Lesbian Gay Bisexual Takatapui Transgender

Transcription

Lesbian Gay
Bisexual
Takatapui
Transgender
Community Centre
Needs Assessment
PREPARED FOR AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
JUNE 2008
BY JENNY RANKINE
SEE THE FULL REPORT AT WWW.GAYNZ.COM/
Remembering
Sue Neal, 1946 - 2007 and Mahinaarangi Tocker, 1956 - 2008
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who assisted and supported the
development and writing of this report:
Bonnie-May Shantz and Marion Davies of the Auckland City
Council, for their valuable suggestions.
All the interviewees, for their generosity and insight.
All those who responded to the survey, for taking the time
to write long answers and for persevering despite technical
glitches.
Gaynz.com and lesbian.co.nz for hosting the survey form on
their websites.
OUTLines NZ for the use of statistics.
Bruce Kilmister, Edward Bennett, Gill Franklin, Doreen
Suddens, Mark Hangartner, Matt Akersten, Peter Saxton, Vern
Keller and Prue Hyman for help with information, references,
photographs and general support.
Designed by Jenny Rankine,
Words and Pictures
Lesbian Gay
Bisexual
Takatapui
Transgender
Community Centre
Needs Assessment
PREPARED FOR AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL
JUNE 2008
BY JENNY RANKINE
ISBN 978-0-473-13566-9 (print)
ISBN 978-0-473-13567-6 (PDF)
Summary
need more support groups and alcohol-free social venues than
are currently available.
This needs assessment involved a research review, interviews
with 20 lesbian, gay, bisexual, takatapui and transgender
(LGBTT) community informants, and analysis of 134
survey responses received at the Big Gay Out and through
email networks. While the survey sample was small, it
generated rich qualitative information.
 All of the LGBTT community groups contacted
described their services as supplying only part of the support
needs of LGBTT populations and people with HIV. None
of the informants or survey respondents said there was any
unnecessary duplication in services; to the contrary, they
identified major unmet community needs in many areas.
LGBT community centres are a common form of
community organising around the world. In Aotearoa there
are five operating. Overseas centres usually offer • Support groups for specific LGBT populations.
• Drop-in, meeting and office space.
• Recreational and social groups and opportunities.
• Phone and face-to-face counselling.
• Event organising.
• Publications and education programmes for LGBT
populations and the wider health and social sectors.
• Advocacy on issues such as violence against LGBTT
people and human rights.
Challenges for overseas community centres have included • Debates about exclusion of some LGBTT populations.
• Ensuring governance bodies represent the diversity of
LGBTT populations.
• Ensuring programmes are developed and led by the most
marginalised LGBTT communities.
Key findings
This study found a major need for an LGBTT community
centre in Auckland City.
 LGBTT populations are highly concentrated in the
Auckland City Council area.
 The strongest single need is for safe, non-judgemental
and alcohol-free social spaces where isolated LGBTT people
can meet others and interact with their communities. This is
particularly acute for people coming out, at all ages.
 Current organisations that provide a drop-in service cater
only to specific sectors of the LGBTT population and thus
are not able to function as an LGBTT community centre or
act as a centre of expertise for the wider community about all
LGBTT issues.
 The most marginalised LGBTT populations are at
the intersections of gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality,
including takatapui, Pacific peoples, refugees, sex workers,
those with mental health problems, and low incomes.
 Most community organisations apart from Te Aronga
Hou Inaianei work from dominant culture paradigms; it
is important that existing organisations and any proposed
community centre include tangata whenua in their board
and staff, build strong links with iwi, and provide ways for
takatapui to maintain tikanga and te reo Maori.
 Young people coming out at school are surrounded by
an intensely hostile and dangerous environment. These
environments need to change, and young LGBTT people
LGBTT needs assessment REPORT 2008
 Mainstream physical and mental health and social services
routinely assume that clients are heterosexual and often know
little about LGBTT needs and issues. There is a major need
for an organised programme of heterosexism training for
these agencies and services.
 Housing can be a sudden crisis in the lives of many
LGBTT people and the provision of safe accommodation
options for young LGBTT people is an urgent need.
 The first generation to live their lives as out LGBTT
people will soon create a strong need for LGBTT-friendly
aged-care services, which currently do not exist.
Centre purpose
Based on feedback from respondents and informants, a
possible purpose and vision for a centre could be to • Provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive alcohol-free place
for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, takatapui, transgender and
intersex people, their friends, whanau and supporters
• Provide support and information services for LGBTTI
people about LGBTTI issues
• Host and organise LGBTTI community groups, activities,
events and campaigns
• Nurture and develop LGBTTI communities and
contribute to LGBTTI-friendly mainstream services
• Counter systemic heterosexism and discrimination against
LGBTTI people.
Recommendations
This study recommends that the Auckland City Council • Commission a scoping study of a community centre
serving its LGBTTI populations in Auckland City Council
facilities in the CBD or inner city area.
• Work with LGBTTI communities to plan the centre.
In the interim • Ensure that staff in its community facilities receive
training in the needs of LGBTT communities, provide
accurate information about LGBTT issues, and that
Auckland City Council community facilities are perceived
as welcoming by LGBTT people.
• Work in partnership with LGBTT community
organisations to provide part-time LGBTT services in
outlying Auckland City Council community centres.
• Work with LGBTT community organisations to
promote LGBTT community development and the
inclusion of LGBTT priorites in Auckland City Council
community development projects.
Contents
1 Introduction
6
12 Glossary
43
2 Community centres overseas
7
13 References
44
3 International case studies
8
9
Appendix 1: Services of selected international LGBT centres
46
9
Appendix 2: Informants interviewed
48
Appendix 3: Interview schedule
48
Appendix 4: Survey form
48
The Centre
Vancouver, Canada
Toronto Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth Programme 9
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth living in out-of-home care in San Diego
10
Sydney Lesbian Space Project
4 LGBTT community centres in Aotearoa/New Zealand
Auckland Pride Centre
11
11
11
Rainbow Youth 13
OUTLine NZ 14
Te Aronga Hou Inaianei: Takatapui-a-iwi tautoko whanau
15
MaLGRA - Club Q
16
Rainbow House Otautahi 16
Wellington Lesbian Centre 16
5 Findings on existing Auckland LGBTT services Lesbian Support Organisation 17
17
Genderbridge
18
New Zealand AIDS Foundation
18
Body Positive
19
Charlotte Museum
19
Auckland Women’s Centre
19
6 The population and needs of Auckland LGBTT people
20
LGBTT populations in the Auckland City Council area 21
Social and health needs of LGBTT people
22
7 Findings on unmet LGBTT community needs
32
8 LGBTT interactions with Auckland City Council 37
9 Why a community centre?
38
10 Need for a community centre
39
11 Key findings
41
12 Recommendations
41
Purpose and vision of a community centre
Centre services 42
42
LGBTT needs assessment REPORT 2008 1 Introduction
This needs assessment was commissioned by the
Auckland City Council in November 2007. It required • Case studies discussing the development of other LGBTT
community centres overseas.
• A contextual review of previous and present LGBTT
facilities and services in Auckland.
• The potential purpose and vision of an Auckland LGBTT
facility.
• The capability of the needs of this community to be met by
facilities and services already provided in the region.
• The social service needs of the LGBTT community,
particularly focusing on gaps and overlaps in service provision.
• The perceptions of key stakeholders in the LGBTT
community about the need and role of such a centre.
• A clear picture of how current and potential users would
like to use a centre.
Methodology
Terms
This report uses the
acronym LGBTT to refer
to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
takatapui and transgender
populations.
Where appropriate this
becomes LGBTTI to include
intersex people.
When talking about
international populations,
it leaves out one T for
takatapui. Overseas
organisations may use
other variants
such as GLBT or GLB.
