The Royal Commission into veteran suicides has focused on past discrimination of homosexual servicemen and women on its second day of hearings in Hobart.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Professor Noah Riseman appeared before the commission to discuss findings of years of research and interviews with past and serving LGBTIQ+ people in the Australian Defence Force.
He said there was a policy against homosexuality in the defence force during World War II until 1992.
Professor Riseman said often a blind eye was turned when it came to male homosexuality so long as they were discrete, however, homosexual women were targeted.
"If they were found to be in a same sex relationship, they were forced to discharge," he said.
Professor Riseman said service police would overreach with investigations into a person's sexuality through secret searches, undercover operations and private questioning of colleagues.
"Once enough evidence was gathered that a person was seen to be gay or lesbian, they would then be called in for an interview," said.
Professor Riseman said after the 1992 ban was lifted, there was tolerance of homosexuality at best until policies of greater recognition of same-sex relationships were introduced in 2005.
He said in 2000, a serviceman or woman who wished to transition gender was forced to leave the defence force while that was undertaken.
The rule was later lifted.
Professor Riseman said there was a big issue with access to affirming health care for LGBTIQ+ servicemen and women and transgender people.
"The bureaucratic nature of the ADF in trying to get permission to see a gender specialist could take some time and then getting the appointment with the gender specialist can take time," he said.
"Meanwhile, they're waiting and not able to access affirming care affirming hormones, which outside the ADF, general practitioners can prescribe.
"There is research that has been done into transhealth that says the point when a person decides they want to access affirming care is when they are at most risk of suicide."
Australian Research Centre in Sex acting director, Adam Bourne, told the Royal Commission a young LGBTIQ+ person was two-and-a-half times more likely to attempt suicide if they had experienced harassment based on their sexuality over a 12-month period.
He said LGBTIQ+ people were 50 per cent more likely to attempt suicide if they had experienced discrimination or stigma over that period of time.
Professor Riseman told the inquiry former LGBTIQ+ servicemen and women interviewed for research projects had said they had attempted suicide after being dismissed from the defence force for their sexuality.
"If someone was kicked out, often those people were so ashamed of what happened to them that they didn't tell anyone why they left," he said.
Hearings continue on Thursday.