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 …
FROM SURVIVAL TO STRENGTH: LGBTQ+ MENTAL HEALTH THEN AND NOW For many decades, LGBTQ+ people were excluded from conversations about mental health. Being sexuality and/or gender diverse was once classified as a mental illness. For generations, our identities were treated as problems to be fixed, hidden or punished. The trauma and violence of criminalisation, rejection, …
HIV IN 2025: HOW FAR WE'VE COME In the early years of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, the atmosphere was shaped by fear, stigma and profound loss. The virus was barely understood, treatment options were scarce, and people who acquired HIV, particularly gay and bisexual men, were often met with hostility, rejection and isolation. The …
WARD 17 SOUTH AND HIV SUPPORT IN NSW: THEN AND NOW When HIV first appeared in Australia in the early 1980s, there were no effective treatments and very few places for people to turn for help. Fear and stigma were widespread. Those affected, especially gay and bisexual men, were often isolated, discriminated against and left …