See the Glossary for
explanations of these and
other terms used in
this document.
The needs assessment
involved a literature review,
interviews with LGBTT
community informants, and
distribution and analysis of a
survey form.
An initial literature
review of overseas LGBT
community centres was
carried out in December
2007 by searching sociology,
anthropology, psychology,
social work, social policy,
medical and health
sciences databases using
the keywords gay, lesbian,
GLBT, LGBT, transgender,
sexual orientation; as well
as community centre,
community center, centre
and center; and evaluation,
audit and needs assessment.
Some needs assessments
were identified; evaluations
were identified of individual
programmes and projects
run by community centres,
but not of whole centres.
A second literature review
about LGBTT social and
health needs was carried out
by searching for gay, lesbian,
GLBT, LGBT, transgender
and sexual orientation
as well as youth, health,
violence and other subject
areas.
Initial informants were
identified from the
Auckland City Council
GLBTT Network database
and the researcher’s
own networks. Twenty
informants were interviewed
in February 2008; they and
the interview questions are
listed in the appendices.
A first draft of the survey
was distributed at the Big
Gay Out on February 10
to attendees with a range
of ages, ethnicities and
genders, generating 61
responses.
Questions about age, gender,
ethnicity and sexual identity
were added and the survey
was distributed on February
24 as a PDF form by email
to the Auckland City
Council GLBTT Network
and additional LGBTT
groups identified by the
researcher. It was available
on the GayNZ.com and
Lesbian.co.nz websites from
February 24 to March 7.
Recipients were asked
to distribute it to their
groups and networks. The
questionnaire introduction
specified Auckland-area
respondents; one person said
they would not participate
because they lived in
Manukau City and another
because the questions took
too long to answer.
Another 59 responses were
returned by email and 14
were printed out and posted,
a total of 134. The PDF
form technology proved
troublesome for some
respondents; one returned
form was unable to be
opened and the researcher
received three emails
from people who had had
difficulties opening the
form.
The returned forms were
automatically compiled
into an Excel spreadsheet.
Suburbs were coded
according to their local body
area. While the number of
survey responses was small,
they generated a rich set
of qualitative responses.
These and the informant
interviews were analysed for
topics and themes.
2 Community centres
overseas
COMMUNITY CENTRES for lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) populations as well as those for
specific sectors of those populations have been a common
focus of LGBT community organising. There are hundreds
currently operating around the world, largely but not only in
industrialised countries.
The USA has more than 170, described by the National
Association of LGBT Community Centers as “engines of
community organizing and liberation, and crucial to the
health and strength of LGBT communities”. These centres
are a primary point of contact for people coming out, seeking
LGBT health services, community information and referrals.
In many cities and towns, community centres are the only
local LGBT community resource.
This section focuses on those in Canada, Australia and the
USA, which share English as a major language and a related
political situation as post-colonial nations with minority
indigenous populations. The only centre that specifically
mentioned indigenous populations in its name was the
GLBTTQ Community Centre in Ottawa, Canada, which
used the preferred indigenous term Two Spirited.
This section includes centres in larger cities and those with a
similar population to Auckland. The most common services
offered by these centres include • Support groups for specific LGBT populations, such as
youth, women, men, indigenous, transgender, ethnic minority
and older LGBT people.
• Drop-in, meeting and office space.
• Recreational and social groups and opportunities.
• Phone and face-to-face counselling.
• Varied and often large event organising.
• Publications and education programmes for LGBT
populations and the wider health and social sectors.
• Advocacy on issues such as violence against LGB people
and human rights.
A 2004 report by Funders for Lesbian and Gay Issues in
the USA listed some useful strategies and traps to avoid
for beginning LGBT organisations. Some have taken the
approach that “we will focus on diversity when we are up and
running, but we need to get on our feet first”. “This misses
the invaluable opportunity to establish an inclusive vision
and culture for your organisation from the start, and leaves
[organisations] susceptible to addressing diversity only when it
emerges as a “problem” to be resolved rather than a core value
that enriches and strengthens their work” (p 18).
Another, like many,
expanded its name from
lesbian and gay to an LGBT
organisation, “but for a
couple of years nothing
else apart from our name
changed ... The first and
best thing that we did was
devote a board meeting to
a briefing on transgender
issues for all board and staff ”
(p21). The group invited
transgender organisations to
apply for grants and ensured
transpeople were on the
board and decision-making
committees. Since then
around 20% of their work
has been with transgender
programmes.
Another group was founded
by three gay men, who
realised that they needed
an equal number of lesbians
before making any major
decisions. The group wrote
into their rules a provision
for gender equity on the
board. “If we’d moved
forward on building the
foundation before men
and women were equally
represented, I know that
we’d have jeopardised our
ability to work with the
whole community” (p24).
A controversy over whether
sadomasochism groups
could use the newly-opened
London Lesbian and Gay
Centre in 1985 led to a series
of intense debates at special
meetings, and resulted in a
few groups deciding to stop
meeting at the centre (Ardill
& O’Sullivan, 2005).
One organisation took a strategic approach to diversity,
focusing “first on gender, then geographic diversity, then
ethnic diversity, then transgender inclusion, then age
diversity, then inclusion of the straight community” (p 20).
This did not mean other areas were ignored, but it did help
focus on achievable goals.
LGBTT needs assessment REPORT 2008 7
3 International case studies
LGBT organisations
are increasingly drawing
connections between
movements for LGBT rights
and those for economic and
racial justice, recognising
that people have multiple
identities, simultaneously
experiencing oppression and
privilege (Khan, 2005).
• A measurement of
diversity using an index of
the concentration of LGBT
populations.
• The share of the creative
class in the local workforce.
• The strength of local hightech industries.
• A “patents per capita”
measurement of innovation.
Khan’s report suggested
steps that funding bodies
can take to strengthen
LGBT organisations that
incorporate poverty and
racism as part of their work.
They include -
Florida argues that if gay
people feel welcome in cities,
the place is likely to welcome
other forms of diversity. If
cities are seen to discriminate
against gay people, the
creative class is discouraged.
“Gays predict not only the
concentration of high-tech
industry; they also predict its
growth (p257).”
• Support the most
marginalised LGBT
members - Indigenous people
and people from minority
ethnic groups, those on low
incomes, young, elderly and
transgender people
• Support organisations
that demonstrate an
understanding of the
intersection of ethnicity,
class, gender and sexuality
• Support organisations and
activities that are developed
with and led by marginalised
LGBT communities.
Benefits to cities of LGBTT
communities and events
The concentration of
LGBT people in a city
is an important part of
an international index of
creativity that evaluates
the standing of cities in the
creative economy (Florida,
2003). The index includes
four equally weighted
measures -
The services and facilities provided by 30 selected
LGBT community centres in Australia, Canada and the USA
are listed in Appendix 1. The most common service is social
and sports groups, provided by 24 centres. Next is support
groups and drop-in, each provided by 22 centres. Nineteen
organise events, ranging from film evenings to major Pride
festivals. Seventeen provide meetings spaces for LGBT
groups, phone or face-to-face counselling, and a library. Case
studies of four community centres provide detailed examples
of some of these services.
One study has compared
Manchester, a city that
ranked highly on Florida’s
index, with Auckland (Rea,
2003). In the 1990s, the two
cities both had organised
LGBT communities and
inner city areas where LGBT
people and businesses had
clustered.
While Manchester had a
local authority that supported
gay community development
and major events, “with the
exception of three years
between 1998 and 2001
[Auckland] ... had Mayors
and Council majorities,
which have refused financial
and other assistance to gay
activities and supported
extremist homophobic
positions” (p47).
Top: Rainbow Resource Centre, Winnipeg, Canada.
Centre: David Bohnett Cyber Center,
The Center, New York.
Below: Pat Parker/Vito Russo Center
Library, The Center, New York.
