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30 ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER
Council staff our official opening ceremony at Havelock House
WHERE WE ARE
A word from our Executive Director, Philippa Moss. It’s a delight to be the Executive Director of the AIDS Action Council at the pivotal occasion of the organisation’s 30th anniversary. I have personally been involved with the Council and worked with a diverse range of wonderful colleagues and supporters since May 2013. Established in 1985, the AIDS Action Council ACT is guided by a mission to minimise the transmission of HIV and AIDS and reduce the associated social and personal impacts. Providing education programs to improve community understanding of HIV and AIDS, the Council provides care and support, focuses on reducing stigma and reinforcing the importance of prevention, treatment and testing. The Council continues to build its organisational capacity to support people living with HIV, sex workers, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, transgender and queer (LGBITQ) communities in areas such as health and wellbeing, counselling, testing, peer education, social support services, advocacy, education and prevention.
AIDS ACTION COUNCIL OF THE ACT
02 6257 2855 • contact@aidsaction.org.au Havelock House 85 Northbourne Avenue (Gould Street entrance) Turner ACT 2612
I’m very excited about my role as Executive Director as it allows me to continue working with great staff and community members who are passionate about the difference they can make to the lives of people throughout Canberra and the region. We have achieved so much together recently, by building solid partnerships, developing social capital, moving the Council to new premises and rebranding the organisation. It’s a genuinely positive era of change and hope. Moving forward, the Council will continue to provide quality care and support services and encourage the community to have greater ownership and control over these services. This new era of peer based and community ownership has presented many opportunities for us to engage with real solutions, such as PrEP, Treatment as Prevention and peer based education and prevention.
aidsaction.org.au
30 ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER
Our new home at Havelock House
WHAT GUIDES US
REFLECTING ON 2015
Three core documents guide the work of the Council (under a Service Funding Agreement with ACT Health) are:
By AIDS Action Council’s Executive Director , Philippa Moss and President Nathan Boyle.
• The National HIV Strategy > http://tinyurl.com/hsdcy3r • AIDS 2014 Legacy Statement > http://tinyurl.com/z5mx9ye • The Melbourne Declaration > http://tinyurl.com/jdz95fm
HOW WE GOT HERE OUR HISTORY
The AIDS Action Council is proud to be Canberra’s leading community-based HIV and AIDS organisation. Since its establishment in 1983, the Council has been delivering important outcomes for the health and wellbeing of the community. These services have evolved with the community, and there have been three distinct phases in the Council’s evolution. 1982 - 1992: SERVICE PROVISION When HIV emerged in the community in the 1980s, the organisation aimed to provide vital services with much of our activity focused on prevention, supporting people as they became sick, helping them to die with dignity and supporting the family and friends trying to cope with this devastating illness.
Over the past year, the Council has continued to work to build its capacity to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, transgender and queer (LGBITQ) communities in areas including increased health and wellbeing, health promotion, and supporting individual and community capacity. This period has seen us focus more on supporting these communities to have ownership and control over the services provided. We have achieved this by involving them in the development of programs and initiatives, building partnerships/alliances and highlighting the contribution they make to the broader Canberra community. The move from Westlund House to Havelock House has provided a unique opportunity to reflect on our history and the fascinating collection of unique artifacts and memorabilia which we’ve amassed over the last 30 years. We’re very proud to be the caretakers of these items which hold both local and national significance.
A collaboration of board members, staff and volunteers have managed to oversee a special project designed to document, preserve, restore and photograph these items. Conservation 1992 - 2000: LIVING WITH HIV specialists have now preserved a collection of papers, Between 1992 and 2000, our programs began to change to take a more linens, dyes, photographs and multimedia formats which is holistic approach to people’s health and wellbeing. Medical advances permanently housed at the ACT Heritage Library and the meant we could support individuals and the community they lived in, as Gay and Lesbian National Archives. The collection, which will people were now able to ‘live with HIV’. The organisation focused on a continue to grow over time as more materials are produced, range of lifestyle and support services which addressed their health needs. can be publicly accessed for research and exhibition purposes. 2000 - 2015: PROVIDING VITAL SERVICES For the past 15 years, HIV work has stayed at the heart of what we do and this work now sits within a broader focus of health promotion, prevention, treatment, community acceptance and the celebration of diversity across our community.
