mental health
‘Talking Heals’ campaign supports LGBTI Sistergirl and Brotherboy people
A unique new suicide prevention campaign, Talking Heals, was created by and for LGBTI communities supports community members to access support that understands their needs, writes the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health. Our LGBTI Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities are resilient, creative, strong and wonderfully diverse. And in 2020 we’ve all had to draw on this …
Urgent action needed on ‘heartbreaking’ LGBTIQ suicide data
Almost 42% of LGBTIQ Australians reported having thoughts about suicide in 2019, according to a major new study by La Trobe University. The university released the major study Private Lives 3 on Friday, from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS). The researchers surveyed over 6,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and …
R U OK? Day: How to help if someone’s not okay
Today is R U OK? Day, urging Australians to learn what to say if someone in their life tells them they’re not okay. And with the pressures of the COVID-19 pendemic, it’s more important than ever to check in on your friends, family, neighbours or co-workers. “We’re encouraging everyone to learn that there’s more to …
Advocacy company questions organisation of gay rodeo
The Supportah group of companies today published an open letter to Josh Goyne, ‘the gay cowboy’, concerning a gay rodeo advertised for October. Goyne recently began selling tickets to the rodeo on Eventbrite. Josh Goyne, the gay cowboy Josh Goyne, became known as the gay cowboy after posting videos concerning vilification regarding his sexuality designed …
DocQ on suicide: Asking for help is not weakness
It’s been a tough start to the year. Bushfires, upsetting stories about the suffering of our native animals and incessant heat. Then, in the last few days, an attack on a drag storytime event and a very public death by suicide of a troubled young man. We need to remember in difficult times, that asking …
Ruby Rose recalls her ‘many dark times’ in throwback post
Ruby Rose has opened up about her lifelong struggles with depression in a social media throwback post. In an Instagram post for World Mental Health Day last week, the 33-year-old detailed her struggles with mental health dating back to her childhood. “I’ve struggled with mental health my entire life,” she wrote, posting a photo of …
Much loved Liaison officer takes own life
Victoria Police LGBTI Liaison Officer Senior Constable Brenton Erkens-Goss took his own life on Friday. One of over 100 Victoria Police LGBTI Liaison Officers, Brenton worked diligently to tackle prejudice-motivated crimes and family violence. Further, he worked to build rapport and trust with the LGBTI community. The loss of the officer came about because he …
Australian social workers call for ban on ‘conversion therapy’ on IDAHOBIT
The Australian Association of Social Workers has called on the next federal government to ban harmful LGBT “conversion therapy” in a message on IDAHOBIT. The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia is recognised every year on May 17. It’s the day in 1990 that homosexuality was removed from the World Health Organisation’s International …
Study uncovers why bisexual Australians suffer poorer mental health
The world’s largest study of bisexual people to date, led by La Trobe University in Melbourne, has examined why bisexual Australians experience higher rates of psychological distress than their heterosexual and homosexual peers. The Who I Am study, findings of which were recently published in the Australian Journal of General Practice, surveyed more than 2,600 …
Political parties to be grilled on these LGBTIQ issues as election date revealed
National LGBTIQ lobby group just.equal has revealed some of the community issues it will ask main parties to commit to as Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirms the upcoming federal election will be held on May 18. Morrison visited Government House on Thursday morning to ask Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove to trigger the election, which will …