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Privileging The Personal Mobilising marginalised identities and voices in the context of HIV health promotion with ‘hard to reach’ migrant and second generation Asian gay men in Metropolitan Sydney, Australia; a resource development and community building initiative. Min Fuh Teh
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Privileging The PersonalMobilising marginalised identities and voices in the context of HIV health promotion with ‘hard to reach’ migrant and second generation Asian gay men in Metropolitan Sydney, Australia; a resource development and community building initiative Min Fuh Teh Community Health Promotion Officer (Asian Gay Men’s Project), ACON
“HIV is not a priority, work, study, life, settling in, finding love, these are!”
Nationally, Asian men make up the highest group in MSM/gay HIV notification after men of Anglo background, with an upward going trend sitting at 13.9% for 2009 Multicultural HIV and Hepatitis Service (MHAHS) 2010. Trends in NSW HIV notifications 1999-2010. (unpublished). • (CDB, NSW Ministry of Health, 2011)
Myths & Assumptions • Hard to reach • Apathy - Asian culture’s conservative…we can’t talk about sex…why bother? • What is “Asian” anyway?
“Double Trouble” • ‘Minority within a minority’ • Stuck between ethnic and sexual worlds • Homophobia • Racism Barriers preventing access to and uptake of HIV and health services A need for culturally appropriate interventions addressing MSM of multicultural backgrounds Reeders, D. W. (2010) Double Trouble? The Health Needs of Culturally Diverse MSM. Melbourne: Centre for Culture, Ethnicity & Health.
“Our work against the AIDS pandemic can only be won on the cultural level” *Dr. George Ayala, Executive Officer of MSMGF, and Vallerie Wagner, of AIDS Project Los Angeles. “War Diaries,” Tisa Bryant & Ernest Hardy (ed.), AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) and the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF), 2010.
A Cultural Vacuum • Invisibility • A hunger to represent 70 volunteers: 9 different ethnicities Poets and artists, photographers, writers, community members/‘Models’ • From a resource creation community building/mobilising exercise
Collateral Benefits • With a $5000 City of Sydney community arts grant We are able to work on issues as diverse as Homophobia, Racism, Invisibility, Role modeling, Health promotion messages, Identity work and art