Rainbow Birth Certificates Will Help Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Diversity In New South Wales
With the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras in full swing, the Births Deaths And Marriages Registry announced on Wednesday, March 2 that Rainbow Birth Certificates will be available to help celebrate diversity and inclusion for the LGBTQIA+ community.
A COLOURFUL REMINDER OF PROGRESS AND ACCEPTANCE
It was not too long ago that queer people were actively persecuted by anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in New South Wales. Rainbow Birth Certificates show how much has changed and how much progress has been achieved by our LGBTQIA+ trailblazers.
NSW Registrar, Amanda Ianna says, “The launch of our Rainbow certificate provides a special way for people to celebrate the birth of a new family member and uplift and empower the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The Registry and Rainbow Family Association collaborated on the project to find an artist who could design the certificates. Sydney-based artist Monica Higgins has been chosen and her work fits the task perfectly. Higgins identifies as queer and her vibrant murals depict genderless native animals as rainbow families.
“I’ve removed gender from the focus of the illustration to give our rainbow families the freedom to be seen as they wish to be,” says Higgins who also pledges $1 from the sale of each Rainbow commemorative birth certificate to the community-based non-profit service Twenty10.
“It is so important to me that LGBTQIA+ youth feel safe, validated and understand that they are not alone and Twenty10 do an excellent job of making this happen.”
According to Star Observer, these certificates are commemorative keepsakes and will not count as eligible proof of identity. These commemorative birth certificates are available from the NSW Registry website here.
