Xs and Os

Post date: Nov 26, 2015 8:46:49 AM

Hi everyone,

Today we had our second session of LGBTI (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex) in Aged Care training, it was very powerful and very informative; while I feel comfortable with my status as an LGBTI advocate and ally in my personal life, there is so much that I had not considered on a professional level. One very sad part about the training is learning about the amount of elderly people who feel forced to go back into the closet when they lose their independence and start requiring care. We watched this trailer for a documentary on the issue and there was barely a dry eye in the room:

One point that the woman taking the training made that stuck with me is care agencies (and the world at large) 'expect the Xs to conform to the Os'; we work under a mantra of 'treating everyone the same' when people from the LGBTI community aren't the same as everyone else and have different needs and by treating them 'the same as everyone else' they will not receive the care they need. We're working towards getting our Rainbow Tick (being certified as an LGBTI friendly employer and a place that can provide informed care for members of the LGBTI community) and to do that we will need to aim to provide equity of care rather than equality of care. I am going to an LGBTI in Disability forum next week so I may have more to say about the subject then!

In other news, I have just done the online check in for Ginny and I tomorrow night... not long now! Turns out Rose Kean is on our flight too which will be nice.