The Informer

Victorian men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs are being urged to get a free hepatitis A vaccination following a death last week in Victoria, where more people have become infected over the last two months.

There have been 42 confirmed cases of hepatitis A linked to this outbreak. There is one further probable case and an additional 22 under early investigation.

All cases are male, with many MSM who have not travelled overseas. An increasing number are in people who inject drugs.

Hepatitis A is spread through person-to-person transmission, including sexual activity, and is not limited to MSM. Transmission can also occur whilst sharing injecting equipment such as needles, and through the consumption of contaminated food and water.

Dean Arcuri spoke to Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton about why we are reminding the community about the free vaccinations, just weeks after the vaccine was offered, and what this outbreak actually means.

Talk to your GP or nearest sexual health clinic to get the free vaccines. For more information visit the Better Health Channel at www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/timetoimmunise

This aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 26th February 2018.

Are you a young person in WA who has a passion for getting loud about issues that are important to you? A new advocacy group called the Youth Pride Network is launching in Perth to give LGBTQIA+ young people the opportunity to come together to shape a better Western Australia.

The network, auspiced by the Youth Affairs Council of Western Australia, will be made up of LGBTQIA+ people aged 12-25 who have a passion for making WA a better place to be out and proud.

The group has formed in the hopes of addressing the systemic inequality that is still faced by LGBTQIA+ young people in Western Australia and Dean Arcuri spoke to two of the founders Kai and Charlotte about why it was so important for WA’s young people to stand up and get involved.

This aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 26th February 2018.

When we are putting together interviews and editing them up for pieces it can sometimes be frustrating to see what ends up on the cutting room floor for time constraints.

My interview with Claire Flynn is one of those.

Ahead of the first AFL Womens Pride Match I put a call out to the LGBTIQ Supporter Groups of the Bulldogs and Blues and Carlton supporter Claire got back to me.

We had a brilliant chat and then when it was done, we had more, and then I got a call later that day asking to say more. All of it is so important, and speaks to inclusivity and equality of gender and sexuality on and off the AFL field.

I wasn’t able to air the whole chat on The Informer, but I wanted to.

This is why we need more visibility on all levels, this is why we need to stand tall, this is what a Pride Match actually means.

Have a listen, and enjoy the inaugural AFL Womens Pride Match as the Western Bulldogs and Carlton go head to head.

So how is it looking for the clash between the Western Bulldogs and Carlton at the AFLW Pride Match?

Sure there is plenty of pride going on, but what about the game?

Daniel Roberts sat down with JOYs own Chicks Talking Footy to get the play by play on how they think the game will go, and they let us know about some other surprises along the way.

Be sure to listen here on JOY 94.9 on Friday Night to hear the live broadcast from the team at Chicks Talking Footy at the inaugural AFL Women’s Pride Game.

This segment aired on JOY 94.9 on 22nd February 2018.

There’s more than ten AFL LGBTI supporter groups as official parts of their clubs, creating a more diverse and inclusive environment for the game.

Both Carlton Pride and Bulldogs Pride have been so excited for the Pride Match so we decided to have a chat with some of the members and organisers about what being a part of an inclusive AFL group means to them.

Dean Arcuri spoke to David from Carlton Pride about how the supporters group came about.

Amy, one of the organisers of Bulldog Pride can’t wait for the Pride Match, inspired by the AFL Womens league she had plenty to reflect on when she spoke to Dean.

And Claire from Carlton Pride has been a Blues supporter since she was 5, but tapped out when Essendon thrashed Carlton in the Grand Final in the late 90s, never quite settling back into the male dominated environment of the game she didn’t really come back to Carlton until the AFLwomens League started.

Claire sat down with Dean, to discuss how balancing gender on the field helped her reembrace her love of the game, and how seeing queer players on the field changes what it means for her to watch the AFLW, and see such inclusion.

 

This aired on JOY 94.9 on 22nd February 2018.

While mainstream media kept asking when a male AFL player would come out of the closet, the AFL Womens League has charged ahead with inclusivity and diversity with players being out and proud, dating players on other teams, and just enjoying their love the game.

Fiona from JOYs Chicks Talking Footy sat down with Asta O’Connor from the Western Bulldogs and talked the AFLW Pride Match, and what it means to have this kind of inclusion stand tall in the sport.

Sophie Li from Carlton will also be playing at the AFLW Pride Match, and sat down with Dean Arcuri to not only talk about the pride match, but what it means to be playing in the AFWL right now as it begins to build.

 

This aired on JOY 94.9 on 22nd February 2018.

On Friday night, the Western Bulldogs and Carlton FC will hold the first AFLWomens Pride match at Whitten Oval.

With the players wearing specially-designed guernseys for the match & their LGBTIQ Supporters groups standing by their side, it is set to be an iconic game on  and off the field.

So this episode of The Informer we are talking to some of the doggies and cats players about what a game like this means to them, as well as touching base with the supporters groups to find out how they came about and what it has been like integrating with their clubs.

Plus, it wouldn’t be a footy Informer without hearing from JOYs very own Chicks Talking Footy, who will be doing a live broadcast here on JOY tomorrow night during the game.

This episode of The Informer was hosted by Ruby Susan and aired on JOY 94.9 on 22nd Feb 2018.

Last week for our valentine’s day special, we put out a call asking for people who were part of relationships that were outside the norm of our LGBTIQ Community to talk with us about what this meant to them, and how they navigated it.

To no one’s surprise, we received a lot of responses from gay men who were in open relationships. And, statistically, the reality is fellas, that you are the norm, not the exception to the rule.

So we then put a call out to speak to gay men in a monogamous relationship, to find out what it is like on the other side of the gay relationship fence.

This segment aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 21st Feb 2018.

The regional town of Hay are throwing a rural Mardi Gras Festival next weekend, offering a countrified alternative for those not able to make the massive Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Starting off small it has grown into a regional event that will educate and celebrate diversity, promoting inclusion in all its colourful glory.

Hay has a population of about 2,500, it’s halfway between Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, and sits along the banks of the mighty Murrumbidgee River. Over the Mardi Gras weekend they are hosting The Rainbow On The Plains Festival! A street parade, a party and a recovery brunch. Haaaaaay, welcome to Hay!

 Street Parade – Saturday March 3 from 1pm, starting at Hay Lions Park and finishing at Hay Pool

Haaaaaay! Mardi Gras Party – Saturday 3 March from 6pm, Hay Services Club, 371 Murray St Hay.

Rainbow recovery brunch picnic at Sandy Point Beach – Sunday 4 March from 11am

This aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 21st Feb 2018.

 

Selamat Datang GLBTIQ is an Indonesian Community Group based in Sydney, that was formed initially to March in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. They have marched in the parade for the past few years and are set to do so again in 2018.

Shawn Dern is the Group Coordinator for Salamat Datang GLBTIQ. Dan spoke to him about the importance of being involved in the Mardi Gras parade and what life is like for LGBTI people in Indonesia.

This aired on The Informer on JOY 94.9 on 21st February 2018.