mental health
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 emotional 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 …
‘The closet I built ended up a cage’: LGBTIQ mental health at work
A toxic workplace culture is bad for all employees, but can be a particular burden on LGBTIQ employees, already stigmatised by their sexuality or identity, writes RJ Miles. I wish workplace mental health initiatives were more about helping people to understand the psychology of burnout and less about getting people to do yoga. The benefits …
Young queer women reporting high levels of psychological distress: NSW study
Young LGBTIQ women in New South Wales are reporting experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress, according to new research from the periodic Sydney Women and Sexual Health Survey (SWASH) released this week. The biennial survey, conducted by ACON and the University of Sydney, collected data from nearly 1300 participants in 2018, ranging …
Australian Social Workers Call For States To Ban ‘Gay Conversion Therapy’
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has welcomed the Victorian government’s recent pledge to outlaw gay “conversion therapy” and called on other states to look at similar bans. The discredited “conversion” practices attempt to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity using psychological or spiritual means, and have been condemned by …
Fear Of Discrimination Stopping LGBTIQ People Seeking Crisis Help, Study Finds
An alarming number of LGBTI+ Australians are choosing not to seek help from crisis support services in times of need, a new report has found. The Understanding LGBTI+ Lives in Crisis report, released today, was commissioned by support service Lifeline and conducted by the Australian Centre for Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University. …