Clint and Jess speak with Jack about the upcoming Sticks and Stones documentary. The documentary aims to illustrate the damage that stigma does on the wellbeing millions of people around the world. The team behind the documentary will examine the misinformation and lack of education fuelling stigma in the greater community by debunking myths and stereotypes. Find out more and support the production of the documentary at sticksandstones.au. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more...

While smoking affects the health of everyone, the rate of smoking is higher among LGBTIQ+ communities. Smoking and vaping have numerous negative health impacts but there have never been more tools available to help our diverse communities quit. To learn more about this, Jack spoke with Sabine from Quit and Matilda Mercury from the recently launched Quit with Pride campaign. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something you’d like...

We talk with the Forcibly Displaced People Network about their Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP) 'Thrive Together' providing an opportunity to support the rights and empowerment of displaced individuals. * This episode originally aired Thursday, June 20 2024 on JOY * 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...

In light of National Volunteer Week, we speak with Volunteer Coordinators Daniel and Boudie about the LGBTIQ+ Organisation Volunteer Event (LOVE). We also hear from James in Melbourne and Kellie and Edgar in Adelaide about their experience volunteering for Thorne Harbour Health and SAMESH. 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...

Starlady joins us to discuss Transfemme's updated resources to support healthier relationships between trans women and men. The new resources can be found on the Zoe Belle Gender Collective and Transfemme websites. 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...

Living Positive Victoria’s AIDS Candlelight Memorial aims to raise HIV awareness and provides space to remember friends and family lost to AIDS, along with people today living with HIV. Positive Speakers Bureau Coordinator David O'Keeffe from Living Positive Victoria joins us to discuss. Jack and Cal also talk about Thorne Harbour Health's exit from Twitter/X in light of IDAHOBIT. Check out our other JOY Podcasts for more on LGBTIQ+ health & wellbeing. If there’s something...

Flu season is here and we're keeping you well this winter. Michael is joined by PRONTO and Equinox Practice Nurse Arlo MacDonald about keeping well during the cooler months. Whether it's time for a COVID booster update, getting your regular seasonal flu vaccine, or preventing Mpox - we've got you covered. Arlo shares what vaccines are available, recent Mpox cases in our community, and some tips for harm reduction tools when mingling this flu season.   Helpful links Immunisation for...

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 Jimmy Yu-Hsiang Chen, Networks Project Officer at NAPWHA - the national association for PLHIV. Jimmy...

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...