AIDS ACTION COUNCIL OF THE ACT
02 6257 2855 • contact@aidsaction.org.au Havelock House 85 Northbourne Avenue (Gould Street entrance) Turner ACT 2612
Our work in preventing HIV, other blood-borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continues to be a core focus. We remain committed to the ACT’s participation in Australia’s collective response to HIV prevention and the development and use of world-leading treatments.
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WHO GOT US HERE
REFLECTIONS FROM PREVIOUS LEADERS
Andrew Burry
General Manager from 2007 to 2012 The hardest thing for me in settling into my new position at the WA AIDS Council, was that it wasn’t the AIDS Action Council of the ACT. No other organisation could be. I well remember walking into Westlund House on the first day of what would become five wonderful years as a brief custodian of the organisation’s magnificent history and heritage. The council continues to punch above its weight, identify innovative and creative solutions, plus build significant relationships with a wide range of stakeholders (including clients, community, government and the wider population). Not surprisingly, what makes the Council really special is the people involved. Over the years such a multitude of amazing individuals have contributed to the AIDS Action Council, that I always found it important to remember that I was just one of many. Sad though it was for me to move on, it was great to know that I would retain my connection to the council in my new job. The first time I entered Westlund House was in 2000, when during a brief period of domicile in our Capital city my partner and I were there to help make red ribbons. The next time I was in the building was in 2007 on the occasion of my job interview, when as I waited in the reception area apparently all available staff had a call of nature. I loved that building, perched as it is on the edge of ANU and opposite the dome building. Of course it was bloody cold in winter and the offices could never quite be configured to the satisfaction of anybody (possibly due to an influx of restructuring ideas?). It nevertheless seemed to me as the epitome of how a community organisation should look and feel. While I had mixed feelings when the Council moved, I did experience a sense of celebration as the significance of a new chapter opening up for the council was clear. I knew the organization, clients, staff and supporters were ready for growth and expansion. While I occupy only a small space of the AIDS Action Council’s three-decade history, I will always feel humble for having had the opportunity to be there even for that small portion. I’d like to say to all those involved, congratulations on 30 years of incredible support for the communities you serve!
Kevin Schaumburg
Acting General Manager from 2006 to 2007 I commenced my association with the Council as a volunteer and in 1996 took up a postion with PLWAH ACT as a Project Officer for the Complementary Therapies Project funded by ACT Health. That year saw the emergence of Combination Therapies, the commencement of a new era in the epidemic and the Council develop leadership in gaining knowledge and understanding of these treatments. Local services were re-oriented to ensure client access/support and it became a period in which we discovered more and more about the long-term use of specific drugs. The booklet produced as part of this project was developed into a national resource in 1999. At the conclusion of the project, I moved into the Education Unit and over the years performed the duties of Acting General Manager as required. In 2007 after a period of twelve months as Acting General Manger I resigned and moved to my current position, where I still work within the HIV and Blood Borne Virus sector. As a Fabulous Member I continued to have an association with the Council over the years and have seen the Council move forward, facing the many challenges of working in this ever-changing environment of funding, testing, treatments and prevention. In its thirtieth year, I am very pleased to see that the Council is now in a new home at Havelock House with a range of expanded services and facilities. I’m confident it will become a facility where the community and other groups will continue to develop a resource that ensures the council’s future work remains relevant and important. I trust the Board, Chief Executive, Staff and Volunteers will remain committed to the local community while maintaining an awareness of national and international issues that impact their work and ongoing community engagement. It is also my hope that they continue to raise awareness, with the knowledge that stigma and discrimination remain a constant challenge for people living with HIV. I thank the Council for allowing me to be a small part of its 30-year history.
aidsaction.org.au
30 ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER
Periodic Survey 2015 team volunteers and staff 2015
HOW WE HELP OUR COMMUNITY 30 Years of Health Promotion Throughout our history, Australia’s AIDS Councils and the overarching HIV communityled response have made noteworthy and positive contributions to health outcomes for people living with HIV and HIV affected communities. Successful HIV campaigns have contributed to improved health and reduced costs to the ACT community as a whole. The Council has generated both its own health promotion campaigns and worked closely with other organisations such as Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations, Victorian AIDS Council and ACON.
