Rainbow Wellbeing
The International Journal for Equity in Health published a paper in 2009 with the following abstract:
"In this paper we argue the importance of including gender and sexually diverse populations in policy development towards a more inclusive form of health promotion. We emphasize the need to address the broad health and wellbeing issues and needs of LGBT people, rather than exclusively using an illness-based focus such as HIV/AIDS. We critically examine the limitations of population health, the social determinants of health (SDOH), and public health goals, in light of the lack of recognition of gender and sexually diverse individuals and communities. By first acknowledging the unique health and social care needs of LGBT people, then employing anti-oppressive, critical and intersectional analyses we offer recommendations for how to make population health perspectives, public health goals, and the design of public health promotion policy more inclusive of gender and sexual diversity. In health promotion research and practice, representation matters. It matters which populations are being targeted for health promotion interventions and for what purposes, and it matters which populations are being overlooked. In Canada, current health promotion policy is informed by population health and social determinants of health (SDOH) perspectives, as demonstrated by Public Health Goals for Canada. With Canada's multicultural makeup comes the challenge of ensuring that diverse populations are equitably and effectively recognized in public health and health promotion policy."
Read more here.
"Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) individuals often are the target of enacted or external (i.e., distal) experiences of stigma, discrimination, and violence, which are linked to adverse health, particularly psychological distress. There is limited research, however, examining felt or internal (i.e., proximal) stressors faced by TGNC individuals. This study sought to examine one type of internal stressor, expecting rejection, and aimed to (1) identify how and to what extent rejection expectations operate day-to-day for TGNC individuals and (2) ex-
plore how TGNC individuals respond to expectations of rejection.
Read more of this journal article here.
During the 2017 South Island Tertiary Forum, three documents were developed in response to Rainbow Wellbeing issues on tertiary campuses.
Links to the three resources are below:
Feel free to share these resources in your own organisations.
This is a link to a friendly and simple guide to gender and sexuality terms and identities in our diverse world, developed by Rainbow Youth.
View it here.
The following is a link to a resource from the 'Are You Ok?' website about healthy LGBTI relationships, including where to go for help if things get tough. Click here for more information.
If you would like to order resources for your tertiary institution, Community and Public Health is a great place to start. They offer pamphlets on youth support, specialised help lines, Christchurch-specific support and Takatāpui wellbeing. A link to order these is available here.
Inside Out is a collection of free videos designed to help reduce gender- and sexual-identity based bullying. They are New Zealand based, and include resources tailored to years 7-8 and 9-13.
Click here to view Episode One: Gender, Sex and Sexuality.
