Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria

Are you aged 60 years or over? Do you identify as gay or lesbian? Do you receive care or emotional support from other people in relation to a health need or disability?

Alzheimer's Australia commissioned the preparation of a discussion paper on Dementia, Lesbians and Gay Men. The aim of the project was to encourage discussion and debate about the issues affecting lesbian or gay people with dementia or caring for someone with dementia.

While the aged care sector has been keen to grasp cultural diversity, sexual and gender differences remain largely undiscussed. But new research and education developments suggest it’s time to start that conversation.

Council on the Ageing (COTA), the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) the ALSO Foundation and GHLV have jointly produced guidelines to assist councils in engaging with people from the older GLBTI community. The document has been sent by the MAV to local government CEO’s.

This report is the result of a study conducted by the Matrix Guild and Vintage Men exploring the experiences of older non-heterosexual people as recipients of services and support for older people.

This question-and-answer fact sheet was written specifically for LGBT aging organisations and programs to help them measure how well they include transgender people and issues in their work.

The paper examines older lesbian and gay people’s experiences of and expectations for the delivery of health and aged-care services.

The ageing of the Australian population is raising concerns within the gay and lesbian community regarding the appropriate provision of services for older gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender or intersex people (GLBTl). Many older GLBTI people fear experiencing discrimination, homophobia and elder abuse in disclosing their identity to service providers.

Coming Out, Coming In: How do dominant discourses around aged care facilities take into account the identity and needs of ageing lesbians? This research questions how dominant discourses around aged care facilities take into account the identity and needs of ageing lesbians. A review of aged care policies that underpin the provision of services reveals that GLBTI needs and identities are not included or mentioned in the special needs groups. This may not enable the provision of aged care services to be culturally sensitive, safe and inclusive. The dominant discourses of heteronormativity, evident in the field of gerontology, fail to recognize and acknowledge diversity of sexuality and gender identity.