WHO GOT US HERE
REFLECTIONS FROM PREVIOUS LEADERS
JOHN GUPPY “I was President at a time of instability and change. During the time people living with HIV, the AIDS Action Council members, volunteers and community maintained a strong and connected focus. I appreciate their ongoing commitment to HIV/AIDS care and support; education and health promotion”. John Guppy has had a long engagement with the AIDS Action Council. He is well known in the community as a past President of the Council and through his involvement in many of Canberra’s LGBTIQ community groups. John is a Fabulous Member and continues to demonstrate his commitment to the Council as an active volunteer, and in particular has facilitated countless peer support workshops over many years.
AIDS ACTION COUNCIL OF THE ACT
Health Promotion campaigns have covered a broad range of issues. Over the past three decades, these have included:
• • • • • • • • • • •
HIV awareness condom use risk reduction methods other than condoms (e.g. PEP and PrEP) understanding other STIs HIV harm reduction (e.g. safe injecting) HIV stigma and discrimination healthy relationships sex worker rights drug and alcohol use mental illness HIV and comorbidities.
Campaigns have ranged from broad, high-profile community-based campaigns such as the World AIDS Day red ribbon campaign to more discreet, nuanced and sexually explicit campaigns that target esoteric groups (e.g. men using beats or gay men living with HIV and Hepatitis C comorbidities). Successive ACT governments have supported such campaigns as ENDING HIV and ACT Testing Month. The AIDS Action Council Health Promotion work is driven by principles of the Ottawa Charter, as well as National HIV strategies, comprehensive HIV social research and epidemiological data.
02 6257 2855 • contact@aidsaction.org.au Havelock House 85 Northbourne Avenue (Gould Street entrance) Turner ACT 2612
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The ‘Grim Reaper’ ad, after nearly 30 years continues to be touted as one of the most successful health awareness campaigns ever devised. While accepted as highly memorable, it is also remembered for its negative impact in further demonising gay men and people living with HIV.
Thirty years ago, saying that you were a peer and living with HIV took tremendous strength and courage. We owe a debt of gratitude to those individuals, as they developed the foundation that we built the council on and on which we continue to evolve. Over the years peer support has had many faces and benefitted individuals in a myriad of ways. For example, the member-based Positive Living ACT self-help organization which provides a positive space for the community to come together as equals to support, listen, care, laugh and cry for each other. Another example is the informal networks that organically grow from friendships, meetings and conversations over peer dinners. There are many aspects of peer support to consider when looking at how service delivery can be improved. Over the years, the Council has encouraged the contribution of peer support in the development of peer groups. We continue to employ a peer worker within the Council, as the ongoing effectiveness of such support in preventing HIV and understanding those already living with HIV/ AIDS is of great importance to the work we do.
The grim reaper in a 1987 AIDS education television advertisement. Good health promotion is empowering and helps to overcome challenges in providing agency, adequate knowledge, culturally appropriate solutions and considering a range of social and environmental factors to influence positive decision-making regarding health choices. Peer-led work, such as workshops, outreach and advocacy, compliment the work of campaigns to ensure a holistic approach to health promotion. Our work is designed to make a positive impact on key communities through campaigns such as Safe Schools Coalition, Beats Outreach, Condoms at Cube Nightclub and University Queer Departments. We also provide community space at the council premises and LGBTI/HIV community training (for youth, general practitioners and aged care services). Some popular and well-remembered campaigns delivered by the Council:
• Sodomise Safely • Condom Miranda • Cover Yourself in Canberra • I HEART Sex, I HEART Condoms • ENDING HIV
Peer Support for People living with HIV What is peer support? It can mean different things to different people at various times in their lives. People (or peers) come together to provide knowledge, experience, emotional, social or practical help to each other or the communities in which they live and work. For the AIDS Action Council, the peer support provided to our community over the last 30 years has been fundamental to the successful outcomes of our organisation and the work we do – now and into the future.
