Category: New Zealand

Oct 05
Macklemore is Returning to Our Shores

He brought us the queer anthem Same Love and has been a vocal supporter of LGBT+ communities, now he’s coming back to our shores for two summer shows. Fresh from shaking up Australian homophobes at the NRL final in Sydney, Macklemore has announced he will be playing in Auckland and Wellington this coming February. Just […]

Oct 04
RainbowYOUTH open first drop-in centre outside of Auckland

RainbowYOUTH has opened its first drop-in centre outside of Auckland, providing a safe and accessible space for Tauranga youth. Located in the Historic Village, the new drop-in centre further solidifies the organisations work in the Bay of Plenty region. In 2014, RainbowYOUTH created a peer support group for the region ‘TaurangaPryde’, a group that has […]

Oct 03
RainbowYOUTH’s First Ever Ad Campaign Goes Viral

You may have seen RainbowYOUTH’s new national ad campaign as you were watching your usual evening television or scrolling through your Facebook feed. The ad challenges kiwi culture’s problematic use of the word ‘gay’ and perfectly uses classic kiwi humour to do so. RainbowYOUTH’s Executive Director, Frances Arns saysthis was an important issue to address […]

Oct 02
Online harassment on the rise, young LGBT+ among most at risk

Harassment on the internet is on the rise with 64 percent of young people in the sex, sexuality and gender diverse communities reporting being on the receiving end of abuse and insults. The research from internet security company, Norton, reveals a significant increase in the number of people in New Zealand who report online harassment. […]

Sep 28
AUT All-Gender Bathrooms Create Issues for Disabled Students

This year, AUT announced the creation of 165 ‘all-gender’ bathrooms to cater for gender diverse students and staff. However, these are not additional bathrooms but re-appropriated disabled bathrooms, with new signage. Disability and transgender advocate, Allyson Hamblett says while creating all-gender bathrooms on all three campuses is a great move, making disabled bathrooms accessible to able-bodied people is […]

Sep 25
Seven Rainbow Candidates Make it to Parliament

New Zealand has voted, 2,16980 ballot papers have been counted and the preliminary results are out, but we are still without a clear idea of the make-up of our next government. As the country waits in limbo, special votes are yet to be counted and no party in this year’s election has enough votes to […]

Sep 25
LGBT+ Guides for Schools Released

The Ministry of Education has released a new guide for supporting sex, sexuality and gender diverse students. The Inclusive Education guides for schools provide strategies and suggestions for supporting youth and were created after consultation with a range of organisations including RainbowYOUTH and InsideOUT. There are four key areas covered in the guides; understanding sex, […]

Sep 25
RainbowYOUTH appoint new Executive Director

RainbowYOUTH has appointed its new Executive Director and welcome Frances Arns to the whānau. Arns steps into the role with a desire to broaden the education and awareness role of the organisation and to continue to prioritise ensuring accessibility for takatāpui youth. “I’m looking forward to continuing the growth of RainbowYOUTH and building on the […]