Toronto Lesbian, Gay and
Bisexual Youth Programme
The Centre
Vancouver, Canada
This community centre in a city of
approximately 600,000 people employs three paid workers
and provides a wide range of services (The Centre, 2007b).
These include the seven-day Prideline information and
referral service, a library, drop-in, free professional
counselling, coming out groups, and a variety of workshops
and discussion groups, all provided by more than 200 active
volunteers. Other programmes include • The Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered, Bisexual (LGTB)
Generations Project for older people
• The LGBT Health Matters Project, which builds
awareness of issues for these populations within the wider
primary care and social service sectors
• Gay and Positive Youth Services for gay and bisexual
young men with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Education and Outreach Services, which co-ordinate
community events such as an annual National Day against
Homophobia, and develops LGBT health promotion
resources.
In 2006, The Centre acknowledged several problems
inhibiting its growth (The Centre, 2007a). Its current
central second-floor location was hard to find, inaccessible
to people with disabilities, too small at 5,000 square feet
and awkwardly configured for its existing programmes. A
feasibility study was funded by the Vancouver City Council.
The Centre began an extensive community consultation
involving Town Hall meetings, focus groups, on-line and
paper surveys and key informant interviews to identify
LGBT community needs and dreams for a new centre. The
community overwhelming supported the creation of new
Centre premises, preferably in the West End of the city.
The Centre refined the ambitious wish list to a shorter set of
possible new functions and services. They included •
•
•
•
•
•
Counselling rooms.
A family resource centre.
Café.
Performance space.
Health clinic.
Rental offices for LGBT community organisations.
In 2007, it engaged a planning group to provide a feasible
space analysis from this refined list. The Centre is currently
fund raising to build the new premises.
See www.lgtbcentrevancouver.com/
This programme is run by Central Toronto Youth
Services, a community-based specialist adolescent mental
health centre in a city of 2.5 million people. The Lesbian,
Gay and Bisexual Youth Programme (LGBYP) conducts
action research, provides counselling and support services
and undertakes community development and heterosexism
training for other agencies (Travers & Paoletti, 1999).
LGBYP individual
counselling and 12-week
coming out groups help more
than 150 young people each
year, dealing with family
problems, coming out,
isolation, problems at school, depression and low self-esteem.
One-third of these young people have attempted suicide.
LGBYP employs LGB staff as role models.
LGBYP runs around 50 one-day heterosexism workshops or
conference presentations annually, facilitated by lesbian and
gay people for social services, health workers and educators.
In 1986, the programme started conducting action research,
where young LGB people identified research needs, were
involved in the research process and helped ensure that the
research contributed to structural changes in services. This
resulted in two publications; Often Invisible: Counselling gay
and lesbian youth (Schneider, 1989) and Pride & Prejudice:
Working with lesbian, gay and bisexual youth (Schneider,
1997).
Research by LGBYP identified systemic problems for LGBT
youth in residential services and addiction services, leading
to procedural changes and increased staff training on sexual
identity issues. Another study of the emotional concerns of
LGB youth with HIV led LGBYP to set up a support group
for LGB youth with HIV, and to a three-year project training
health and social services workers across Ontario on HIV
issues and LGB youth.
LGBYP helped initiate the Toronto Coalition for Lesbian,
Gay and Bisexual Youth in 1992. The coalition advocated for
LGBT youth and has organised major conferences as well as
youth groups and community discussions outside Toronto.
LGBYP started Supporting Our Youth (SOY), a volunteerrun community development programme, in 1997. It currently
organises mentoring, job and skills training and recreational
activities.
LGBYP has received consistent positive feedback from young
LGB clients, many of whom have become voluntary workers
in their own communities. It also received extensive positive
feedback from frontline staff in workshops. Its community
development has led to new programmes for LGB youth
across Ontario.
See www.ctys.org/
LGBTT needs assessment REPORT 2008 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered
and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth living in
out-of-home care in San Diego
The San Diego LGBT Community Center serves a
Californian city of around 1.2 million people. In 2000, it
opened the county’s first social service dedicated to LGBTQ
and HIV positive youth, named the Hillcrest Youth Centre
(HYC) after the gay neighbourhood where it is located.
The programme was highly successful, exceeding initial
attendance projections by more than 500%.
However, staff immediately became aware that a significant
minority of users would leave when HYC closed, to sleep on
a stranger’s couch or on the street. This led to the creation of
the San Diego LGBQ Youth Housing Collaborative, made
up of the LGBT Center, the Metropolitan Community
Church, the YMCA and a mainstream foster agency
(Berberet, 2006).
They fundraised for research to determine the needs of
LGBTQ and HIV positive youth aged 12 to 24 and living on
the streets or in shelters, youth justice facilities, foster, group
or receiving homes and other non-family residential facilities.
The needs assessment included 50 key informant interviews
with service providers, community leaders and other
stakeholders; focus groups, individual interviews and paper
surveys with 400 young people living in non-family care.
Informants and all youth participants ranked housing as one
of the most needed services.
Young people said they would not access existing housing
programmes because of fear of harassment by other youth,
lack of trust that adult staff would protect them, and advice
from staff not to disclose their sexual identity. The assessment
indicated that ethnicity was not as important for young
LGBTQ people when choosing housing as their sexual
identity or HIV status.
Seventeen percent of the youth surveyed said they had HIV,
likely lower than the actual rate. The same proportion said
they had been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
Almost half were involved with the juvenile justice system
and 65% had been placed in a group home or foster care.
More than a third had been kicked out of their family home
because of their sexual or gender identity.
Young people survived on the streets by begging, couch
surfing, dealing drugs, squatting, doing odd jobs, fossicking
in dump bins or stealing; 35% had traded sex for food or
accommodation. As well as housing, these experiences
showed the need for drug and alcohol and mental health
services, sex education, peer counselling and legal services.
The needs assessment data was presented to the planning
committee and several youth who had participated, so the
youth could check the study’s conclusions and the committee
could meet the youth for whom they were working.
Presentations of the needs assessment data to health and
social services, as well as LGBTQ organisations played a
10 LGBTT needs assessment REPORT 2008
powerful role in the
implementation of the
project.
At the time of the
needs assessment,
150 shelter beds
were available for
young people in San
Diego County, provided by
four non-profit agencies.
Community providers and
civic leaders had repeatedly
questioned the need for
specialised LGBTQ
youth services, due to the
shortage of beds and an
inability to see why these
young people did not access
existing services. These
arguments were quieted
by data from the needs
assessment, including
significant reports from
young people of harassment
and discrimination in these
services.
The needs assessment led
to the opening of Sunburst
Apartments in February
2006, the country’s first
permanent supportive
housing project for LGBTQ
and HIV positive youth
aged 18 to 24. It provides
23 units for young people
transitioning out of foster
care or group homes, or
who have been living on the
streets after being ejected
from their homes due to
their sexual identity.
The programme includes
case management,
employment and mental
health services. Unlike other
housing programmes for
LGBTQ youth in New York
City, Atlanta, Los Angeles
and Detroit, housing is
permanent rather than
transitional.
See www.thecentersd.org/youthhousingproject.php
4 LGBTT community
centres in Aotearoa/
New Zealand
This section profiles existing and former organisations that offered
community centre services.
Sydney Lesbian Space
Project
The Lesbian Space
Project (LSP) was officially
launched at a concert at
the Sydney Opera House
in December 1991, held in
connection with a national
lesbian conference and
attended by 2,000 women.
The project aimed to raise
$250,000 in two years to
buy a building in Sydney’s
inner city to house a lesbian
community centre. If the
target was not met by
December 10, all donated
money was to be refunded.
The plans for the centre
were based on responses
the LSP received to a
survey circulated in 1992.
