SHineSA Kensington is moving

SHine SA is moving

From mid-April all SHine SA services located at Kensington and Bower Street will move to Woodville. Services include: clinics, library & resource centre, professional education, counselling and community education. Our last day at Kensington will be Friday 20th April 2007.

Services and staff will be re-located to the new Woodville GP Plus Health Care Centre at:-

64c Woodville Road
Woodville, SA 5011
(car park entrance via Bower Street)

PO Box 76
Woodville, SA 5011

Telephone: (08) 8300 5300

Some of the agencies providing services from the Woodville GP Plus Health Care Centre will include: Adelaide Western GP Network psychologists, Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service, Drug & Alcohol Service South Australia, GP Solutions (after hours emergency GP service), The Second Story Youth Health Service, Central Northern Adelaide Health Service and Pregnancy Advisory Centre

The Library and Resource Centre will be closed from 5th April 2007 – 30th April 2007. Please ensure books and resources are returned by 5th April 2007.

ARE PLACES THAT PROVIDE PREGNANCY ADVICE PROVIDING ALL OPTIONS?

Pregnancy Help Australia one of the “no choice” national telephone pregnancy counselling services has closed. Clearly, Pregnancy Help did not think that there was enough business to go around. Pregnancy Help is a member of the Australian Federation of Pregnancy Support Services with clear pro-life, anti-choice links. I rang their national number 1300139313 and was advised that while they had closed, I could be referred to agency in my own State. The referral was to Birthline. Birthline was set up by the SA Right to Life and to this day are proud to say that “they never refer for abortion” publicly. It might be worth noting this in relation to clients. I will check with Sensis if Pregnancy Help are able to advertise in the Health and Help pages of the nation’s telephone directories, and keep an activel line referring clients to other providers with out transparency.

please before you refer people on to so called 'advice service - or counselling services' make sure that they counsel in ALL options

Gender workshop pictures

Having a well earned break

The room, the attendees and Jane. Attentive and interested (we hope)

BOOK REVIEW -

SEX LIVES OF AUSTRALIAN TEENAGERS - By Joan Sauers Random House Australia, 2007


I've been reading this book and find it FANTASTIC. It is just sooo easy to read and has some great information (but beware it is NOT a scientific study and the numbers of young people that it questioned are quite small)

Below are some of the stats that you will read about in this book:
28% of girls and 11% of boys have been pressured or forced into having sex

76%of girls and 60% of boys said when asked whether what they learned in sex ed classes at school helped them with thier actual sexual experiences said 'Not much' or Not at all'

65% of girls and 83% of boys said thier parents had 'not much' or 'not at all' influence on them re whether or not they have sex.

86% of girls and 84% of boys said religion had NO influence on whether or not they have sex.

As you can see some great reading and interesting stats for all of us. SHineSA has 2 copies of this book

Check it out

Gender Workshop

The SHineSA Sexual health Awareness week (SHAW) event 'Understanding Gender' was held last week with over 40 attendees from organisations thrioughout Adelaide.

The workshop outline was:

Introduction
“Why is it that so much research shows that gender is one of the key issues in addressing young peoples sexual health”? Ø
Model
Accepting and Resisting
Statistics
Review model
‘rewards’ for accepting and resisting
Somersault

Personal History
Conclusion and evaluation

Two main points of the workshop were:

1) Understanding gender is one of THE keys to the sexual health issues facing young people through out the world.

2) A model of gender to help this understanding was presented ( and can be viewed below).

•Gender Model, a work in progress
•Formulated by Ralph Brew, Jane Flentje and Lud Allen, January/February 2007.
Key Reference: Wilchins, Rikki (2004) Queer Theory, Gender Theory; an instant primer, Alyson Publications, California

Here are some notes to help understand the model:

•Gender Expression refers to the manifestation of an individual’s fundamental sense of being masculine or feminine through clothing, behaviour, grooming, etc.
•Gender Identity refers to the inner sense most of us have of being either male or female.
Key Reference: Wilchins, Rikki (2004) Queer Theory, Gender Theory; an instant primer, Alyson Publications, California

•Gender Identity is about the degree to which one identifies (or not) with the biological sex to which you are born and the expectations of people of that biological sex in society.
•This can be anything from identifying more closely with the physical body of the same (or opposite sex) to celebrating (or loathing) aspects of the ways in which men or women tend to behave and relate to others.
•Our gender identity will be heavily influenced by the ways in which other’s perceive our gender and the penalties and rewards we experience as a result.

