Fluid

In 2018, an opinion piece published by The Guardian asked: “Why hasn’t the gay community had a #MeToo moment?”

According to UK advocacy group Stonewall, 25-40% of adult gay and bisexual men have experienced sexual violence. Yet “the problem of sexual violence against men isn’t really on the public agenda yet” (ABC).

This documentary seeks to broaden the conversation about sexual violence and empower GBT (gay, bisexual and trans or gender diverse) survivors.

We want our film to raise awareness of sexual harassment, assault and abuse within the gay male community. Women make up the majority of sexual assault victims and this has sparked an important conversation about sexual violence. We believe this conversation should be broadened to include the LGBTIQ community. Spotlighting the experiences of GBT (gay, bisexual and trans or gender diverse) men is important because it remains unexamined.

The ideal short-term outcome of producing our film 'Fluid' would be to raise awareness of sexual violence in the gay world. This would be achieved by distributing the film through festivals and/or streaming platforms. Medium-term, we want the film to generate press coverage and amplify awareness of these issues.

Longer-term, we would like to see support groups established for Australian GBT victims and survivors of sexual violence. Our subject, Kieran, is hoping to start one such group in Sydney, which would be filmed during production. Ultimately, we want 'Fluid' to help reduce rates of sexual violence within Australia's GBT community.

We plan to engage with key communication organisations in the development and post-production phases.

We are hoping to reach a diverse audience, who will each take different actions after viewing 'Fluid.' Our primary objective is to encourage GBT survivors and victims of sexual violence to feel represented and find support.

It is our aim that advocacy groups will be inspired by this project to develop their own networks for GBT victims and survivors of sexual violence.

Ideally, the project would also spark interest from researchers, academics and journalists who could further interrogate the sexual violence within the LGBTIQ world.

'Fluid' will deepen conversations sparked by the #MeToo movement, challenging preconceptions about victims of sexual violence. In turn, this will generate greater empathy and understanding for GBT men.

In the short-term, our indicators for success would be the wide distribution of 'Fluid' through film festivals, cinemas, TV networks and/or streaming platforms.

We want the problem of sexual violence against men to be on the public agenda and a topic that is no longer taboo.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics states, “due to the relatively small number of men who experience sexual violence, further detail about their experience is not available.” We would love to see researchers, academic and journalists collect data to enhance our understanding.

Another indicator of success would be the number of support groups established for GBT victims of sexual violence as a result of this film. Reduced rates of sexual violence within Australia's GBT community is our ultimate goal.