Respondents indicated that
they wanted a centre in the
inner city area that could
hold at least 500 women
at large events as well as
provide a networking and
information hub, meeting
areas, performance and
dance space, a library,
lesbian businesses, pool
table, garden, art gallery and
cafe. They wanted it to be
accessible to lesbians from
non-dominant cultures and
to lesbians with disabilities.
During the fundraising the
group was approached by
many lesbians wanting to run
businesses, publications and
services from the building.
By the end of a dramatic
deadline concert at the
Sydney Town Hall in
December 1993, the
$250,000 target was reached.
The final pledge of $50,000
was later withdrawn after
the issue of the inclusion of
male-to-female transgender
lesbians polarised the
project and the wider lesbian
community.
The organisation was able to
buy a building and opened
the Lesbian Space Project
in 1996, but the ongoing
debates about the exclusion
of transgender lesbians
reduced community support
so that the centre was underused and eventually closed.
The Lesbian Space Project
transformed into Lesbians
Incorporated (LINC), which
managed the invested LSP
funds and administered an
Australian-wide lesbian
grants project using the
income from that investment.
From multiple sources; see post by
Sand Hall at www.triviumpublishing.com/womenshistorymonth/forums/archives2.html
Auckland Pride Centre
The ORGANISATION was initiated in 1987 by a group of
gay men and established as the Isherwood Trust in 1988. It
aimed to provide a non-threatening environment for gay men
coming out and an alternative to venues based around alcohol
and sex. In 1989, it established an office in Federal St in the
city, and leased space to several LGBTT community groups.
During its 16-year life, the centre organised a range of events
involving the whole community. These included Mardi Gras
parties at the Sheraton Hotel in 1989 and 1990, a Cox’s Creek
barbeque in 1989 and a Point Erin Pool barbeque in 1990.
Membership generated controversy in 1990 when it was
broadened to include lesbians and in 1992 when associate
(non-voting) membership was created for bisexual and
transgender people. After some controversy, this was extended
to full membership in 1994. The changing membership was
reflected in name changes - to the Auckland Gay and Lesbian
Centre in 1993 and the Pride Centre in 1995.
From 1990 to 1997, around half the organisation’s income
came from gaming machines located in gay bars, but other
funding regularly fluctuated. For much of 1990, for example,
the organisation had no paid staff. In 1991, the trust organised
Auckland’s first Coming OUT Day and maintained this
annual Ponsonby Rd parade and party for ten years.
After working towards a drop-in centre for five years, in 1992
the trust leased an old three-story building at 6 Wolfe St in
downtown Auckland. The Centre was opened by Auckland
lesbian icon Freda Stark, famous as a professional dancer in
the 1930s and for being outed in a sensational court case.
The New Zealand AIDS Foundation (NZAF) Auckland
prevention team leased the second floor and other community
groups operated from ground floor offices. Funding enabled
a takatapui gay man and a Pakeha lesbian to job-share as
co-ordinators, leading to many community development
initiatives. These included a health fair, lesbian discussion
forums, a lesbian cabaret evening, alcohol-free women’s
dances, a Saturday afternoon drop-in café, and a group
working against violence in lesbian relationships.
The centre hosted workshops
on LGB people with a
disability, and initiated
a LGBT Hot and Cold
Services File, recording
positive and negative
experiences with service
providers. The building
became a venue for parties,
workshops, book launches,
dances, fundraisers and
rehearsals, with a range of
community groups meeting
regularly in the evenings.
Te Waka Awhina Tane kapa haka rehearsals regularly shook
the floorboards. Demand for the space varied widely. For the
first two months of the year as groups rehearsed for the annual
Hero festival and parade in February, the building was fully
used. At other times it was largely vacant. The centre started
selling rainbow flags, symbols of LGBT pride and diversity.
In 1994 the centre supported a discrimination claim to the
Human Rights Commission against the Auckland City
Council by Rainbow Youth, lobbied for liaison with Auckland
City Council and helped organise a protest of Robert
Mugabe’s anti-gay actions at the Commonwealth Heads of
State meeting.
After the lease expired, the trust moved to Ponsonby Rd,
sharing offices with the NZAF again, before moving again
in 1996 to the ground floor of the People’s Centre building
at 33 Wyndham St. This proved another fertile time, with an
anti-violence project creating resources about homophobic and
same-sex relationship violence and liaising with police.
That year, the centre organised its first Spring Arts festival at
Kamo Café on Karangahape Rd, which ran annually to 2002.
It twice surveyed Auckland City Council candidates before
the elections about LGBTT issues, and organised popular
Pride Stories Our Mother Never Told Us by well-known
community members in 1996, 1999 and 2001.
In February 1997, the centre organised a Sports and
Multicultural Day in South Auckland and in March hosted
a two-day Health Fair. However, gaming machine revenue
dropped and for much of 1997 it was again without paid staff.
In June 2000 the centre moved to a shop front with one office
room in Karangahape Rd, opened by MPs Georgina Beyer,
the Honourable Chris Carter and the Honourable Judith
Tizard. The increase in foot traffic led to increased usage by
groups and increased sales of rainbow merchandise, including
badges and jewellery.
Volunteers kept the centre
open from 2000 to 2003.
The organisation co-hosted
the first Pacific LGBT
Pride Conference and the
20th World InterPride
Conference with the Sydney
Pride Centre at the Sheraton
Hotel in 2001, addressed
by Auckland City Council
Mayor Christine Fletcher
and Prime Minister Helen
Clark.
In 2002, the centre organised
Pride Dance Parties in
February and July and
LGBT art exhibitions in
February and September. It
organised a Pride March on
Ponsonby Road as part of
the Hero Festival. By 2004
the centre was providing
services, information or
events to up to 7,000 people a
year. It had a large computer
database of New Zealand
LGBT information and
was regularly contacted by
overseas visitors before their
arrival.
The centre was answering
15 walk-in and 11 phone
or email queries a day,
and hosted 12 regular
community groups,
averaging 90 attendees
a week. They included
gay, lesbian, transgender,
bisexual, takatapui and Asian
gay social groups, Queer
Buddhists, queer youth
groups, Rainbow Labour, gay
artists, the Aids Quilt project
and a Queer Literary Circle.
It also organised an annual
picnic, art exhibition and tea
dance, as well as occasional
talks to school classes.
The centre went into recess in
2004 when it was discovered
that a co-ordinator had
defrauded the organisation,
resulting in a conviction in
2007.
See www.pride.org.nz
Rainbow Youth
Rainbow Youth provides support, information,
advocacy and education for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,
takatapui and fa’afafine young people and their whanau from
the former Pride Centre shop front in Karangahape Rd.
The group started in 1989 as Auckland Lesbian and Gay
Youth (ALGY), aiming to reduce discrimination and
homophobia, and provide a point of contact, information and
support for lesbian and gay youth. It organised events and
social groups for lesbian and gay youth and began an education
programme, presenting workshops in schools with the same
aim. It initially operated from the Isherwood Trust and
Auckland Gay Lesbian Centre offices.
In 1995 ALGY became an incorporated society run by and
for gay, lesbian and bisexual young people under the age of
27 and was renamed Rainbow Youth. Its vision was a society
in which all queer youth feel cherished and supported. The
organisation employed part-time co-ordinators, one male
and one female. Workshops in schools about homophobia
and sexual orientation increased, and the social groups
flourished. Rainbow Youth took over the Pride Centre office
in Karangahape Rd in 2004.
Rainbow Youth’s Affirming Diversity workshops in schools
were designed to fit the health and physical education
curriculum and have been run in about 60 co-educational
and girls’ secondary schools. They were facilitated by the
Education Officer and a volunteer, and reached about 1,400
students a term.
Health and physical education is optional so some schools do
not include it, and workshops have yet to be invited into any
boys’ schools.
