Equality Tasmania celebrates 30 years since landmark UN decision

Members of the group unveiled a panel at Hobart's Salamanca Arts Centre this week to commemorate the United Nation's condemnation of Tasmania's anti-gay laws in 1994.

The decision forced the federal government to pass a sexual privacy act, overriding parts of the state's criminal code that outlawed sexual contact between two men.

Those convicted of the crime could receive a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison, by far the harshest penalty in the Western world.

Three decades on, Equality Tasmania spokesperson Rodney Croome AM said there had been a "genuine and profound" change in the state's culture.

"When we first began campaigning for decriminalisation in 1988, opinion polls showed only 31 per cent support for it, which was 15 per cent below the national average," he said.

"By the time the laws were repealed in '97, support was 15 per cent above the national average, so there'd been a tremendous transformation in that decade."

Mr Croome said the UN decision had played a vital role in changing attitudes.

"It shifted the debate from one about morality to one about human rights," he said.

The Human Rights Committee's condemnation of Tasmania's criminal code led to the repealment of similar laws in Singapore, Fiji, Botswana, India, Cyprus and Belize.

"That's something that I think we should all be proud of, that the decision against Tasmania's laws had such a positive impact right around the world," Mr Croome said.

"By unveiling the panel, we want to highlight the importance of the UN decision, both locally and globally."

While all of Australia inherited sodomy laws from colonial Britain, states began abolishing these laws starting in the 1970s.

The Tasmanian government held fast on its ruling well into the 1990s, earning it the nickname 'Bigot's Island' in the international media.

But by the time Australians voted to legalise same-sex marriage in 2017, attitudes in the state had dramatically shifted.

More than 63 per cent of the populace were in favour of the amendment, higher than South Australia, Queensland, the Northern Territory, New South Wales and the national total of 61 per cent.

Mr Croome said the island state had gone "from worst to best" when it came to issues regarding sexuality and gender.

"We were the last state to decriminalise homosexuality, we were the only state to criminalise cross-dressing, which had a detrimental impact on trans people," he said.

"But now we have some of the best anti-discrimination relationship and gender recognition laws, not only in Australia, but in the world."

So what caused this change? Mr Croome said it was the culmination of years of hard work from local activists.

"There's been more grassroots community education work in Tasmania than any other state, precisely because things were so bad," he said.

"We had no choice but to get out there and explain to people what it was like for us to live in a state where we weren't accepted."

While there's no doubt that Tasmania has undergone a radical transformation, Mr Croome said there was still plenty of work to do.

Equality Tasmania is currently advocating for the banning of conversion practices, with Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT having already done so.

"We know from research that one in 20 young LGBTIQA+ Tasmanians have been through conversion practices in the last two years," Mr Croome said.

"We also know that those young people are three to four times more likely to have PTSD or attempt suicide."

The activist said initiating a ban was vital in preventing Tasmania from becoming "a haven for conversion practices".

"Western Australia and South Australia will follow soon so if we don't ban this quick smart, then those conversion practitioners who have been thrown out of the mainland will come here," he said.