Creating Change: Politics, Evidence and Practice

Strategies for Inclusion

KEY MESSAGES:

• Creating change using diversity frameworks is challenging and we can't assume LGBT fold are all wanting to be advocates and agents of change, even from management level
• It does depend on governments, however by a combination of luck and very hard work the Victorian GLBT MAC has developed guidelines: well proud, which should be replicated in other states and nationally
• Lesbian health often comes second or not at all and workers are stretched to try and deliver projects, sometimes we need to acknowledge this and step back from delivering much needed services to enable strategies to be developed to enable change and improvement in this area

Saturday 14:00-14:30 LIKE AND UNLIKE, RECOGNITION OF LGBTI ISSUES IN EXISTING DIVERSITY FRAMEWORKS

Lyn Morgain, Western Region Health Centre Ltd

Contact: lynm@wrhc.com.au

PRESENTER’S BIO:

Lyn has an extensive background in advocacy in the LGBT community over the past 25 years in a range of roles. Including as ANZAPI representative to ILGA. She is currently the CEO of the Western Region Health Centre, a community health centre with a proud history of providing support, health and well being services to diverse and marginalised communities in Melbournes' West.

ABSTRACT:

The recognition of sexuality and gender diverse communities is increasingly reflected and enshrined in law. There are also a growing raft of policy frameworks that emphasis the importance and legitimacy of our cultural needs and specific health issues and concerns.  There is ample evidence that many of our increased health risks arise from the poor access and engagement with health care services and providers and that this further compounds health conditions linked to our status as 'marginalised' communities.  So why is it that many health care providers find it so difficult to extend existing commitments to diversity, to the needs of LGBT groups?  This presentation will discuss our organisational journey of identifying the exclusion of LGBT interests from otherwise robust cultural competency frameworks ( in my organisation) and track the challenges, benefits and learnings involved in moving towards an improved commitment to proper inclusion.  As a critical reflection there will be a particular emphasis on the experience of  the LGBT folk  (both workers and consumers) in leading this type of process. Highlighting the perceived benefits and costs both to the individual and the organisation of making decisions to do so.  Participants will be encouraged to identify their own process in either advocating (or not) for change  within their own organisational settings and thereby contribute to our collective understanding of the joys, barriers and challenges involved in 'sensitising services' to our needs.

Saturday 14:30-15:00 WELL PROUD: THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF THE VICTORIAN MINISTERIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON GLBTI HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Ruth McNair, Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on GLBTI Health and Wellbeing

Contact: www.health.vic.gov.au/glbtimac

PRESENTER’S BIO:

Dr Ruth McNair has been part of the GLBTI MAC and former Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health since 2000. She has chaired and convened a number of GLBTI committees such as the Fertility Access Rights Lobby, the Rainbow Families Council, and the Association of Australian Lesbian Medical Association, and is a Director of the Gay and Lesbian Foundation of Australia. She is a Senior Lecturer in General Practice at Melbourne University. 

ABSTRACT:

For the past ten years the Victorian Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex health and wellbeing (the GLBTI MAC) has provided advice to the Victorian Health and Human Services Ministers and the Departments of Health and Human Services on action required to promote and support the health and wellbeing of GLBTI Victorians.  The presentation will focus on: - The evolution and influence of the Victorian GLBTI MAC in supporting the Health and Human Services Ministers and their departments - Developing a GLBTI health and wellbeing agenda.  Including legislative reforms, maximising GLBTI peoples access to services, providing GLBTI specific services, priority health and wellbeing issues for the Victorian transgender community - Advocacy for GLBTI cultural competencies in mainstream service provision and specialist services.  Including the development of Well Proud - a guide to GLBTI inclusive practice for Victorian health and human services - Improving the evidence base for department GLBTI policy and program development.  Including research, action plans, data collection and resources.

Saturday 15:00-15:30 LESBIAN HEALTH: COMPATING INVISIBILTY WITH STRATEGY

Siri May, ACON

PRESENTER’S BIO:

Siri May has extensive experience working in the field of health promotion, community development and advocacy within the GLBT communities. Siri has completed Bachelor of Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney and has served as a committee member of the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby, as a director on the ACON board, and as an Australian Services Union delegate. She continues to work within the GLBT community in her role as the Co-ordinator of The Lesbian and Same-Sex Attracted Womens Project at ACON and as a director of the board of New Mardi Gras.

ABSTRACT:

Traditionally, the Australian health care system has maintained a position that lesbian health is synonymous with womens health; consequently there have been misconceptions around the risks facing lesbians and same-sex attracted women (SSAW), and subsequent failures in both preventative health and health treatment contexts.  As with other social determinant of health, evidence demonstrates that the impact of living as a lesbian or a SSAW can lead to a variety of lower health outcomes through a combination of lifestyle choices such as smoking, drug and alcohol consumption, and through the effects of discrimination.  In 1982, ACON was established in response to the HIV epidemic in NSW and has since evolved into Australias leading LGBT health organisation. Examples of ACONs successful initiatives in lesbian sexual health include resource development, social marketing, peer education, and the development of an evidence base through research partnerships. Building on this organisational framework, ACON has developed a specific strategy, Turning Point, which holistically addresses nine key areas of health for lesbians and SSAW.  Turning Point is the first strategy of its kind in the world.  It demonstrates the possibilities of organisations that have strong agendas in HIV as well as GLBT health to address sexuality and health issues that are particular to specific populations such as lesbians.  This work has laid the foundations for developing a large scale social inclusion agenda in the field of preventative health aimed at building mainstream policy infrastructure as well as defining and building competency around sexual diversity in health promotion and clinical settings.  This presentation will examine the process of developing this strategy within a broad GBLT setting, as well as the challenges, successes and learnings that have come from the first year of strategic implementation.