Rainbow Youth co-ordinator Rob Marshall says it is “hard
to meet all the needs in schools with one person. We need
some skill development for school facilitators and workshops.
Getting into all the schools would be fantastic.”
At the time of writing, the position of education worker was
vacant and no school workshops had been done in the first
secondary school term of 2008.
Rainbow Youth also helps to set up school-based support
groups and works with schools
to support their LGBTT
students.
at Youthtown.
• Pride Out South, for
young people in South
Auckland.
• i.e. (information and
entertainment), a video and
discussion group.
• Gender Quest, a social
and support group for
transgender and genderquestioning young people.
• Girl2Girl Icebreakers,
a facilitated sexuality
information and support
programme for lesbian,
bisexual and questioning
young women aged up to
25, held at the Auckland
Women’s Centre.
safety workshops with social
workers, educators, doctors,
nurses and trainee teachers
so that they can provide safe
and effective services to queer
youth. Staff have contributed
lectures on sexuality at an
MIT counselling course,
and at AUT in response to
homophobic graffiti.
Rainbow Youth also runs
invited stalls at secondary
school health expos and
during the orientation
weeks of Auckland tertiary
institutions. It organises a
monthly Parent Support
group for parents of queer
youth and one-off events
such as alcohol-free dance
parties for 13 to 20-year-old
queer youth.
Rainbow Youth works
with the NZAF on Out
There, a national queer
youth development project.
It provides a website with
resources for queer youth
in school and schools
with queer students, and
organises queer cultural
All informants and
respondents who mentioned
Rainbow Youth were positive
about its services; their only
concern was that the need
was much greater than the
group’s capacity. One said
that parents of young people
coming out also needed more
support than was currently
being provided voluntarily
by parents through Rainbow
Youth.
“To build up that
organisation would be
fantastic,” said another;
“make it part of a bigger
one.”
Contact
281 Karangahape Rd, Auckland City,
10am - 5.30pm weekdays
PO Box 5426, Wellesley St, Auckland
Phone 376 4155
Email info@rainbowyouth.org.nz
Web www.rainbowyouth.org.nz/
and www.outthere.org.nz/home/index.htm
All Rainbow Youth support
groups are smoke, drug and
alcohol free. They include • Generation Q , for anyone
aged 19 or under.
• Identity, an informal social
group for those aged 27 and
under.
• Queer Sports Night, held
every second Wednesday night
OUTLine NZ
Since 1972, Outline’s main focus has been operating a
telephone help line, originally called Gayline, then Gay/
Lesbian Line. The organisation aims to provide support,
information and counselling to gay and lesbian people and
their significant others through the telephone counselling
service, face-to-face counselling, referral and support groups.
The group has over 70 active LGBTT telephone volunteers
who have received basic training and ongoing supervision.
Some of these are women; the group has usually had many
more male volunteers than female.
It runs the 0800 HIV/AIDS Hotline for the New Zealand
AIDS Foundation, as well as a transgender phone service in
association with Genderbridge.
In 2007, the group changed its name from Auckland Gay
Lesbian Welfare to OUTLine and in 2008 launched a new
national 0800 OUTLINE number for the whole country,
available Monday to Friday from 10am to 10pm and weekends
from 5 to 10pm. The group has also renovated its offices in
Anzac Ave, creating a new meeting area and seminar space
for LGBTT groups of up to 60 people. The space includes a
refurbished lounge and kitchen.
The rooms have a full range of conference facilities including
an electronic whiteboard, digital projector, projection screen
and DVD/video equipment with a large screen TV. Users also
have access to a photocopier, internet computer and printer.
OUTLine has a library of books, magazines, videos and
DVDs, which incorporates the Genderbridge collection. It
also organises social events, including during the annual Hero
festival.
General Manager Neil Denney says the group plans to move
from Anzac Ave in the medium term, but wants to encourage
community groups to use the
space in the meantime.
Seven informants commented
negatively on OUTLine’s
current location, two floors
above Out Magazine and
a sex on-site venue. Five
people said this was not
an environment in which
women felt comfortable.
“As a female I feel very
uncomfortable walking past
the Out Bookshop and a
cruise club,” said one.
Another said: “There are few
females who walk up there. It
just feels dodgy, the parking’s
appalling. You have to go
past Out bookshop, which
is about soft porn. It’s not
a good look for someone’s
mother who wants to know
what it’s going to be like
having a gay son.”
Two informants said the site
was not a good association
for young men coming out:
“Gay males who are coming
out may be a bit hesitant
as well. The stairs are dark
and scungy; it doesn’t feel
welcoming or safe. The office
itself is nice but the trek from
the street front is fraught.”
Three said that there is a
greater need for support
than is currently supplied by
OUTLine.
Contact
Second floor, 49 Anzac Ave, Auckland City PO Box 3132, Auckland 1
Phone Helpline 0800 OUTLINE 303
3584; HIV/AIDS Hotline 0800 802
437 or 358 0099; office 309 3268, fax
309 3283
Email aglw@xtra.co.nz
Web www.outlinenz.com/
Te Aronga Hou Inaianei: Takatapui-a-iwi tautoko whanau
Te Aronga Hou Inaianei (Now for a New Direction
in Life, TAHI) provides advocacy and support services for
those at risk among transgender, gay, lesbian and bisexual
people, their families and friends in South Auckland.
It operates from a drop-in centre in Papatoetoe and is a
programme of the Mangere East Family Service Centre.
The TAHI team - co-ordinator Mama Tere Tahere-Strickland
(Nga Puhi me Aitutaki), Aunty Ra and Cheryl - works
with street sex workers along the Great South Rd corridor
from Otahuhu to Manurewa. The team provides safe sex
information and resources at night and helps people to detox
and get off the streets.
TAHI advocates for people with Work and Income New
Zealand, Housing New Zealand, the courts and education
systems. It helps transgender people who have not transitioned
through an official process to create legal identities so that they
can open bank accounts, obtain benefits or approach Housing
New Zealand.
Many young people come into the centre “at all hours when
they are stranded and in dire straights”, sometimes from
same-sex relationship abuse. The organisation runs a respite
safe house. TAHI’s work can include organising funerals and
memorial services for sex workers or transgender people whose
families have rejected them.
TAHI has a communal rather than individualistic approach
to sexual identity, says Mama Tere. The group aims to provide
activities that LGBTT people enjoy in a place that is safe for
them. “TAHI is not a gay drop-in centre; when people come
here they have to accept that it’s gay and transgender-friendly.
What works is an inclusive centre, rather than one that’s
exclusively gay.”
Their kaupapa is also wellness-based rather than problemfocused. For example, it contributed funding to Love Life 2,
the Sexual Minority Groups of Pacific Peoples Fono in 2007
for wellbeing-focused sessions, in addition to the sessions on
problems such as HIV/AIDS.
TAHI contributes to the
social work programme
run by the Family Service
Centre in Mangere schools.
When transgender students
are in difficulties, TAHI
workers discuss options with
the social worker and meet
the family. TAHI works
with school leaders to make
schools safer for LGBTT
students.
TAHI also provided
training on takatapui and
transgender issues for nursing
and social work trainees at
the University of Auckland
Education campus, Massey
University and Auckland
University of Technology.
It plans to restart a monthly
inclusive cabaret, involving
many gay and transgender
performers, their families
and friends.
Contact
Unit 3, ground floor, Chester Grey
Building, 230 Great South Rd,
Papatoetoe
PO Box 86-086, Mangere East,
Auckland
Phone 277 5426 or 277 5326 or 021
792 032 or 021 792 027
Email tahi@mangereeastfsc.org.nz
Web www.mangereeastfsc.org.
nz/tahi.php
A kaumatua teaches te reo Maori and tikanga; “we encourage
people to know their whakapapa”. TAHI runs Taka Haka, a
gender neutral kapa haka group, where gay and transgender
people can choose whether they poi at the front or haka at the
back.
