Victoria’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2014 –18 Accessibility To receive this publication in an accessible format email: [email protected] Authorised and published by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne. © State of Victoria, October, 2014 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence (creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/3.0/au). It is a condition of this licence that you credit the State of Victoria as author. Except where otherwise indicated, the images in this publication show models and illustrative settings only, and do not necessarily depict actual services, facilities or recipients of services. This work is available at: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/diversity Printed by Intelligent Media, Cheltenham, on sustainable paper (1409015) Ministers’ message The Victorian Government is committed to addressing health, mental health and wellbeing issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Victorians and their communities. We acknowledge that while many LGBTI people live healthy, connected, happy and positive lives, the LGBTI community, in general, experiences poorer health and wellbeing outcomes than other Victorians across a number of areas. This is particularly the case for transgender and gender diverse Victorians. At the same time, we acknowledge the strength and resilience of LGBTI individuals and communities in overcoming challenges, and recognise their diverse experiences. Working in partnership with a range of health and community organisations, the Victorian Government delivers programs and initiatives to address health and wellbeing issues affecting LGBTI individuals and communities. This includes the delivery of targeted services that recognise the unique needs of LGBTI individuals and communities, and programs to address stigma and discrimination which directly contributes to poorer health and mental health outcomes. In 2013 a GLBTI Health and Wellbeing Ministerial Advisory Committee was convened to provide advice to the government about how we can improve the health of LGBTI Victorians. An important focus of this committee was improving the health and wellbeing of transgender and gender diverse people. The advice of the Ministerial Advisory Committee, together with a targeted consultation with members of Victoria’s LGBTI communities, informed the development of Victoria’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2014-18. The Action Plan articulates the Victorian Government’s priorities for improving health and wellbeing outcomes among LGBTI individuals and communities. It is organised around five strategic priorities: the promotion of inclusive practice to improve access to mainstream health services; improving our understanding of emerging health and wellbeing issues for LGBTI communities and individuals; addressing discrimination and stigma; improving access to current and appropriate information and advice; and encouraging and supporting LGBTI specific health promotion activities. Each priority is supported by a number of strategic directions to support improved health and wellbeing. We want to ensure that health services in Victoria are more inclusive, respectful and responsive to the health and wellbeing needs of LGBTI individuals and communities. This Action Plan sets out a path to that goal. Hon. David Davis Hon. Mary Wooldridge Minister for Health Minister for Mental Health Minister for Ageing Minister for Community Services Acknowledgements Thank you to the many individuals and organisations who participated in the community consultations by providing written submissions, attending community forums or being interviewed, and the members of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (GLBTI) Health and Wellbeing Ministerial Advisory Committee who have provided advice on a range of issues covered within this plan. In accordance with current practice in Australia and internationally and the recommendation of the GLBTI Health and Wellbeing Ministerial Advisory Committee, the Action Plan features the acronym LGBTI. Note that the Ministerial Advisory Committee retains its original title for consistency. Further, the terms Same Sex Attracted and Sex and Gender Diverse (SSASGD) are used when referring only to young people. Current membership of the GLBTI Health and Wellbeing Ministerial Advisory Committee Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee • Mike Kennedy Deputy Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee • Ruth McNair Subcommittee Chairs for the Ministerial Advisory Committee • Brenda Appleton – Trans and Intersex Health and Wellbeing • Matt Dixon/Mike Kennedy – Sexual Health and HIV • Beng Eu – Drugs, Including Alcohol and Tobacco • Jennifer Majoor – Mental Health, Stigma and Discrimination • Ruth McNair – Inclusive Practice, Ageing and Youth Members of the Ministerial Advisory Committee • Rowena Allen • Brent Allan • Tony Briffa • Rebecca Dominguez • Michael Ford • Sim Kennedy • Hilary Knack • Liam Leonard • Sharon Lewin • Madeleine Paulson • Jody Saxon-Barney • Mark Stoové • Jeremy Wiggins • Mike Williams Contents Ministers message Acknowledgements What we currently do 1 Engaging LGBTI communities and individuals 2 Key initiatives to support improved health and wellbeing 2 Delivering targeted health services 3 Addressing stigma and discrimination 4 Developing policy that promotes best practice 5 Piloting new technologies and prevention approaches 6 Promoting inclusive practice 6 What is working well? 8 Listening to Victoria’s LGBTI communities 11 Key issues and themes 13 Strategic Priorities and Directions 15 Priority 1: Promote inclusive practice to improve access to mainstream health services for LGBTI communities and individuals 17 Priority 2: Improve our understanding and response to emerging health and wellbeing issues for LGBTI communities and individuals 18 Priority 3: Addressing discrimination and stigma in the Victorian health system 19 Priority 4: Improve access to current, accessible and appropriate information and advice 20 Priority 5: Encouraging and supporting LGBTI specific health promotion activities 21 The way forward 23 Appendix 1: Key health issues facing LGBTI communities and individuals 27 Appendix 2: Current LGBTI health related activities supported by the Victorian Government 31 Appendix 3: Glossary 33 Bibliography 35 What we currently do What we currently do The Victorian Government is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all LGBTI Victorians. While most LGBTI people live fulfilling and healthy lives, research indicates that as a population group, Australia’s LGBTI community has poorer health and wellbeing compared with the total population1. This poorer health and wellbeing status largely results from stigma and discrimination that LGBTI people can experience in their everyday lives, and specific health issues related to being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Engaging LGBTI communities and individuals In recognition of the higher ill-health burden among LGBTI communities and individuals, the GLBTI Health and Wellbeing Ministerial Advisory Committee was convened in 2013 to provide advice to the Minister for Health and Ageing and the Minister for Mental Health. The Committee established five working groups to reflect the key priorities for the Committee: • Transgender and Intersex health and wellbeing • Mental Health, and stigma and discrimination • Sexual Health and HIV • Inclusive Practice: ageing and aged care, and integrated responses to young people • Drugs, including alcohol and tobacco The Committee played an active role in providing advice to inform the development of the health and wellbeing action plan for Victoria’s LGBTI population. This included helping to shape a targeted consultation with members of the LGBTI community and people working in the healthcare sector. The consultation process, conducted in 2014, included three general community forums and provided an opportunity for written submissions on issues for the health and wellbeing of LGBTI communities and individuals. A wide range of experiences and views were reflected in the consultation process. The LGBTI Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2014 – 2018 has been developed to reflect the engagement with the LGBTI population through channels including the Ministerial Advisory Committee and consultation with diverse communities and individuals. Key initiatives to support improved health and wellbeing Since 2010 we have invested in a wide range of innovative programs, initiatives and research projects to address some of the key health and wellbeing issues facing LGBTI communities and individuals. One of our major priority areas of investment has been in same-sex attracted and sex and gender diverse (SSASGD) youth suicide prevention initiatives and programs. We know that SSASGD young people experience high or very high levels of psychological stress as a direct result of discrimination and abuse. We want to promote strength and resilience in young people together with eliminating stigma and discrimination. That is why we have invested $4 million over four years into the Healthy Equal Youth (HEY) Project. 1 The key health issues facing LGBTI people can be found in Appendix 1, which provides a summary of the evidence of the main health issues for LGBTI people. 2 We have also invested in initiatives designed to enhance the capacity of the youth, health and community sectors to better respond