Ro Allen, 47
Victorian Commissioner for Gender & Sexuality
Gender diverse, Queer, Non-binary, Monosexual, attracted to women
”’Commissioner’ for now. I’ll pick one when I’m done with this role.”
“I came out by accident,” discloses Ro Allen as we sit in their office, a short stroll away from the Victorian Parliament where Ro serves as the first Commissioner for Gender & Sexuality.
At 21, Ro led a group of young people to Canberra to attend the National Christian Youth Convention with some 3000 youth from around the country. Among the many speakers at the convention was a young gay man who shared his story of being diagnosed with HIV, sparking a debate in the leadership. In the heat of the discussion, Ro argued his case in the first person. “You can’t talk about us like that!,” they protested before it dawned on them, and everyone else what had just happened.
“I basically came out to the national Christian youth convention leadership team before I came out to anybody else,” Ro chuckles.
Upon returning from the convention in Canberra, Ro decided it was time to come clean with their friends from the church youth group and was blown away by their support and love.
“We were all social justice freaks, protesting against all sorts of issues like apartheid and Aboriginal deaths in custody, being involved in all sorts of projects. So when I came out, I became their new social justice project,” Ro jokes. “We’ve been friends since we were 15 and it was so great to have them all at my wedding three months ago.”
Ro’s coming out journey has traveled alongside their deep conviction in social justice through their involvement in the church, setting up and leading a variety of support services for LGBT youth in rural Victoria to being CEO of Uniting Care, before venturing into public life with the Victorian government in a myriad of roles.
Ro has had their fair share of discrimination because of their gender and sexuality. Regardless, Ro continues to champion for the inclusion and acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people.
Photo notes:
Ro and I caught up on the steps of the Victorian Parliament in Melbourne where they are often spotted…