Freedom of faith can't be an excuse for freedom to hate

Thankfully, Australia has come a long way since I was a kid. Of course there is still a road to go, but we are increasingly recognising, respecting and including our First Nations. This week, however, a warning sign on human rights came from our Parliament. The religious freedom debate sent a message that some of our leaders still want to pick, choose and prioritise rights. They wanted religious freedoms to be at the expense of minority groups' freedoms and rights.

Ghana in West Africa is an example of what can happen when a society allows religious rights to prevail over universal human rights. Having just returned from representing Australia as our high commissioner there, I witnessed first-hand the impacts of religious-based discrimination against LGBTIQ+ and other peoples. LGBTIQ+ people live in constant fear, afraid they will be outed. In the name of religion, they are banished from their families and communities, fired from their jobs, blackmailed, arbitrarily arrested, assaulted, raped and killed. Simply for being simply who they are. I heard first-hand from women who were raped by men while in custody to teach them how not to be a lesbian. I saw footage of young men being forced to strip naked and threatened with hot irons and machetes for being gay. The first LGBTIQ+ safe space in the capital Accra - supported by Australia, Denmark and the EU - was unlawfully raided by the police and shut down within weeks of its opening.

In Ghanaian schools, Rastafarian children have been forced to choose between expulsion or cutting their hair, and Muslim children have been forced to eat lunch during Ramadan. And while it is technically not yet illegal to be LGBTIQ+, the Pentecostal and other evangelical churches are harnessing the opportunity of a society where religious rights are prioritised. The churches are sponsoring a proposed law to criminalise LGBTIQ+ peoples, who they argue are an "abomination" according to the Bible. The law will force LGBTIQ+ people to choose between prison or mandatory conversion therapy, which is considered a form of torture by UN experts. Allies will also face jail for speaking out, funding or providing support to LGBTIQ+ peoples. The targeting of allies also sets a dangerous precedent of religious rights being used to reduce freedom of speech and expression for everyone.

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I'm not a Christian. But from my understanding, Jesus believed in compassion, peace and tolerance. Surely he wouldn't support expelling, firing, criminalising, assaulting, torturing or humiliating people because of their identity? And I know back here in Australia, Jesus wouldn't support picking and choosing kids to be kicked out of school or teachers to be fired based on their identity.

In a previous role, as Australia's R2P National Focal Point (facilitating the responsibility to protect citizens from genocide and atrocities), the most important thing I learned was that major atrocities like the Holocaust and the Rwandan Genocide don't happen overnight. They ratchet up over time, via smaller and seemingly less significant steps. Incremental discrimination builds momentum and social acceptance for discrimination. That's another reason Australia can't start removing human rights for some groups in the name of religious freedom. The evidence shows it's the thin edge of a bigger and longer wedge.

It's sobering that this week the government tried to pass laws legitimising discrimination against minority groups based on religion. Australians deserve better. Human rights belong to us all equally. We've agreed to that in the United Nations. As a society, we believe in equality, a fair go for everyone.

I don't care what people believe, so long as they don't use their beliefs to abuse others. It's simple. Freedom of faith cannot be used as an excuse for freedom to hate and discriminate. Allies now need to stand up for LGBTIQ+ communities and other minority groups. Human rights belong to everyone. In Australia, Ghana and everywhere. They can't be taken away. We can't pick and choose who gets them.