It also organises eight netball teams; its top men’s team are
the current Aotearoa Men’s Netball champions and TAHI
has hosted the championships. TAHI has funded talented
players to compete in international men’s and mixed netball
championships. TAHI teams include around 60% transgender
and gay players and 40% straight.
MaLGRA - Club Q
THE LONGEST RUNNING gay community centre in
the country is run by the Manawatu Lesbian and Gay Rights
Association, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007.
MaLGRA was formed in 1977 as a volunteer organisation
to support the needs of gay and later all queer people in the
region. MaLGRA’s premises in Fitzherbert Ave, Palmerston
North are currently home to • The Manawatu Lesbian Support Group, including the
Lesbian Line phone service.
• Massey UniQ Palmerston North, a queer tertiary students’
support group.
• Men’s social group CoffeeQ.
• The Closet Space youth group.
• Women’s soccer club Players JFL.
• A gay and lesbian fiction library for members.
• Dance venue Club Q , which operates on Friday and
Saturday nights.
• Occasional events for members and the wider community.
Contact
Jersey Lane, off Fitzherbert Ave, Square Edge, Palmerston North
PO Box 1491, Palmerston North Phone (06) 358 5378
Web www.malgraclubq.org.nz/index.html
Rainbow House Otautahi
AGENDER CHRISTCHURCH
provides residential and day support
services for the transgender community
from its base at Rainbow House at 443
Tuam St, Linwood.
Full board is available for transgender people visiting
Christchurch and there is a day lounge. A library of books and
resources is available for borrowing.
All LGBTT people, partners, family and friends are welcome
to drop in. Agender group provides support, education,
research and advocacy for transgender people and to challenge
homophobia.
Contact
443 Tuam St, Linwood PO Box 33236, Barrington, Christchurch 8244
Phone (03) 338 1099
Email agenderchch@xtra.co.nz Web http://www.agender.org.nz/
Wellington Lesbian Centre
THIS CENTRE operated from one room in the Wellington
Women’s Resource Centre at 6 Boulcott St in the city from
November 1980 to November 1982 (Glamuzina, 1993). It was
established by lesbian feminists and organised lesbian
awareness and community events.
It hosted a social gathering on Friday nights as
an alternative to the bars and organised monthly
lesbian dances from April 1980. Among
the centre’s many political events was a 1980
International Women’s Day March through city
streets and a lesbian streetwalk in the city in June 1980.
The centre applied to advertise on local buses, using a
poster inviting lesbians to contact their local community
and providing a post office box number. The Wellington
City Council refused to carry the advertisement, and in
response the centre organised marches, pickets and lobbying.
In November, buses in the central city depot were pasted
overnight with posters for the centre.
The centre organised the first Lesbian Liberation Week in
October 1980, on the themes of lesbian visibility and pride,
including a march through central Wellington by more than
200 lesbians and women supporters. Centre lesbians organised
a national Lesbian Activist Weekend in Wellington in June
1981, and an anti-NZ Truth paste-up in response to the
newspaper’s article criticising Wellington lesbian magazine
Circle. The centre closed in November 1982 after hosting a
Lesbian Creativity Week.
5 Findings on existing Auckland LGBTT services
This section includes results from interviews with community
informants and survey respondents. There are more than a hundred
LGBTT groups and organisations in Auckland; this summary
mentions only those supplying some community centre functions.
Lesbian Support
Organisation
The Lesbian Support
Organisation (LESO) is a
non-profit, volunteer group
of lesbians founded in 1983
that aims to offer a safe, secure space and support for women
coming out or questioning their sexuality. The group is funded
entirely by the proceeds of the annual Auckland Lesbian Ball,
which it organises. LESO also organises Chance to Dance,
which runs ballroom dancing lessons associated with the ball.
LESO runs an answerphone service and tries to call back
everyone who leaves a message. The group refers young women
to Rainbow Youth, but some have preferred to come to LESO
groups. Coming out groups are run as needed at the Auckland
Women’s Centre for six to eight weeks in the evening. They
generally coincide with the four school terms and include
about six to eight participants, most over 30 and many still in
marriages.
Many of the women attending coming out groups are in a
precarious position. LESO member Glenda Haines said:
“They need a safe, secure space to talk with people who won’t
be judgemental.” Women are welcome to return to a coming
out group as many times as they want and some return several
times, “because coming out isn’t something you do overnight”.
Groups have included male to female transgender participants.
LESO stalwart the late Sue Neal
LESO provides contacts for gay and lesbian social groups not
based around bars, such as gardening, sports, business, singing
and recreational groups. Coming out groups provides social
support for women first venturing into lesbian venues, and
Chance to Dance provides a healthy social environment that is
drug, alcohol and smoke-free.
LESO is currently trying to set up a social support groups
for LGBTT families with children aged 5 to 17, to enable
the children and teenagers to meet other kids with LGBTT
parents, and for parents to share information and provide
social support.
Contact
PO Box 3833, Shortland Street, Auckland
Phone 528 5119
Email hello@leso.org.nz
Web www.leso.org.nz/
Genderbridge
This Auckland-based transgender
support group has about 30 active members
and meets monthly at the OUTLine office.
Around 90% of members are male to
female and 10% female to male. It operates
a national 0800 helpline with OUTLine,
which answered 1,300 calls in 2007. Three
members have completed OUTLine’s
training and do shifts at OUTLine.
Other OUTLine counsellors answer calls to
the line most of the week, saying “Welcome
to the Genderbridge helpline” and on two
evenings a week and Sundays the calls are
transferred to a mobile phone held by a
Genderbridge member. Both groups retain their autonomy
and funding streams, but make joint funding submissions for
the phone line.
A Genderbridge committee member runs the Rainbow
Youth Genderquest group. Genderbridge has a website with
resources about transgender issues, including a leaflet about
transsexuality, details about changing names, birth certificates
and other legal documents, reviews of books and DVDs about
transgender issues in the OUTLine library, and a list of online
resources.
Genderbridge is keen to develop face-to-face drop in and
counselling service, and is involved in discussions with the
Human Rights Commission and the health sector about
transitioning services following the release of the HRC’s
recent transgender inquiry report.
“Transpeople tend to join support groups like Genderbridge
as they come up to transition and the first year or two
afterwards, when they need information about hormones and
support. Then they drop off; some may no longer consider
themselves trans. It isn’t an ongoing community the way the
gay community is.”
Contact
PO Box 68 236, Newton, Auckland 1145 Phone 0800 844 357
Email info@genderbridge.org Web www.genderbridge.org/
The foundation (NZAF) is the biggest gay
community organisation focusing primarily on gay men
and HIV in the country. National and Auckland prevention
and support staff are based near College Hill in Ponsonby,
providing HIV prevention programmes, support for people
living with HIV and AIDS, as well as research, policy and
information services.
NZAF uses a health promotion approach based on the Ottawa
Charter – creating supportive environments for men who
have sex with men (MSM), building healthy public policy,
strengthening community action, developing personal skills
and re-orienting health services.
The largest HIV prevention programme is Gay Men’s Health
as most people affected by HIV in New Zealand are MSM.
Within this programme is the Pacific People’s Project (PPP),
which works with Pacific communities to prevent transmission
of HIV among Pacific MSM. For example, the PPP sponsors
an indoor and outdoor netball team, which is gay and
transgender.
The Hau Ora Takatapui programme works with tane ai tane
(Maori MSM) to prevent the transmission of HIV. It also has
a Kaimahi Whakawahine, a transgender health promoter, who
caters for whakawahine. Hau Ora Takatapui uses a Kaupapa
Maori framework, and works with local and regional takatapui
groups.
