unable or unwilling to protect them. For LGBTQIA+ applicants, risk indicators can include criminal penalties (prison, death penalty) or pervasive social violence where police are complicit or absent.

The clinic also supports practical needs:

• Scheduling interpreters familiar with gender terminology.
• Ensuring correct pronouns in paperwork.
• Correcting identity markers on records when possible.
• Requesting interview arrangements that avoid re‑traumatization.

The aim is dignity: respectful treatment improves evidence quality and trust in the system.

Community Campaigns and Youth Safety

Public culture matters to access and wellbeing.

• Minus18 provides guides, posters, and donation kits for schools and workplaces.
• State governments, universities, and libraries host events aligned with the theme “Bold Voices, Bright Futures.”
• Visible signals often prompt asylum seekers to seek help—clinic stickers, purple displays, or trusted leaders amplifying campaigns.

At ASRC, staff use Wear It Purple Day to review:

• Why language matters and how to avoid assumptions.
• Referral pathways for clients needing urgent housing.
• Updates on the ART rollout and expectations for applicants.

The Human Cost of Delays

Processing delays have real consequences:

• People may stay in unsafe housing because it’s cheaper.
• They may work informal jobs with no protections.
• They may skip necessary medical care out of cost or fear of exposure.
• For transgender clients, delays can mean postponed access to appropriate healthcare and identity documents, causing daily stress.

Advocates argue the ART must be transparent about timelines and invest in training that covers LGBTQIA+ persecution realities. Practical needs include briefed interpreters, registry options for sensitive evidence, and flexible interview arrangements.

Wear It Purple Day in Practice

The day after ASRC’s August 28 program, schools and offices across the country went purple with posters, morning teas, and panel talks. Artists and activists shared works and journeys tied to “Bold Voices, Bright Futures.”

• Small gatherings in regional areas were particularly valuable where isolation can be acute.
• For LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers, visible support can make it easier to approach a caseworker or doctor and ask for help.

A purple shirt is a start. A faster interview date is better. A tribunal member trained in trauma‑aware practice is better still. A permanent visa that lets someone reunite and plan a future is the point.

Forward Look: What to Watch

The coming year will test:

• How quickly the ART can clear backlogs and embed trauma‑aware practice.
• Whether efforts to end offshore processing and remove temporary protection settings gain traction.

For now, the signal from the ASRC and partners is steady: wear purple, make space, and back reforms that turn recognition into rights.

Resources and Partnerships

• For official information on refugee processes and protection pathways, the Department of Home Affairs provides guidance and updates: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/
• National partners such as Minus18 continue to offer practical tools to help schools and workplaces build safer spaces.
• Universities and cultural institutions contribute by hosting events that reflect lived experience.
• On the ground, caseworkers, lawyers, and volunteers continue careful, client‑centred work to help people tell their stories with dignity.

Key Takeaways

• Wear It Purple Day 2025 at the ASRC linked public visibility with policy advocacy and practical supports.
• The shift to the ART and the $854.3 million budget commitment could improve consistency and access—but outcomes depend on implementation.
• Ending offshore processing and abolishing temporary protection visas remain core priorities for securing permanent, stable futures for LGBTQIA+ refugees.
• Visible community signals—purple ribbons, badges, and safe spaces—matter practically: they help people access services and start the process of rebuilding their lives.

Solidarity, backed by systems that work, can turn a colour into belonging and a decision into safety. Both matter—both save lives.