LiDs Online Seminar Series

The experiences of LGBTQA+ people with disability

Our April online seminar is concerned with the lives of LGBTQA+ people with disabilities and the barriers to inclusion and acceptance that they face. Professor Adam Bourne and Dr Natalie Amos from the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCHS) present the findings of their research which was commissioned by the Disability Royal Commission. Co researcher and self-advocate Kathryn Bartlett and PhD candidate Tessa May-Zirnsak present findings from a study about self-determination and belonging for LGBTQ adults with intellectual disabilities who use disability services.

IMPORTANT: This Seminar will be hosted on Zoom. To join us via Zoom, please email lids@latrobe.edu.au requesting the Zoom link.

Violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of LGBTQA+ people with disability: a secondary analysis of data from two national surveys

Professor Adam Bourne and Dr. Natalie Amos, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCHS), La Trobe University

In 2019, ARCHS conducted two large surveys of the health and wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) adults aged 18 years and over and young people aged 14-21 years in Australia. The surveys heard from approximately 2500 LGBTQA+ people with disability making this the largest sample of its kind ever achieved in Australia. With funding from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, ARCSHS undertook an in-depth, secondary analysis of the data specific to LGBTQA+ people with disability. The findings have recently been published on the Royal Commission website. [link]

In this seminar, Professor Adam Bourne, discusses the findings about the prevalence of violence and abuse, experiences of mental health and suicidality, family violence, community connection or isolation and a range of other health and social experiences of significance for this group. Dr Natalie Amos will then present findings on risk and protective factors associated with these complex and serious outcomes and outline recommendations for policy, practice and further research.

“Because it's who I am”: Self-determination and belonging for LGBTQ adults with intellectual disabilities

Kathryn Bartlett, LiDs co-researcher and self-advocate, New Wave Gippsland, and Tessa May-Zirnsak, PhD candidate

This presentation addresses the experiences of LGBTQ individuals with intellectual disability, and the barriers they encounter to, self-identification of LGBTQ identity, coming out to family, peers, and staff, and gaining a sense of belonging. It report on findings from a study which interviewed 8 GBTQ+ adults with intellectual disabilities about their experiences and fifteen staff involved in policy or service delivery.

The findings suggest that LGBTQ disability service users should be supported to access sexuality and gender inclusive education, have access to public and private ways of expressing LGBTQ identity/ies, and LGBTQ peers with intellectual disability. These findings suggest that disability services should take a proactive approach to signalling LGBT acceptance.