Women lead the way on same sex marriages

New stats show that five years on from Australia's plebiscite more women than men are tying the knot. 

New stats show that five years on from Australia's plebiscite more women than men are tying the knot. 

Five years on from Australia’s historic same-sex marriage plebiscite, almost 18,000 gay couples have married, with more female same-sex ­couples than male tying the knot. 

In 2017, a majority of Australians (almost two-thirds) voted in favour of marriage equality during a 11-week postal survey that ended with the legalisation of same-sex unions and the first gay wedding under Australian law taking place on  December 15. 

More than 6500 couples married in the first year - accounting for 5.5% of all marriages in Australia and marking the highest number of same-sex unions in a year since the plebiscite - followed by 5507, 2902 and 2842 in 2021​. 

Female same-sex unions continue to outnumber male marriages, with an average of 60% of all gay weddings being ­between female couples.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that trend is set to continue.

Meanwhile, the ABS statistics show the ratio of divorces is much the same as marriages, with  306 being female and 167 male in 2021, the first year in which divorce rates were surveyed.

Divorce statistics released by the ABS show male and female same-sex marriages break down were approximately at the same ratios, with the first year of data revealing a total of 473 divorces in 2021  - 306 female and 167 male. 

Olivia Henderson and Nicole Sutton, who tied the knot at a wedding ceremony ​in April, said the five-year anniversary of the plebiscite was a day for celebration, but marked only a “stepping stone more than a milestone” ­towards equality. 

“It was such a joyous occasion when it came through for us, and it really changed my view on marriage as well,” said Henderson, 34,  former model who also volunteered in the Yes vote’s campaign. 

Nicole and Olivia were married in April to mark five years since the same sex marriage postal survey.

“Before the postal vote, I didn’t really think  I would get married. It wasn’t  my intention … it was something  I never really wanted in my future.

“It wasn’t really until we had the option to get married that I realised why that was: I think I felt rejected from it.”

The Sydney-based couple, who met less than a year after the same-sex marriage plebiscite, said they felt vindicated society has “not collapsed since the vote” and they can be more intimate when in public. 

“The world hasn’t collapsed, like some people were suggesting at the time. If anything, the world has become more joyous and more full of love, because people get to express that in a public way. We were always expressing that in private ways.”

Sutton said: “Marriage equality sends a message to the broader community that we believe in the law and we believe in social equality. 

'Yes' supporters celebrate outside the State Library in Melbourne after watching the live result of the Same Sex Marriage Plebiscite on TV, 2017.

“But marriage equality is just one piece of the puzzle. There are so many other ways that the LGBTQI+ is still discriminated against.” 

Equality Australia CEO Anna Brown described the five-year anniversary as both bittersweet and a landmark moment in the country’s history, saying it brought happiness to 36,000 people but reminded Australians of a “divisive and unnecessary” debate about personal lives and families​.

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