BREAKING THE SILENCE: RESPONDING TO SEXUAL, DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE IN LGBTQ+ COMMUNITIES For too long, sexual, domestic and family violence (SDFV) in LGBTQ+ communities was invisible. It was dismissed by mainstream services, underreported to police, and rarely discussed publicly. Yet violence can affect anyone, no matter their sexuality, gender, or family structure. Many LGBTQ+ people …
CULTURE IS HEALING: SUPPORTING LGBTQ+SB FIRST NATIONS HEALTH For generations, Indigenous voices have been silenced or ignored. Reclaiming culture and identity is not only powerful, it is political. ACON, NSW’s leading LGBTQ+ health organisation, is committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQ+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy communities through programs …
FROM PROTEST TO POLICY: 40 YEARS OF POLITICAL ADVOCACY AND GOVERNMENT REFORM AT ACON ACON has never just been a service provider. From the very beginning, it has been a political voice in advocating for laws, policies and funding that improve the lives of LGBTQ people and people living with HIV.In the 1980s and ’90s …
INCLUSION IS MORE THAN A WORD: BUILDING SAFER SPACES FOR LGBTQ+ PEOPLE EVERYWHERE For LGBTQ+ people, inclusion is not just a box to tick; it means safety, respect and belonging in all areas of life. Whether at work, on the sports field, or in healthcare, being able to show up as your full self matters. …
SUPPORT WITHOUT SHAME: LGBTQ+ COMMUNITIES, SUBSTANCE USE AND HARM REDUCTION Substance use has long been part of LGBTQ+ communities experiences of connection, release, pleasure, coping and celebration. From dancefloors to lounge rooms, from survival strategies to sexual and self-expression, alcohol and other drug use takes many forms. What matters most is how we respond with …
CULTURE IS HEALING: SUPPORTING LGBTQ+SB FIRST NATIONS HEALTH In a society that has long silenced or erased Indigenous voices, reclaiming language, culture and identity is not only powerful, it is political. That is why ACON, NSW’s leading LGBTQ+ health organisation, proudly supports the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQ+ Sistergirl and …
From Fear to Solidarity: The Early Days of HIVWhen Rent premiered in the early 1990s, the world was still grappling with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Drawn from the experiences of people in New York living with or lost to the virus, the musical reflected the fear, grief and urgency of a time when effective treatment was …
SEX POSITIVITY SAVES LIVES: WHY PLEASURE MATTERS OIN LGBTQ+ HEALTH Since its founding in 1985, ACON has always believed in something simple but radical: sex is not the problem, stigma is. Sex positivity has been central to ACON’s work in HIV prevention and LGBTQ+ health for four decades. From grassroots workshops to bold public campaigns, ACON …
REMEMBERING WITH LIGHT: THE LEGACY OF CANDLELIGHT MEMORIALS In the earliest years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, long before effective treatment and widespread understanding, shame and stigma surrounded those affected. Families disowned loved ones. Governments were slow to act. The public turned away. In the face of this abandonment, LGBTQ+ communities and allies came together to grieve, remember …
AGEING WITH PRIDE: HONOURING OUR ELDERS, BUILDING OUR FUTURES For many LGBTQ+ people, ageing comes with a unique set of challenges and a profound sense of hard-won pride. Our elders lived through decades of stigma, criminalisation, police brutality, discrimination and the HIV/AIDS crisis. They survived in a world that often tried to erase, brutalise and …