With Rainbow Youth, NZAF manages the Out There project,
which aims to enhance the wellbeing of gay, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender youth. It includes a website, print resources,
workshops for people who work with youth, and a two-yearly
youth hui for those facilitating LGBTT youth groups.
The Positive Health Programme includes professional
counselling staff. It provides free and confidential HIV
testing and counselling, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment
information, Wellness fund grants for positive people needing
financial assistance in relation to maintaining their health.
The research and analysis team collates and interprets research
data on HIV/AIDS from New Zealand and overseas, analyses
prevention initiatives for men who have sex with men and
carries out original research. This focuses primarily on
preventing the sexual spread of HIV between males in New
Zealand, including the 1996 national Male Call/Waea Mai,
Tane Ma study, the nation-wide HIV Futures New Zealand/
Mate Araikore a Muri Ake Nei study in 2001/02, and the
bi-annual Gay Auckland Periodic Sex Survey (GAPSS)
behavioural surveillance project.
Contact
31 Hargreaves St, College Hill, Ponsonby
PO Box 6663, Wellesley St, Auckland Phone 303 3124 Fax 309 3149 Email contact@nzaf.org.nz
Web www.nzaf.org.nz/ and www.outthere.org.nz/home/index.htm
New Zealand AIDS
Foundation
NZAF also undertakes advocacy and encourages public policy
changes with Government agencies and NGOs within the
framework of the Ottawa Charter. The organisation maintains
a comprehensive library and free information service of HIV/
AIDS and sexuality publication and resources.
Two informants said that the stigma of HIV and its out-ofthe-way location made the NZAF offices unsuitable for wider
LGBTT community activities.
Body Positive
THIS INDEPENDENT peer
support group for people with HIV
and AIDS operates from a small
office in Poynton Tce, largely staffed
by gay men. The drop-in centre offers
free access to an internet computer and
a small library.
Body Positive advocates for people with HIV/AIDS in health
policy and treatment, and operates 12-weekly support groups
for people living with the virus. The group also provides
information, including a regular newsletter with treatment
information and contacts, and runs occasional forums and
conferences.
Charlotte Museum
THE CHARLOTTE MUSEUM Trust
collects, preserves and exhibits artefacts from
early lesbian life in New Zealand including
music, theatre, fi lm, literature, art and
memorabilia. Its collection includes art objects,
lesbian books and many early lesbian magazines
from New Zealand and overseas.
Contact
2/3 Poynton Terrace, Auckland City PO Box 68-766, Newton, Auckland
Phone 309 3989 Fax 309 3981
Email office@bodypositive.org.nz Web www.bodypositive.org.nz/
Auckland Women’s Centre
THE AUCKLAND WOMEN’S CENTRE (AWC) is
a women-only space that welcomes all women including
lesbians, and aims to contribute towards a strong lesbian
community in Auckland. It provides information about lesbian
activities, events and services, lesbian publications and lists of
lesbian lawyers, doctors and counsellors.
Rainbow Youth’s Girl2girl groups for women aged 18 to
25 who are questioning their sexual identity are held at the
centre, as well as LESO Coming Out groups.
The centre provides lesbian counsellors,
lesbian-friendly cervical smear tests by
the Well Women’s Nursing Service and
an occasional mobile breast screening
service. All centre support groups and
community education programmes are
lesbian-friendly.
The museum opened its Grey Lynn premises to the public
during the Hero Festival on February 17 this year with an
exhibition and an accompanying book titled Remember Us:
Women who Loved Women from Sappho to Liberation. The
museum’s oral herstory project is collecting stories from older
lesbians.
The museum hosts regular events, including evenings of
coming out stories, lesbian music and poetry readings, as
well as art workshops during the day. On the weekend of
Anzac Day in 2008 it hosted an event remembering lesbians
in the armed forces and those who were victims of war,
and a community commemoration for lesbian musician
Mahinaarangi Tocker. The premises are available for rent by
lesbian community groups.
An exhibition of memorabilia from early lesbian theatre is
planned for October 2008 and future shows may focus on
lesbian music, humour, sport, motherhood, sexuality, clubs
and literature. The Charlotte Museum is open to the public
from Thursday to Saturday between noon and 4pm, or other
times by appointment.
Contact
6/58 Surrey Crescent, Grey Lynn
PO Box 47398, Ponsonby, Auckland 1144 Phone 846 5327
Email charlottemuseum@gmail.com
Web http://charlottemuseum.lesbian.net.nz/index.html
The Women’s Centre library has a strong
collection of publications by, for and about
lesbians, as well as lesbian drama and
documentary videos.
Contact
4 Warnock Street, Grey Lynn PO Box 78 271, Grey Lynn Phone 376 3227
Email akcentre@womenz.org.nz Web www.awc.org.nz/
6 The population and needs of Auckland LGBTT people
Lesbian, bisexual, gay,
transgender “identities
or practices exist in every
culture and corner of the
world; they are simply part
of the human condition”
(International Conference
on LGBT Human Rights,
2006).
To carry out a needs
assessment for an LGBTT
centre in the Auckland City
Council area, one must start
with an assessment of the
population to be consulted.
these vary over time and
in intensity. This results
in a variety of sexuality
measures, and many different
estimates of the prevalence
and populations of same-sex
attracted people.
In New Zealand, national
prevalence figures vary
depending on whether
same-sex sexual attraction,
behaviour or identity is being
reported and on the way in
which the information is
gathered. For example -
An Australian national study
found that 2.5% of men and
2.2% of women identified
as homosexual or bisexual,
6% of men and 8.5% of
women reported homosexual
experience, while 6.8% of
men and 12.8% of women
reported at least some
attraction to their own sex
(Smith et al, 2003). This
study used computer-assisted
phone interviews in 2001/02.
Data from two New Zealand
groups of people followed
from birth to their mid20s provides more detailed
information.
However, most researchers
• 0.4% of all people in
who discuss prevalence and
couples in the 1996 Census
size estimates agree that
were people living with a
there is no way of measuring
the LGBTTI population
there is no way of measuring the LGBTTI population
accurately or gaining a
accurately .. while homosexual behaviour, transgender
representative sample while
identity and sexual ambiguity remain stigmatised
homosexual behaviour,
transgender identity and
same-sex partner, made up of
• 10% of a group of
sexual ambiguity remain
2,884 men and 3,626 women
Dunedin-born men and
stigmatised (for example,
(Statistics NZ, 1998; Byrne
women aged 25 reported
Hughes & Saxton, 2006;
& Hyman, 1998).
ever being attracted to their
Wilson, 2004; Roberts &
• 1.3% of respondents
own sex; 3.6% of men and
Sorensen, 1999; Fullilove,
identified as gay, bisexual or
12.4% of women reported
1999).
any other non-heterosexual
ever having same-sex sexual
identity in the national
contact (Fergusson, 2005).
This stigma results in a
computer-assisted telephone
• 10.7% of a group of
significant proportion
Health Behaviours Surveys
Christchurch-born men and
of LGBTT people not
carried out in 2003 and 2004
24.5% of women aged 26
admitting their sexuality and
(Pega & Coupe, 2007).
reported being attracted to
sexual activity to themselves
• 2% of male participants
their own sex; 8.9% of men
or others, or concealing their
reported any lifetime sameand 9.7% of women reported
sexual or gender identity
sex “contact”, varying with
any same-sex contact
even in confidential research
age from one to four percent
(Dickson et al, 2003).
(Wilson, 2004). Researchers
in a national computeragree that estimates of the
A commonly used average
assisted telephone Partner
LGBTT population are
estimate of the lesbian, gay
Relations Survey conducted
therefore conservative.
and bisexual populations is
in 1991 (Davis et al, 1993).
10%, taken from Kinsey’s
Henrickson and colleagues
• 7.6% of males and 7.9%
research in the mid-1900s.
