February 2023
Quote
“We learn to love ourselves precisely because we have experiences being loved by someone. We learn to take care of ourselves because somebody has taken care of us. Our self worth & self esteem also develop because of other people. ”
Useful Fact
Sex education growing up has left us with a lot of questions over the years. Cliterally the best is here to debunk those myths and help you fall in love with your body. Based in the UK, Evie Plumb has created a podcast, a shop and loads of Sex Positive information.
cliterally was created by…
Lockdown boredom! I’ve always been interested in all things sexual health and made so many mistakes due to such poor sex ed at school and not having the confidence to advocate for my health and pleasure!
Interesting Website
Here are a few interesting things about The Foundation for a Better Life.
They started twenty years ago to promote positive role models and remind people of the values we all share.
They don't sell anything or accept monetary donations. They are not affiliated with any religious group nor do they have any political affiliation (either formally or informally).
They exist solely to create & share uplifting messages that hopefully inspire everyone. Their billboards and television ads promoting universally positive values have appeared all over the world and in several languages.
Campaign
Stop it at the Start aims to help break the cycle of violence by encouraging adults to reflect on their attitudes, and have conversations about respect with young people.
The campaign is aimed at parents and family members of children aged 10–17, as well as the teachers, coaches, community leaders and employers of young people.
Since young people’s attitudes and behaviours are shaped by those around them, it’s important to expose them to positive influences where they live, work, learn and socialise. As adults, we need to recognise and reconcile our role as important influencers of the younger generation.
Stop it at the Start builds on the efforts already underway by states and territories, as well as non-government organisations such as Our Watch and White Ribbon.
Key Event
The Secondary Students and Adolescent Sexual Health survey is a national study exploring the sexual health and well-being of Australian adolescents. The anonymous survey asks questions about knowledge, behaviour and educational experiences related to sexual health and well-being. The Commonwealth Department of Health funded study has been conducted approximately every 5 years since 1992. This is the 7th time the survey has been conducted in Australia. Results play a vital role in safeguarding the nation’s health by informing the national strategies to prevent HIV, sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses as well as providing valuable information to improve service provision and education across multiple sectors.
Who are
Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) is a not-for-profit organisation devoted to reducing the impacts of emotional and mental health problems in the pre and postnatal periods.
Building upon this, COPE provides a national, dedicated focus to perinatal mental health to address the identified issues that we know are currently preventing people from accessing timely and effective information and care.
Through their corporate objectives and governance, COPE works with others to achieve our purpose. Their work to date has been made possible through the invaluable financial and pro bono contributions of their partners.
Out & About
Equality Australia exists to improve the wellbeing and circumstances of LGBTIQ+ people in Australia and their families by:
Relieving their distress and disadvantage;
Reducing the prevalence and relieving the effects of depression, suicide, anxiety, bullying and homelessness that they experience;
Reducing the stigma and discrimination a they experience;
Advancing and promoting equality and inclusion; and
Enhancing their actual, and sense of ,safety, security and acceptance. We stand together and we stand proud because no one deserves to be treated as less-than for simply being who they are. Not the rainbow family. Not the trans teenager. Not the teacher or student just trying to go to school.
Resource
PeerChat is a safe, anonymous space for young people aged 18–25 to get free, one-to-one support from a trained peer worker.
A peer worker is someone who has their own experience of mental health or life challenges – basically, they ‘get’ it.
You can talk to a peer worker through online text chat about whatever you’re going through. (Nothing’s too big or too small.)
Diary Dates
An exciting line up of On The Couch guest speakers for 2023 including Learning Consent, Chris Cheers, Maggie Smith (not the actress) on Transgender health, Ruiqi Fan on cross cultural sexual health knowledge & more!
There are also free modules like Doin it Right, Nitty Gritty & Because You Care that you can sign up for and complete for free in your own time.