HIV impacts people regardless of race, sexuality, or gender. With ¼ of people in Australia with at least one parent born overseas, or from other countries themselves - our communities are diverse. In Victoria, HIV impacts the lives of people from all cultures, and so providing information and services tailored to individual cultural and linguistic needs is vital.  Michael talks to Jen Johnson, Program Manager at Living Positive Victoria about supporting our communities living with HIV who...

Continuing our Lesbian Visibility Week celebration - Rachel connects with Thorne Harbour Health's Peer Education and Outreach Health Educator, Rhian Graco-Ilves about supporting community and the long history of the Outreach program. Rachel and Rhian reflect on a panel Thorne Harbour Health ran during Lesbian Visibility Week, and how we can raise the profile of and meaningful engagement for lesbians and same-sex attracted women. Lesbian Visibility Week culminates with Lesbian Visibility...

To celebrate Lesbian Visibility Week - Rachel catches up with President of Dykes on Bikes Melbourne, T-Rex, to chat about this protective and supportive staple in our community. T-Rex shares some of the history of the club, what it means to support the visibility and identity of lesbian and of all same-sex attracted women. Lesbian Visibility Week culminates with Lesbian Visibility Day, which is held on April 26. Check out what Dykes on Bikes Melbourne will be up to including their...

LGBTQ+ people and the people who love, support and affirm us are discriminated against by religious educational institutions and faith-based service providers across the country, every day. Ghassan Kassisieh, Legal Director at Equality Australia joins us to discuss the new report Dismissed, Denied and Demeaned: A national report on LGBTQ+ discrimination in faith-based schools and organisations. We explore religious carveouts that enable faith based institutions to discriminate against...

Nathan Despott is a co-founder of Brave Network, a support and advocacy group for survivors of conversion practices, and SOGICE Survivors, a group that advocates for effective legislation to end conversion practices across Australia. Nathan shares with us some of the negative health impacts on LGBTIQA+ people caused by conversion practices, and his work in developing ethical guidelines for supporting survivors of harmful conversion practices. Additionally, mark your calendars for an...

Michael sits down with Amy Middleton, founder and publisher of Archer Magazine, to celebrate their Pride Award win for Outstanding Contribution to Media. Together, they reflect on the magazine's remarkable journey over the past decade, focusing on its mission to amplify marginalized or underrepresented voices within the LGTBTIQA+ community. Amy shares insights on parenthood, the evolving landscape of queer media, and the magazine's new home at Drummond Street. Later, we delve into the...

In this episode, we delve into the findings of the latest report, Rainbow Realities, which consolidates past research while shedding light on new insights into the experiences of the LGBTQA+ community in Australia regarding alcohol and drugs, family violence, sexual health, and more. Joining us is Natalie Amos, Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS), who will explore fresh analyses from surveys such as Private Lives, Writing Themselves In, and...

Emen8 Project Lead Chris Williams joins us to discuss some of the recent blog posts to be published on the site, including how to introduce your same-sex partner to your parents. He also talks with Jack and Rachel about content available in multiple languages as well as a recent social media campaign promoting the use of PrEP on-demand. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through...

The Digital Sexual Health or Sextech research project is focused on better understanding how LGBTQ+ people think about sextech, and how it can advance LGBTQ+ people’s sexual health by supporting safety, pleasure and wellbeing. Professor Kath Albury from Swinburne University of Technology joins Jack to discuss the project and some of the preliminary findings. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on...

Jack and Rachel speak with academic, researcher and author Noah Roseman about his book Transgender Australia - A History Since 1910. Drawing on over a hundred oral history interviews and previously unexamined documents and media reports, it highlights how trans people have tried to live authentically while navigating a society that often treated them like outcasts. It is the first book to chart the history of gender diverse Australians, exploring both progress and ongoing battles.  See the...

On this Trans Day of Visibility, we speak with trans advocate Tamsin Anspach from the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance, Youth Affairs Council of South Australia and Thorne Harbour Health Board Member, about her role as a leader within our trans and gender diverse communities, the South Australian government’s proposed human rights act, the future of trans health and the importance of trans visibility.   www.saraa.org.au thorneharbour.org www.yacsa.com.au   Check out...

This week started with the sad news that longstanding activist and Founding President of the Victorian AIDS Council (now Thorne Harbour Health) Phil Carswell OAM died peacefully at his home in Brisbane. Phil leaves behind a remarkable legacy of advocating for the health, wellbeing, and the rights of our LGBTIQA+ communities. In particular, Phil played a vital leadership role in Australia's role in responding to HIV and AIDS. Joining Cal Hawk in the studio for this episode is Dr Adam Carr....

