Our new report on the reproductive health-related experiences of LGBTIQA+ communities is in. Here, Jean Hailes for Women’s Health Evaluation Coordinator Rose Dupleix shares her key takeaways from the findings.
Every year at Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, we run the National Women’s Health Survey. It captures the health issues that are important to women around Australia and tells us how they are faring.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of working with Thorne Harbour Health and Trezona Consulting Group to explore key issues from the 2023 survey among lesbian, bisexual and queer women, as well as trans, gender-diverse and non-binary people presumed female at birth.
The results of the consultation are not necessarily surprising. But they reinforce a need for health services to move beyond tokenistic use of pride flags and other queer imagery, and take meaningful steps to promote equitable access for LGBTIQA+ communities.
Here are my key takeaways that health organisations need to consider in their work.
What I mean by this is we need to make sure that when we advocate for policies to benefit women, we’re not accidentally putting already marginalised communities at a disadvantage.
We asked participants what they thought about the proposed introduction of reproductive leave (sometimes called menstrual leave or menopause leave).
Reproductive leave refers to a category of paid leave that people can access to manage periods or menopausal symptoms. Some employers are already offering this type of leave and others are considering it.
Participants acknowledged the need for policies and other supports to help people manage debilitating reproductive-related symptoms in the workplace. But they also expressed a range of concerns about this type of leave. For example, some worried it might increase inequalities for some people and exclude and harm trans people in particular.
We believe that rather than introducing a specific class of leave for people to manage difficult menstrual or menopausal symptoms, workplaces must create a culture in which all staff can safely request the workplace flexibility they need to deal with health issues that impact them at work.
Participants reported a lack of relevant, targeted reproductive health information for LGBTIQA+ communities. They also noted that, in general, reproductive health information is tailored to cisgender, heterosexual women.
This highlights an opportunity for women's health organisations to work in partnership with LGBTIQA+ health organisations to improve health outcomes for communities.
At Jean Hailes, we’re not experts in LGBTIQA+ health, nor are we trying to be. However, by working in partnership to share relevant expertise and resources we can help to ensure that all people have access to relevant and culturally safe reproductive health information when and where they need it.
Participants spoke of experiences of erasure and invisibility in healthcare, health information and resources. This invisibility ultimately leads to healthcare and health information that doesn’t meet the needs of LGBTIQA+ individuals and communities.
This is a good reminder of the importance of including LGBTIQA+ communities in our research so that we can better understand their unique health needs, experiences and preferences. It is important to document and raise awareness of barriers to health experienced by LGBTIQA+ communities so that we take meaningful steps to reduce inequities.
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