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It is not surprising that the Australian Psychological Society has officially endorsed full marriage equality in that nation. This adds the weight of its 20,000 members to the debate. The resolution that the board passed noted the positive effects on mental health which marriage equality has as well as the negative effects which results from the denying of marriage equality to others.
President of the APS, Professor Simon Crowe stated “Decades of psychological research provides the evidence linking marriage to mental health benefits, and highlighting the harm to individuals’ mental health of social exclusion. The APS supports the full recognition of same-sex relationships, on the basis of this evidence.”
Convenor of the APS Gay and Lesbian Issues In Psychology Interest Group, Dr. Damien Riggs stated that “Marriage discrimination has a flow-on effect on same-sex attracted Australians, their loved ones, and the wider community. Psychologists must work to ensure that all Australians are supported to achieve positive mental health and full social inclusion.”
Rodney Croome, Australia Marriage Equality’s campaign director, stated that there is “mountain of scientific evidence that same-sex partners and their families experience less stigma and stress when they can marry, leading directly to better mental health outcomes. It should be no surprise that those people excluded from marriage simply because of their partner’s gender can experience long-term psychological problems, given that marriage is a key legal and social institution from which many people derive great meaning and purpose in their lives. The APS statement sends a clear message to all federal MPs – if you support better mental health outcomes for Australian families then you must support marriage equality.”
Finally, Paul Martin, a psychologist, stated that “The APS statement illustrates what I’ve seen in my practice for over 25 years, namely that legislative discrimination against gays and lesbians fosters the kind of negative stereotypes and prejudice that lead directly to psychological stress and self-loathing. The negative impact of legislated inequality is particularly bad when we’re dealing with exclusion from marriage because marriage is all about affirming and strengthening relationships and strong relationships are a key to good mental health outcomes.”
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