Speaking frankly...                                       

Holding tight for marriage equality and mentally healthy communities

Mental Health Australia has a clear vision of mentally healthy people, and mentally healthy communities. 

This weekend, thousands of people in our community will celebrate the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. For nearly 40 years, Mardi Gras has grown to represent so much more than a march of pride through city streets. And for many LGBTIQ Australians, it is an important, and sometimes the only weekend where routine discrimination does not cast its dark shadow. Discrimination that is a huge contributor to poor mental health.

In recent years, Mardi Gras and the push for marriage equality have walked hand-in-hand. So much so that we are now seeing major Australian corporations such as the ANZ join the chorus of those pushing for equality. The ANZ’s #HoldTight campaign, and the subsequent interviews with staff video, shows just how far we’ve come, but also highlights how far we still have to go.

From a mental health perspective we know that LGBTIQ Australians experience routine discrimination, along with all its negative mental health effects and that marriage equality is squarely a mental health issue. That led us last year to release our own statement on marriage equality late last year.

We know the determinants of mental health are the same for LGBTIQ Australians as they are for the rest of the community, but ongoing discrimination creates additional challenges.

We know that LGBTIQ Australians experience triple the rate of depression and double the rate of anxiety when compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

And we know that more than half of the LGBTIQ population have experienced verbal homophobic abuse, while LGBTIQ Australians are also between 3.5 and 14 times more likely to attempt suicide.

In a community where mental health impacts 1 in 5 Australians and where our suicide rate is at a 10-year high, the push for marriage equality has to continue, and the chorus must get louder if we are serious about prevention and support for all.

Earlier this week our good friends at the National LGBTI Health Alliance launched a plan for strategic action to prevent mental ill-health and suicide, and promote good mental health and wellbeing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people and communities across Australia.

The plan outlines intersectionality, evidence, access, lived experience and social inclusion as five key strategy principles to improve the mental health of LGBTI Australians, and I would encourage all in the sector to support this plan.

Holding tight and more importantly people feeling they can do just that, is a real start, but we are also looking for real change, and real reform.  And a big part of that is marriage equality for our community… for all.

#Holdtight this weekend, hold hands with pride every day, and keep pushing for real change and #EqualLove  

Frank Quinlan
Chief Executive Officer
 

National LGBTI Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Strategy

The National LGBTI Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Strategy is a plan for strategic action to prevent mental ill-health and suicide, and promote good mental health and wellbeing for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people and communities across Australia.

This strategy includes recommendations across the breadth of approaches in Australian mental health work including promotion, prevention, intervention, treatment and maintenance.

The purpose of the strategy is to respond to LGBTI people in current need, to provide interventions to those who are at risk, and to interrupt the structural factors that contribute to overrepresentation of LGBTI people in mental health and suicide statistics.

Mental Health Australia submission to parliamentary inquiry
into NDIS and mental health

This week Mental Health Australia provided a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the provision of service under the NDIS for people with psychosocial disabilities related to a mental health condition. The submission discusses issues across the inquiry’s terms of reference and provides recommendations in relation to the NDIS access, assessment and eligibility criteria, access to psychosocial services outside the NDIS, transparency in relation to mental health expenditure, the provision of assertive outreach and respite for mental health carers.

 

Parliamentary News

NDIS savings fund passes House of Representatives  

Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter, has welcomed the passage of legislation to establish a dedicated fund to meet future costs associated with the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The Bill to establish the National Disability Insurance Scheme Savings Fund Special Account passed the House of Representatives this morning. It will now be considered by the Senate. "The Turnbull Government is absolutely committed to fully funding the NDIS to ensure people living with disability, their families and carers have the supports needed to live normal lives," the Minister said.

Reminders

Nominations are now open for the 2017 AMA Public Health Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2017 AMA Public Health Awards with the recipients to be announced at the AMA National Conference to be held in Melbourne on 26-28 May 2017. The presentation of the AMA Public Health Awards provides well-deserved recognition of the extraordinary contribution doctors and associated health groups make to health care and public health.

Last year, the AMA Excellence in Healthcare Award was presented jointly to A/Prof John Boffa and Ms Donna Ah Chee for their contribution to reducing harms of alcohol and improving early childhood outcomes for Aboriginal children.  The AMA Woman in Medicine Award was presented to A/Prof Diana Egerton-Warburton in recognition of her exceptional contribution to the development of emergency medicine, and her passion for public health.

RANZCP 2017 Congress in Adelaide from 30 April – 4 May

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) is pleased to advise that registrations are now open for the RANZCP 2017 Congress, being held in Adelaide from 30 April – 4 May.

Attracting well over 1000 delegates each year, the RANZCP Congress is a major educational event in Australasia for psychiatrists, allied health professionals and other medical practitioners involved mental health, and this year’s theme – ‘Speaking our Minds. Telling our Stories’ – will set the scene for a broad and interesting scientific program discussing the latest developments in mental health. Click here to view the conference program or read about the keynote speakers.

18th International Mental Health Conference call for abstract submissions

Consumer and Carer Co-Design - Initiative in Mental Health
Workshop - Monday 3 April

Happiness and its Causes - Conference in Sydney June 22-23

Over 60 inspirational speakers including ten from the USA, Canada, the UK, France and New Zealand are now confirmed for Happiness & Its Causes 2017. See the full program here! The response has been fantastic with only 100 seats remaining in the auditorium - welcome to all of you who are coming to the conference this year.

Apply now for a Churchill Fellowship

Consumers Health Forum webinars in March

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