News Room Reports : The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is actively advocating for an amendment to the 1997 Prevention of Discrimination Act to explicitly protect queer individuals from workplace discrimination.
“It’s really important that we have some form of protection from discrimination for LGBTQIA people,” said Joel Simpson, SASOD’s Managing Director, in a recent interview with the News Room. He emphasized that the existing legislation is one of the few protective measures available and stressed the need to expand its scope to include LGBTQIA rights.
Currently, the Act prohibits workplace discrimination based on several grounds, including race, sex, religion, and age. However, it does not explicitly mention sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex characteristics. Local studies indicate that queer individuals frequently face workplace discrimination, and an amendment could provide essential protections.
SASOD has been advocating for these changes for nearly a decade, spanning two different administrations. Simpson noted that while their lobbying efforts for amendments continue, SASOD and its partners are also focusing on broader rights and protections for the queer community, including efforts to decriminalize same-sex intimacy.
The push for these amendments reflects a commitment to ensuring that LGBTQIA individuals have equal rights and protections in all areas of society.
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