•Gender expression is about ways in which we express our gender both deliberately & consciously as well as unconsciously.
•Gender expression might be stereotypically “masculine” or “feminine” but can be anywhere on a continuum between these extremes.
•Gender expression is more realistically a personal, individual grab-bag blend of what some may be considered to be “gendered” qualities.
•These blends will shift over time from day-to-day and from one life-phase to the next.
•Our gender expression will be heavily mediated by the rewards & penalties which are imposed and expected from our culture and society.

•Our experience of gender does not exist in a vacuum and will be different from person to person.
•We exist in a culture, family, institutions which value different forms of gender expression and identity above others.
•Our ability to have a healthy gender identity and to freely express our gender consciously or unconsciously is influenced by both rewards and penalties.
•Our gender is therefore a dynamic quality which involves rewards and penalties for accepting and resisting the expectations of others around our biological sex.
•Risks and penalties may appear similar but both rewards and penalties carry risks to ourselves and the broader community.


The model was then used to help deconstruct a scene from the movie Somersault.

Finally the workshop moved from the theoretical and 3rd person to a more personal critique of how each one of us is programmed by the same factors that are explored through the model. and... how each of us may empower or disempower the people wer work with based on our own gender assumaptions and unconciouss actions.

IDAHO PLANNING DAY ROCKS

Have a look at this e-mail for the first idaho planning day in 2007. ALSO IT IS AN INVITE TO YOU FOR THE NEXT STAGE OF PLANNING

Hi everybody,

Thank you to all those who attended what was a fantastically motivational and exciting IDAHO planning day on Thursday last week. Your ideas and enthusiam was electric and we at Northern Voices all feel that IDAHO 07 is definitely going to be bigger, better, more exciting and definitley more participatory than 06.

For those of you who were unable to make it, the planning day entailed a meet and greet component for all in attendance, a brief description of the network and the initiative we undertook last year as well as a brief discussion of the evaluation and what people wanted to get out of the day. After the break we then split in to two groups and discussed either what kinds of resources we can produce as a working party for IDAHO that services can use AND what kind of events we can plan for May 17 to try and build the reputation of IDAHO in SA and get as many agencies, communities and individuals involved. The ideas that the groups came up with were fabulous, really creative and also really practical.

We then discussed 'Where to from here'? How do we continue this work and develop these ideas..... the planning day was partly to get other people involved to share the work for IDAHO with Northern Voices, with the idea that a working party might eventually be developed with people from different regions around Adelaide. This is almost the case already, and so we would like to invite you, both those already involved and those who want to jump on board, to the second IDAHO 07 planning day which has been set for Wednesday, February 21 at The Second Story Youth Health Service, 57 Hyde Street, Adelaide from 10am - 1pm.

The plan for this day will be to take these ideas and strategise about how we can make them a reality and to then share the tasks around.

IDAHO 07 is going to be an exciting event which hopefully grows bigger each year.... and we would love for you to help us make it grow!

Please RSVP to a member from the Inside Out team if you can make it on 8232 0233.

Cheers!

NEW BOOKS

Three new books that I have read recently that may interest you. (If you are from South Australia you may be able to check these out from the SHineSA resource centre.

The books are:
"The Vulva - anatomy, physiology, and pathology"
Edited by Miranda A. Farage and Howard Maibach
This book is a unique compilation of current research and information on the anatomy, physiology, toxicology, microbiology and diagnosis of the vulva and surrounding areas. One of the REALLY interesting things about this book is it examines differences in cultural, economic and hygienic practices from around the world.
Quite medical but interesting nontheless.

"The Science of Orgasm" By Barry R. Komisaruk, Carlos Beyer-Flores and Beverly Whipple.
This book is REALLY interesting. It tells you how and why orgasms happen, why they DON'T happen. How the brain produces orgasms, how ageing affects orgasm, the effects of street drugs, medication, hormones disorders and diseases. Have a read.

"Point Last Seen - a road to recovery after childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence" by Ricky Hunter
"Point Last Seen" is an intensely personal work. This is a true story of one woman's odyssey through three complex issues - childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence and mental illness.
This is HEAVY and rewarding. If you work with people that have been abused this will give you great insight.

Continuum Chart of effective contraceptive methods

Thought this might be of interest or use for workers. What do you think?




To get the original go to http://www.fhi.org/nr/shared/enFHI/Resources/EffectivenessChart.pdf.

