Lesbians on the loose

Call Number
Nq 306.7663099441 LES
Created/Published
Newtown [N.S.W.] : Lesbians on the loose, 1990-
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 8 (August 1992)
Images
28
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Text

LESBIANS ON THE LOOSE  

AUGUST 1992 ISSUE 32  

VOL. NO.  

FREE  

YOUNG DYKE REPORT  

SHOCK FINDINGS  

by Frances Rand  

survey of young lesbians  

conducted by Vic Barbeler and  

the Young Lesbians Support  

Group has come up with some shocking  

findings. Young Sydney lesbians are  

experiencing high levels of violence, high  

levels of substance abuse and receiving  

very little support.  

"The Young Lesbian Report, Study of  

the Attitudes and Behaviours of Young  

Lesbians Today" was privately funded  

and undertaken in order to ascertain  

attitudes and behaviours of young lesbians.  

Two hundred young women aged between  

14 and 25 answered questions on what  

they do, who their friends are, coming out,  

sexual activity, drug and alcohol use,  

mental health, relationships, safe sex  

knowledge, discrimination, violence,  

support and motherhood. Most of the  

women (85.5%) identified as lesbians, 9%  

as bisexual, 3.5% gay and 2% preferred not  

to have label. The women came from  

fairly representative cross-section of  

backgrounds. Most of the surveys (75%)  

were collected from support groups and  

coffee shops. The rest were from licensed  

venues.  

HIGH LEVEL OF VIOLENCE  

he survey reveals that young lesbians are  

incurring greater level of physically  

violent attacks than any previous surveys  

of lesbians have shown. 27% of the lesbians  

had experienced physical violence because  

of their sexuality, compared to 15% in the  

Lesbian Conference survey last year. For  

35% of these women physical assault took  

the form of rape. Levels of reporting  

violence were lower than previous surveys  

with 61% of young lesbians not reporting  

their attack to anyone. even higher 83  

did not report to the police.  

In the area of substance abuse, high levels  

of legal and illegal drugs use were revealed,  

in some instances higher than similar  

surveys of young women have shown.  

59% of all lesbians smoke, 27% use  

depressants, 21% narcotics, 63% cannabis,  

42.5% stimulants, 41.5% inhalants and  

41.5% hallucinogens. 12% of 14-18 year  

olds misused substances. Some good news  

is that surveys collected through social  

and support groups showed decrease in  

the number of those who drank. The  

women surveyed were also aware of their  

need for support with 59% saying there is  

need for drink and drug free spaces in the  

community.  

INTERNALISED HOMOPHOBIA  

Lack of support is experienced by many of  

the lesbians surveyed both from their  

families and within the lesbian and gay  

community. Internalised homophobia is  

also felt strongly. 25% of respondents left  

home because of their sexuality. Coming  

out is still difficult process for young  

dykes; the average age at which they  

realised their sexual identity is 16.4 years.  

Many felt negatively about it and  

experienced fear of rejection and also  

self-loathing. Most (85%) actually  

experienced rejection from parents ranging  

from withholding contact to sending their  

daughter to psychiatrist. 60% had felt  

very depressed because of their sexuality.  

Of these, 63% had contemplated suicide  

and 30% had actually attempted suicide.  

While most (87%) were out to their friends,  

49% were out to their mothers, 22% to their  

fathers, 31 to teachers, and an astonishing  

38% to their counsellors.Most(B9.s%)have  

experienced discrimination; 51% from the  

education department, 48% in  

employment, 32% from the police, 29% in  

the provision of accommodation,2s% from  

...Cont. p.  

KERRY’S  

HOLLOW  

VICTORY  

Kerry Parnell, who won  

discrimination complaint  

against the Sydney City Council  

in June, is disillusioned by her victory.  

Although she received $22,000 from the  

Council and the case has generated adverse  

publicity for the Council, the terms of  

settlement mean she virtually cannot  

discuss the case publicly. She has also been  

given no assurance that the men who  

harassed her would leave her alone or that  

discriminatory behaviour would cease at  

the Council.  

Kerry was employed as an Equal  

Employment Opportunities officer by the  

Council whenshefirstexperienced lesbian  

...Cont. p.  

Kerry Parnell outside the Sydney Town Hall  

Photo: Dianne Fairweather  

inside...  

cisco kid returns...incest...bernie sheehan...  

Registered by Australia Post Publication No. NBQ 4194  

Cite

Citation options:
Work identifier

http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-884067498

APA citation

(1990). Lesbians on the loose Retrieved May 16, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-884067498

MLA citation

Lesbians on the loose Newtown [N.S.W.]: Lesbians on the loose, 1990. Web. 16 May 2025 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-884067498>

Harvard/Australian citation

1990, Lesbians on the loose Lesbians on the loose, Newtown [N.S.W.] viewed 16 May 2025 http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-884067498

Wikipedia citation

{{Citation
  |
  | title=Lesbians on the loose.
  | year=1990
  | issn=1324-6542
  | issue=Vol. 3 No. 8 (August 1992)
  | location=Newtown [N.S.W.]
  | publisher=Lesbians on the loose
  | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-884067498
  | id=nla.obj-884067498
  | access-date=16 May 2025
  | via=Trove
}}

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