Sex Worker Outreach Program What’s in a word? The phrase ‘sex work’ was coined by Carol Leigh in the late seventies and remains the preferred terminology of sex workers in Australia. She first used the phrase ‘sex work’ at a women’s conference in the United States, during which there was a workshop titled ‘Sex Use Industry.’ “The words stuck out and embarrassed me,” Leigh recalls. “How could I sit amid other women as a political equal when I was being objectified like that, described only as something used, obscuring my role as an actor and agent in this transaction?” Leigh suggested the title be changed to ‘Sex Work Industry’, because the term ‘sex worker’ better described the profession. Sex workers in Australia reject the term ‘prostitute’ and other oppressive language such as ‘prostituted woman’, which sees sex workers as objects without agency or choice, and ignores sex workers who do not identify as a women. Today, the gender-neutral term ‘sex worker’ is used internationally by media, academics, health service providers and advocates. The use of sex worker-preferred terminology is fundamental to sex worker self-determination. It also reflects the central premise that sex work is a legitimate form of occupation which deserves the same rights and protections of other professions. The Australian Human Rights Commission report on addressing sexual orientation and/or gender identity discrimination notes the importance of ‘using appropriate, inclusive and empowering terminology’.
aidsaction.org.au
30 ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER Advocating for Decriminalisation Under a decriminalised system, sex industry businesses are treated like any other business. They are subject to existing regulatory mechanisms, such as: local council planning; zoning and location controls; workers’ compensation requirements; occupational health and safety standards; and industrial rights obligations. Decriminalisation does not mean an absence of regulation, but rather whole-of-government regulation. Importantly, police are not involved as regulators at any level unless there is a breach of law. Decriminalisation is endorsed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing’s National Strategies on HIV and STIs as best practice sex work legislation. A decriminalised system supports the development and enforcement of occupational health and safety standards, access to industrial rights protections and permits sex workers to organise for better working conditions. The New Zealand experience with decriminalisation shows that this system does not increase the size of the sex industry – rather it provides better access to justice, health and safety for people working in the industry.
• In 1992, after many years of lobbying, WISE contributed to the development and establishment of Australia’s Prostitution Act. It helped to formally legalise sex work throughout the country. • In 2000, SWOP (Sex Workers Outreach Project) was created to replace WISE, funded by ACT Health. SWOP continued to operate out of premises separate to those of the AIDS Action Council. • In 2002-03, SWOP employed two part-time staff members which increased access and services for sex workers. • In 2003-04, SWOP developed a new logo in a medieval font which was selected to convey the long history of the industry. • In 2004-05, SWOP moved from its Braddon premises to Westlund House with the AIDS Action Council. • In 2008, SWOP introduced a new logo designed by a sex worker. This new (and current) logo reflects the principle that SWOP is a resource developed by sex workers for sex workers.
• In 1986-87, the AIDS Action Council surveyed sex workers about their attitudes to HIV and AIDS.
• In 2015, SWOP continues to grow from strength to strength and has increased the work it does - from encouraging sex workers to protect themselves by using condoms to educating people (such as doctors, nurses, police and councillors) about sex workers and the sex work industry. It has also contributed to changes in legislation and developed outreach programs for the ACT’s 17 brothels.
• In 1989, WISE (Women In Sex Work Employment) was established. One part-time staff member was employed to deliver information on AIDS and STDs to seven brothels throughout the ACT. WISE received independent funding in 1989-90 from the Health Department which was administrated by the AIDS Action Council.
SWOP is seen as the ACT’s expert advocacy and support organisation in the field of sex work. It is known as Australia’s largest and oldest communitybased peer education sex worker organisation. The education and health promotion work SWOP delivers is focused primarily on the prevention of HIV, STI and Hepatitis C in the sex worker community.
A Development Timeline
HIV diagnoses in Australia, 1984–2014
2600
THERE WERE 18 NEW DIAGNOSED CASES IN THE ACT, WITH 1081 NEW DIAGNOSES ACROSS AUSTRALIA
2411
1950
HIV diagnoses
1300 650 0
1984
1987
1990
1993
1996
1999
2002
Year Source: State and Territory health authorities. See methodological notes for detail.
