The Victorian AIDS Council (VAC), in partnership with ACON, has announced the keynote speakers for the 2018 LGBTIQ Women’s Health Conference.
Now in its fourth year, the conference is the only national summit for LGBTIQ women’s health in Australia. The program includes presentations, panels, workshops and esteemed keynote speakers with the conference being opened by the Minister for Health, Jill Hennessy, with Welcome to Country by Wurundjeri Elder, Annette Xiberras. The 2018 keynote speakers will include:
Jerril Rechter
Jerril is the CEO of VicHealth. She is a World Health Organization Advisor, Chair of the International Network of Health Promotion Foundations, and Board Member of the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
Alison Thorne
Alison is a socialist feminist. She is the managing editor of the Freedom Socialist Organiser and a founding member of Radical Women in Australia. She is a lifelong LGBTIQ liberationist.
Naomi Fontanos
Naomi is a feminist and a long-time advocate of the Filipino transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex, and queer (TLGBIQ) community. She is the Executive Director of Gender and Development Advocates (GANDA) Filipinas.
Sally Rugg
Sally is the Executive Director of Change.org and the former campaign director of GetUp! where she worked at the forefront of the marriage equality campaign.
Roj Amedi
Roj is the Senior Human Rights Campaigner at GetUp! as well as a writer and editor.
“We are thrilled by this year’s line-up,” said VAC CEO Simon Ruth. “We’re confident this diverse and inspiring group of women will inspire a robust discussion about how we can better address LGBTIQ women’s health and empower those women in attendance.”
“We’re tackling an ambitious portfolio of issues in just two days, including: sexual health, ageing, mental health, activism and feminism, breast and cervical cancers, trans health, living with disabilities, leadership, alcohol and other drugs, rainbow families, domestic and family violence, sex work, marriage equality and the refugee and migrant experience.”
This year’s theme: Research, Resilience, Respect is aimed at exploring existing research into LGBTIQ women’s health. Furthermore, this year’s conference will highlight the need for further research – to acknowledge the resilience and strength of LGBTIQ women as well as pay respect to all LGBTIQ women’s communities.
The conference, initiated by VAC in 2015, was born out of the realisation LGBTIQ women’s health is largely overlooked by both LGBTIQ and mainstream organisations. In 2016, VAC partnered with ACON to co-present the conference, which expanded to a two-day event in 2017 with over 300 attendees from all over Australia.
The 2018 LGBTIQ Women’s Health Conference takes place 12 – 13 July at the Jasper Hotel, 489 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne. For more information and to register, visit: www.lbq.org.au for details.