New Continuum Chart to Be Used in Family Planning Essentials
USAID-supported research by Family Health International—showing that a simplified counselling chart can improve women’s understanding of contraceptive effectiveness more than complex charts can—began a chain of events that could soon help family planning providers better ensure that their clients are making appropriate method choices. As a result of the research, a panel of experts assembled by the World Health Organization drafted three simplified contraceptive effectiveness charts that were subsequently tested in India and Jamaica. Before viewing the charts, women’s contraceptive knowledge was poor: only 35 percent of women in the study in India and 58 percent of women in the study in Jamaica knew that oral contraceptives are more effective at preventing pregnancy than are condoms. While use of all three charts significantly improved the women’s knowledge, the chart that presented contraceptive methods on a continuum from most to least effective was slightly more comprehensible than the others. This chart will be used in the World Health Organization’s Family Planning Essentials: A Global Handbook for Providers and in the 19th edition of Contraceptive Technology (both forthcoming).

16 year olds now denied health care card

HOW CRAZY IS THIS???????

Card could deny teen girls pill
By Sue Dunlevy
January 24, 2007 12:00am
Article from:

TEENAGE girls seeking the birth control pill will have to get their parents' permission or apply to a senior bureaucrat for a Medicare card to avoid a $55 doctors fee under new rules.
The Howard Government's new access card, which will replace the Medicare smart card next year, will only be available to those over 18.
The current Medicare card is issued to those as young as 16.
The Australian Medical Association says this will hinder a teenager's ability to get a Medicare rebate. "It would restrict young people's privacy by making it harder for them to make life and health decisions free of interference," AMA president Mukesh Haikerwal said. "It goes to the whole issue of the autonomy of 16-year-olds - be it about contraceptive advice or advice about abuse or violence issues," he said.
Teens without their own access card will have to pay cash up front for a doctor visit because doctors will not be able to bulkbill them without a card, the AMA said. Many other teenagers under the age of 18 who live independently will be unable to claim welfare benefits and other government services if the age limit goes ahead. Until recently teenagers as young as 14 could get a Medicare card until the age limit was raised to 16, the age of consent.
Office of Access Card spokeswoman Marie Johnson said the access card legislation allowed people under the age of 18 to apply to the Secretary of the Department of Human Services for an exemption to the rule.
"This is not about denying anybody access to services," she said.
"If an individual under 18 needs and requires a card they can apply for it," she said.
But the AMA says this bureaucratic approval process is cumbersome and replaces a system where people aged 16 are automatically eligible for a card.
The age hitch is one of a number of serious privacy problems with the draft legislation identified by 120 groups and individuals.
The government-appointed watchdog overseeing consumer and privacy issues with the card said the legislation does not state clearly enough the Government's promise that the new card will not become a national identity card.
Former ACCC chief Alan Fels who heads the watchdog said too much personal information will be displayed on the card. "We haven't been able to see any rationale for place of birth," he said.
Civil Liberties Australia said the legislation does not require any tracking of who accesses data on the card. Nor does it require any check ups be made to ensure the data is correct.
And it says penalties for abusing the card system must be harsher.
Human Services Minister Joe Hockey released draft legislation for the card the week before Christmas and set a 15 January deadline for groups to raise any issues.

ADELAIDE IDAHO FORUM

IDAHO 2007
(International Day Against Homophobia)

The Northern Voices GLBTIQ (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) Advocacy Network Invite you to:

A planning / information session for
The (May) International Day Against Homophobia 2007

We’re developing IDAHO SA into a growing & significant day of recognition, action
and celebration for our diverse communities!

So, we’re inviting you to help drive IDAHO into 2007 & beyond

The planning day will:

· present the development and impact of the IDAHO 2006 e-mail initiative
· share some ideas the Northern Voices Network has for IDAHO 2007
· identify a pool of usable activities or strategies for you to use for IDAHO 2007
· identify & discuss potential resources for use for IDAHO ‘07 & throughout the year

Tracy Clark (SA Police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Officer - GLLO) will speak on the GLLO’s in SA and what she (Elizabeth Local Service Area) is planning for IDAHO 2007

We are keen to hear about
o Ideas
o Information
o Concepts
o Dreams
you or your agency / group have & opportunities you might get involved with

10am - 1pm Thursday, Feb 1st
Playford Community Health Service
50 Peachey Road, Davoren Park

Please RSVP to Cecily Nicholls: Playford Community Health 8252 9900