LGBTI Inclusive Practices for Aged Care Services

LGBTI Inclusive Practices for Aged Care Services
By Jacqui Tibbits, Consultivation Director

I attended the first Community of Practice for LGBTI inclusion in Aged Care on Friday 22 July 2016. Initiated by GRAI, I attended with other representatives of the aged care sector including those from Brightwater, Umbrella, Alzheimer’s Australia and Bethanie Inc. along with fellow consultant                 Zoe Warwick of Concepts4Change.

As a collective we started to explore practices and environments of residential care, retirement living and in home support and agreed to aim for consistent, good quality LGBTI inclusive service across the aged care sector.

GRAI Chair, June Lowe, said: “It is exciting and heartening to see the progress and willingness within the aged care sector to be sensitive to the special needs of LGBTI elders. Within a very short time frame we have moved from the sector being largely unaware to enthusiastically changing their policies and practices to embrace LGBTI clients. Who would have thought that the aged care sector would be a place of cutting edge social change?” 

Attendees of the first Community of Practice for LGBTI Inclusion in Aged Care from BL: Sandy Komen Brightwater, Jacqui Tibbits Consultivation, Terry Wratt Brightwater, Donna Harding Alzheimer’s Australia, Angela Lowe Brightwater, June Lowe GRAI, Zoe Warwick Concepts4Change, FL: Kerryn Monger Bethanie, Henny Biczi Umbrella, Blanca Milagro Umbrella, Sharyn Trent Alzheimer’s Australia, missing: Pam Mulholland GRAI. Source: GRAI

The Community of Practice will examine strategies to overcome challenging areas and will collect resources and research which will be valuable to promote and sustain inclusive practice. Membership of the Community of Practice is invited from aged care services already committed to LGBTI inclusivity and would like to help promote this journey within the aged care sector.  Interested parties should contact GRAI Chair, June Lowe at [email protected] or 9436 3422.

If your organisation isn’t yet committed to LGBTI inclusivity but would like to be the GRAI website is a great starting point. GRAI is also calling for expressions of interest from aged care providers willing to participate in its fully funded 12 month program Right to Belong: creating an LGBTI inclusive aged care service commencing in 2017.

If you are thinking ‘we don’t have any LGBTI clients’ then think again as there is a very good chance you do. Research by the Australian Human Rights Commission (2014) indicates 11 individuals in every 100 Australians are of diverse sexual orientation, sex or gender identity. Thirty four percent (34%) of LGBTI people hide their sexuality or gender identity when accessing services and almost half hide their sexual orientation or identity in public for fear of violence or discrimination.  

Furthermore, I consider these figures would probably be underreported and under recorded for older LGBTI people due to their lived experiences including prejudices, misunderstandings, harassment, exclusion and legal persecution. If you are reading this and still thinking, ‘no, we don’t have any LGBTI clients’ then I suggest you ask yourself ‘why not?’

If you need some help on finding more information, I suggest looking at the great material available from GRAI, the Australian Human Rights Commission and exploring the 6 Standards of GLBTI inclusive practice.
 
I also suggest starting conversations with others where you feel safe to do so including with professional peers and adding LGBTI to meeting agendas. 

If your organisation needs assistance in becoming more inclusive to LGBTI people and others from diverse backgrounds do not be frightened to ask for help as there is a community of people, peers and organisations willing to support and guide you and your organisation.

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Consultivation is an independent consultancy service driven by an ethical values base 
supporting businesses and people to flourish in the community and aged care sectors. 
If you would like to know how Consultivation can help you contact us today.

References

•  Australian Human Rights Commission. (2014). Face the facts: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex People.  https://www.humanrights.gov.au/face-facts-lesbian-gay-bisexual-trans-and-intersex-people
  

• GRAI Press Release 26/7/2016