Public Servants in Victoria Told Not To Say ‘Husband’ or ‘Wife’ in Inclusive Language Guide
The Andrew’s state government has told Victorianpublic servants to avoid terms such as “wife,” “husband,” “madam” or “sir” when working with LGBTIQ+ people.
Judges will also move towards using gender-neutral terms such as “citizen,” instead of traditional terms such as “mister.”
The 11-page document (pdf) published this week outlines how public servants are not to “exclude” and “devalue” non-heterosexual people and their relationships by assuming a person’s gender. The documents adds that while most men use “he” and most women use “she,” some people use gender-neutral pronouns like “they/them.”