AIDS ACTION COUNCIL OF THE ACT
02 6257 2855 • contact@aidsaction.org.au Havelock House 85 Northbourne Avenue (Gould Street entrance) Turner ACT 2612
2005
2008
2011
2014
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A key aspect of SWOP’s success is the development of strategic, collaborative and multi-disciplinary relationships with sex workers, health organisations, health professionals, government agencies and non-government organisations. SWOP continues to advocate the provision of equitable and holistic services to sex workers in the ACT.
Three Decades of Volunteer Support
PRIORITIES 1.
Implement targeted and evidence-based prevention programs to meet the United Nations and Australian target of zero new transmissions, focusing on working with young people and at-risk communities, supporting peer based approaches and promoting access to emerging prevention treatments (including PrEP and TasP);
2.
The Council is a grassroots peer-based organisation and the achievements of the organisation over the past 30 years would not have been possible without our team of dedicated board members, staff, volunteers and friends.
Increase provision of accessible testing for HIV and other STIs (including rapid testing), with a focus on supporting at-risk communities and providing testing in community based settings;
• Volunteers have contributed in many ways to ensure that everything the organisation undertakes is achieved to the highest standard.
Improve implementation of best practice treatment of HIV in the community, including PEP treatment where appropriate, increasing early treatment of HIV and promoting peer support models as a key delivery mechanism; Support treatments cascade ( 90 – 90 – 90) and implement appropriate support for ‘the other 10%’.
• We are extremely grateful to our volunteers, supporters and stakeholders. Without their efforts and expertise, we would not be able to build the health and wellbeing of our community.
4.
• Volunteers are integral to the Council and we function as an organisation because of all their generous time, good will and hard work. • Volunteering is a great way to meet other like-minded people, get an insight into the Council and its work, plus to contribute towards making our community better. • No matter who you are or what your skill level is, there are many ways to get involved. We also offer a range of volunteer roles that require specialised knowledge, qualifications and training.
BUILDING OUR NEW LOGO
3.
Increase provision of care and support services for people diagnosed and impacted by HIV and their families, ensuring that this is continued to be person centred, peer based and community based wherever possible. In this, ensure that services are meeting the needs of the growing group of ageing individuals who have survived and are managing long term multiple chronic conditions;
5.
Ensure a human rights approach for people impacted by HIV in the community, eradicating stigma and discrimination of people impacting HIV in our community, and improving the community’s understanding of HIV;
6.
Improve collection and access to local and relevant data regarding prevalence and management of HIV in the community, and support for high quality research that involves people impacted by HIV in the design, planning and implementation of research and data collection process.
We incorporated colour to help convey our roll and work within the community. Blue is a historical colour for the Council. It’s associated with health, history, trust, experience, truth, stability and unity. Yellow relates to our acquired knowledge over 30+ years. It represents life, hope, creativity, energy and action. It inspires original thought and inquisitiveness.
Our logo shape comes from the negative space within a folded AIDS ribbon.
Pink has historically represented the LGBTI community. It relates to love and understanding, nurturing, friendship and diversity.
The shape was duplicated and arranged together with consideration of key focus group statements about the Council. ‘Guidance / direction and support without judgment.’ ‘Coming together around action.’
aidsaction.org.au
30 ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER : LOOKING BACK
Candlelight Memorial 2013
Fair Day 2008
CUBE Pride Party 2009
World AIDS Day 2008
Winter Warmer 2013
Candlelight Memorial 2011
Supporting someone who is feeling suicidal
If you are thinking of suicide you eone
trust
o som Talk t Avoid being alone Set yo urself small go
Spend time with them Make s ongoingure they receive support
You can recognise the signs
To help those left behind
als
www.health.act.gov.au/suicideprevention
ed Have you notic
changes?
Has someone you ow withdrawn from ackn tivities? Have thingsthey stop that t ped do i hey e njoy?ng the
AIDS ACTION COUNCIL OF THE ACT
ey rson if th ide e p e h t k ic As ing of su are think
02 6257 2855 • contact@aidsaction.org.au Havelock House 85 Northbourne Avenue (Gould Street entrance) Turner ACT 2612
Be a friend Listen, keep in touch Give them time
aidsaction.org.au