Toby Bolton and Emma Dook join us to discuss the community housing project for LGBTIQ+ folk in Melbourne, The Harbour. We also hear from them about housing insecurity and homelessness broadly in Victoria today, and Thorne Harbour's Housing Plus program. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at [email protected] Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services...

Rachel and Jacinta speak with two researchers from the University of Wollongong, Associate Research Fellow Kate Manlik and Associate Professor Catherine Mac Phail, about the latest research project about HIV risk for women, prevention requirements, and use of PrEP. While the very limited research on this topic is all about heterosexual women – Kate and Catherine are working hard to change that! We chat about the significant issues around PrEP access for women who are at risk of HIV and what...

Jacinta and Rachel speak to the inspiring Julie Peters. Even in her 70s, Julie Peters is naïve enough to believe the world can be a better place and has her life trying to make it happen; as a doctoral researcher in public health and anthropology of gender, a teacher, sessional academic, cabaret performer, writer, parliamentary candidate, practical environmentalist and media professional. A strong focus of her work over three decades has been to demythologise and promote social justice and...

Cal and Jacinta speak to Victorian Minister for Health, the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas, to find out what changes are planned to address the gender pain gap and improve services for women's health. We discuss sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and some of the key points revealed from the 2023 Women's Health Survey and the submissions that are currently open for the Inquiry into Women's Pain. We talk about why LGBTIQA+ voices are important in this area and who can share their experiences...

Jack and Michael are joined by Atlas, the Casual Groups Facilitator for TAPS, Thorne Harbour Health's Trans and gender diverse Alcohol and other drug Peer Support program. TAPS is run by trans, non-binary and gender diverse folk and is all about meeting you where you’re at. You might want to gain more control over your use, reduce it or stop all together. Working under a harm reduction framework – facilitators support attendees to reduce the harms that come about from using alcohol...

We head to Adelaide for a forum on the South Australian AIDS Memorial Quilts which was held during FEAST Festival in November 2023. Skye Bartlett and Dr Nikki Sullivan from SAMESH are joined by Art Historian Timothy Roberts to discuss the history of quilt-making within the context of the AIDS epidemic. They also talk about the quilt's power to raise awareness and break stigma, along with the memorialisation and advocacy to come from the quilts. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for...

Jack and Michael are joined by Damien Stevens-Todd from Thorne Harbour Country to discuss the upcoming ChillOut Festival. ChillOut Festival is Australia's premier regional LGBTQIA+ pride event, held annually in Daylesford, Victoria — over the Labour Day long weekend in March. Learn more about ChillOut Festival and Thorne Harbour Health's events. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send...

We speak with long time members of LGBTIQ+ community sport clubs in Melbourne and Adelaide about the mental and physical benefits they've seen being part of inclusive teams, including: Lynda from Melbourne Frontrunners, Ben from Melbourne Surge, and Cam from Melbourne Wranglers. We also hear from Peter from Pride Tennis Adelaide, Russell from Adelaide Sharks, and Peter from Adelaide Spikers. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s...

Cal speaks with Marc Lyons about the experiences that led him to develop Happie Holl, formulated to calm and soothe your butt after anal play, a big poop or too much poop. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at [email protected] Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at Thorne Harbour Health and in South Australia at SAMESH.

Cal speaks with Dr George about the Ass Class he gave at GEAR'd Adelaide 2023, the Leather, Kink, and Fetish Festival. Dr George goes into detail on douching, anal sex positions, ass training, and more. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like us to explore on the show, send through ideas or questions at [email protected] Find out more about LGBTIQ+ services and events in Victoria at Thorne Harbour Health...

Jacinta and Rachel speak to Themme Fatale about their experiences of long COVID and the scientific and social comparisons of HIV and long COVID Themme Fatale is an award winning, sideshow-slinging drag artist, known locally and internationally as a genre-blending and gender-transcending performer, producer, and creator with an eye for works that emphasise accessibility and foster riotous Queer joy (with an emphasis on riot). On stage, they serve high skill, high camp circus absurdism and...

Rachel and Jacinta sit down with poet Tuesday Atzinger ahead of the Wise Words event in February. We discuss Tuesday's writing and performance about themes of Afro-blackness, disability and queerness. Tuesday Atzinger is a poet and emerging writer. Their work explores and celebrates Afro-blackness, queerness, disability and feminism. They peddle in discomfort and their primary goal is to fling words together to make you squirm. They have performed spoken word with Quippings for the...