The Gender Centre, An Update

by Lea, Camille & Detlev

(The Gender Centre advise that this article may not be current and as such certain content, including but not limited to persons, contact details and dates may not apply. Where legal authority or medical related matters are cited, responsibility lies with the reader to obtain the most current relevant legal authority and/or medical publication.)

Well, here we are in December (again) and I can hardly believe another year is upon us! Then again, you know what they say about "time flying when you're having fun" which I hope you all have been. Perhaps it's been a matter of head down and tail up? As for me, I have been kept busy with lots of different things out here at the centre.

In addition to the day-to-day things we have been thinking of new plans and ideas to improve services for the community. So, we have been doing some investigations into issues about breast care, medical cover/benefits and hormones (the easy to understand version). These issues will also be covered in future editions of Polare.

We haven't forgotten the barbecues, and December is the month for being sociable. Not only is it Christmas and we all know what that requires, to kick December in we had World AIDS Day on December 1st. So, what could we do but have a barbecue. The day was celebrated by about 65 people out at the centre eating, drinking and being merry. Among the festivity we took time to stop and remember partners, family and friends who have died of AIDS related illnesses.

We look forward to sharing Christmas dinner with you on December 23rd, hope you can make it.

Here's to another cup of tea.

Love, Lea

Firstly I'll just let everyone know that we have a fully stocked needle exchange service operating at the centre. A list of all items stocked has been included on page 9.

I had the opportunity to attend a couple of events in the prisons over the last two months. I was invited to sit in on a prison peer educators' meeting in the Industrial Section of Long Bay. The primary objective of this program has been to establish a group of inmates in every correctional centre in New South Wales who have been trained in H.I.V. prevention, education and are available to other inmates for information, education and support on a range of H.I.V. / AIDS issues.

The group was in the process of organising World AIDS Day activities to be held in that particular prison on December 1st. Everything from Backgammon to Rugby, live music to cake making was being negotiated, with group participants eager to take on responsibilities to ensure a day of unity on December 1st.

The Gender Centre was also invited to attend the "Community Linkup Festival" held at Mulawa Correctional Centre. Over thirty community groups set up information and education stalls in the prison grounds. We met, we mingled, we munched and toe-tapped to a day long program of entertainment and information.

Being a relatively "new service on the block" there was obviously a fair amount of interest in the Gender Centre and who we service. And of course it was a great opportunity to meet up with those living in a women's prison with gender issues.

Thanks go to Women and Girls in Custody (W.A.G.I.C.), Civil Rehabilitation Committee (C.R.C.) and of course the inmates of Mulawa who put together a wonderfully informative and totally good vibe day.

Camille

Social & Support Project

The Social & Support Project was the first of it's kind in Australia, and provided peer education to the community of people with gender issues.

It was a rich and rewarding experience working in a project that brought together people who did not previously have the opportunity to formally offer their skills, energy and enthusiasm to each other.

It seems that all project structures have worked towards this goal of getting people together, and even though it was only a pilot project, it seems that many informal support networks have already been established, and will continue well beyond the life of the project.

After an initial planning and orientation period, a focus group was organised to help plan the project with maximum community consultation. This meeting was very well attended and there was a great deal of curiosity and enthusiasm. People volunteered their services to help establish groups, and participated in an animated discussion about exactly what type of groups there was the greatest need.

The monthly groups eventually decided upon were: Gender and Sexuality Group, Female to Male Group, Family and Friends Group, Post-Operative Group, Partners Group, Drug & Alcohol Issues Group, Crossdressing Group, Western Suburbs Support Group, and the H.I.V.+ Group. Members attending the focus meeting volunteered to facilitate these groups as well as participate in training to familiarise themselves with group and facilitation skills and issues. Project Workers then trained these volunteers separately from those facilitating their groups and co-facilitated with them. This made it less scary for them as well as allow the many people who had little previous group experience some first hand experience.

Among all this enthusiasm, the groups began and it quickly became apparent was that it would take quite some time for word of the groups to reach people who needed them. As networks for people with gender issues were thinner on the ground than we imagined, it became part of the project's job to help get some more going. Given the limited time for the project, it was decided to provide as much energy and support for volunteers in terms of training and skills as well as providing social opportunities for people who had not yet accessed the Centre or the Project to do so.

This resulted in the groups being restructured after their first run and a weekly group for all volunteers came into existence. Participants had the opportunity to develop skills and look at group issues one week and the next week would be social, where staff showed videos dealing with gender and sexuality issues, followed by an informal group discussion and of course some food for those freezing winter evenings. Other social activities were organised, such as barbecues at the centre. Project workers also developed a regular newsletter about project activities and important dates and services and other places where people who might want to become involved in the project could get hold of a copy.

These new directions proved to be a great success. These two new approaches were combined into a training weekend away in the Royal National Park. This was attended by a large number of the volunteers and several people from other agencies, as well as staff of the Gender Centre. Basic facilitation skills were work shopped in between amazing food catered by one of the volunteers, and everyone got to know each other much better, and there was also time to enjoy the weekend.

Detlev

The idea of going away for a weekend in the bush has the potential to evoke any number of feelings from excitement to fear. It can also evoke memories of those childhood camps - lest we forget.

On the weekend of August 27 - 29 a group of 17 people packed bags and headed off into the night towards the Royal National Park for a weekend not to be forgotten.

We arrived to be greeted by a fantastic location beside the Hacking River with the standard dormitories of ten bunks per room, plastic covered mattresses and lights that went out at 11:00pm. However the view and full length verandah more than compensated.

Josie was our cook and how! We won't mention things like baking soda and cream! Some of us still remain a little sensitive. Four to five times daily we were plied with food in between the regime of learning skills, some of which were excruciatingly painful, such as the old public speaking exercise. From what I've heard, some wrestled all night in fear of having to speak on issues such as gender fluidity or how to pick someone up. Nothing like a relaxing weekend in the bush?

The scenarios came thick and fast as we clutched at newly learned skills and applied them in all manner of fashion. We got to know each other a little better and met people we had not previously. Ideas were exchanged on every topic from vegetarian lifestyles to a wide and colourful array of fireside stories that have changed some of us for life.

Now all of this may sound a little strange, but it was in fact part of the Social & Support Project at The Gender Centre. And together we had a fantastic time and look forward to the next one.

Lea

Polare is published in Australia by The Gender Centre Inc. which is funded by the Department of Community Services under the S.A.A.P. Program and supported by the N.S.W. Health Department through the AIDS and Infectious Diseases Branch. Polare provides a forum for discussion and debate on gender issues. Advertisers are advised that all advertising is their responsibility under the Trade Practices Act. Unsolicited contributions are welcome, though no guarantee is made by the Editor that they will be published, nor any discussion entered into. The editor reserves the right to edit such contributions without notification. Any submission which appears in Polare may be published on our internet site. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor, The Gender Centre Inc.I, the Department of Community Services or the N.S.W. Department of Health.