(2007) point out that
of females in a survey of
homosexuality cannot
An estimate of the
secondary students aged 12
easily be measured because
transgender proportion in
to 18 reported some degree
individuals express it in
the Netherlands found a
of same sex attraction or no
different ways that may not
prevalence of 1:11,900 for
attraction to either sex in the
necessarily be stable over
male-to-female transsexuals
audio computer-assisted selftime. Different academic
and 1:30,400 for female-tointerview Youth2000 survey
disciplines disagree on
male transsexuals. This is
(Le Brun et al, 2004). This is
concepts and definitions of
likely to be a conservative
at least two non-heterosexual
sexual attraction, behaviour
national estimate as
students in every secondary
and identity, and how
it counted only those
school class of 30.
diagnosed by psychiatrists
or psychologists and who
generally underwent sexreassignment surgery.
In the USA an estimated one
percent of babies who are
born alive have some degree
of sexual ambiguity (ISNA,
2008). Approximately 30
intersex people, those whose
genitals at birth are atypical
or ambiguous, are born alive
every year in New Zealand
(MSD, 2006). What little
research that has been done
on intersex conditions has
focused on surgical and
genetic aspects (MAC,
2003).
LGBTT populations in the
Auckland City Council area
Hughes and Saxton (2006) analysed the clustering of the
1,275 male couples in the 1996 Census, as well as men with
male sexual partners in the national Male Call/Waea Mai,
Tane Ma telephone survey also carried out in 1996. They
found that 45% of the male couples in the 1996 and 2001
Censuses lived in Auckland, as did the same percentage of
Male Call respondents.
Matt @ GayNZ.com
However, research and evidence from informants and
Auckland LGBTT services indicates that LGBTT
populations are not evenly distributed around the country, and
that Auckland has a disproportionately large share of people
identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, takatapui or transgender.
A similar proportion - 48% - of the 2,269 respondents to the
national Lavender Islands survey of LGBTT lives in 2004
also came from Auckland (Henrickson et al, 2007). Calls
from people in Central Auckland made up 57% of phone calls
to OUTLine during 2006/2007, followed by 22% where the
location was not stated. North Auckland accounted for 7%,
South Auckland for 6%, West Auckland for 5% and East
Auckland for 3%.
Byrne and Hyman (1998) found that 33% of the female samesex couples identified in the 1996 Census lived in Auckland,
compared to 26% of heterosexual couples in the Census.
Hughes and Saxton were able to pinpoint the clustering of
gay men further. Almost two-thirds of the 1996 Census male
couples lived in the Central Auckland zone. Around 13% or
one in eight of the same-sex respondents in this Census and
Male Call lived in the inner city suburbs of Herne Bay, St
Mary’s Bay, Auckland Central, Ponsonby West, Ponsonby
East, Freeman’s Bay, Westmere, Grey Lynn West, Grey Lynn
East, Newton, Grafton, Surrey Crescent, Arch Hill, Eden
Terrace, Newmarket and Kingsland. While the clustering of
the male couples in these suburbs was slightly less pronounced
in the 2001 Census (10% compared to 12.2% in 1996), it
is possible that the concentration was defined by different
boundaries.
The 2006 Census counted 2,655 male couples and 3,516
female couples, more than double the number of male couples
and almost three times the number of female couples as in
1996. The clustering in Auckland City remained consistent.
The proportion of same-sex couples was 0.7% for New
Zealand as a whole, 0.9% in the Auckland Region, and 1.6%
in Auckland City (Statistics New Zealand, 2008).
One informant said: “A big proportion of the gay community
lives in Auckland City because it’s safer; there are lots of
services, gay and gay-friendly bars and venues.” Two studies
discussed the concentration of gay-run businesses, nightclubs,
bars and community organisations in the Karangahape Rd and
Ponsonby Rd precints (Rea, 2003; Johnston, 1997).
Social and health needs of LGBTT people
Heterosexism is the assumption that heterosexuality
is the only or best expression of human sexuality and
the stigmatising of same-sex attraction, behaviour and
relationships (Bloomfield et al, 1995; Liggins et al,
1993). Heterosexism is expressed in individual prejudice,
organisational discrimination, harassment and violence
(Rankine, 1997). It can be manifested in the seemingly neutral
structures of social institutions. Systemic heterosexism creates
a hostile environment for LGBTT populations.
Transgender and intersex people may not necessarily be
homosexual. One informant said that about a third to a half
of male to female (MtF) transpeople identify as lesbian, but
few female to male (FtM) transgender people identify as gay.
However, “as people live in their new identity, their sexual
orientation can change”. Discrimination against transgender
and intersex people is often based on disgust or fear of their
non-conforming gender status and the inability of social
institutions to accept their right to choose their gender.
This hostile environment has negative effects on the health
and wellbeing of LGBTT people. These impacts include • The ongoing threat of
violence.
• Discrimination.
• Social invisibility.
• Self-hatred and denial of
same-sex attraction or gender
dysphoria.
• Health issues resulting from
the stress of living in a hostile
environment.
This section summarises
research results about LGBTT
community needs.
Matt @ GayNZ.com
Coming out
The invisibility of sexual identity creates the unique LGBTT
experience of coming out; acknowledging to oneself and others
a stigmatised social identity. This is a lifelong process, as most
heterosexual people and institutions assume that everyone is
heterosexual.
Over half of the students in the Youth 2000 survey who had
come out as bisexual or same-sex attracted did so when they
were 13 or younger (Le Brun, 2004). While most of the nonheterosexual students in this survey could talk about problems
with family members, 40% said they could not.
Asian-born immigrants who responded to the Lavender
Islands study had come out far less than other immigrants who
responded, although just over half had told trusted friends
(Henrickson, 2006a). Asian immigrant respondents felt less
supported by their families than other immigrant and NewZealand born Asian respondents.
The HRC inquiry into
discrimination against
transgender people (2008)
identified an urgent need for
information and resources
for transgender children and
young people.
The harassment and isolation
that many LGBTT people
experience means there is an
ongoing need for safe social
places where they can meet
other LGBTT people.
Eleven informants in this
study discussed issues facing
young people and others
coming out. Two described
the extreme isolation of
some young people who see
themselves as the only person
in the world who feels like
they do, and unable to tell
anyone.
Twenty-eight percent of calls
to OUTLine in 2006/2007
were about isolation and
loneliness; the rest were
about orientation, coming out
and meeting people.
One informant had
worked closely with young
LGBTT people and found
it “heartbreaking how
many had contemplated
suicide or self-harmed”.
Four mentioned ways in
which young people who
run away from or are kicked
out of home can end up in
prostitution: “14-year-olds
who had run away from
home being pimped on the
street by gang members,
being fed drugs”.
Three informants talked about the difficulties of coming
out for young people in conservative religious families or
environments, including young Pacific gay men and lesbians.
One said: “There is not a lot of coming out support for
fa’afafine or transgender young people”. Another said there
was a risk of young people being labelled as transgender too
early: “hormones may not be the best option for a 13-yearold”. Another said there was no research about the health risks
of starting hormones at a young age. One was concerned about
“young takatapui wahine coming through because there are no
networks out there”.
Two informants talked about a grouping of gay and bisexual
people who come out of heterosexual relationships after their
children have grown up. Another said that many transgender
people who have repressed their gender struggle for many
years may also transition in middle age.
Education
Many LGBTT people realise they are attracted to the same
sex or that their gender is different from their biological sex
while at school. The Youth 2000
The results of anti-gay bullying and assault may last
survey estimated that at least
two students in every secondary
longer and be more far-reaching than previously thought
school class of 30 would not be
exclusively heterosexual (le Brun, 2004). Almost a quarter
of non-heterosexual students in the survey said they only
sometimes felt safe at school.
Half had been hit or deliberately physically harmed by
someone else at least once during the last 12 months and
13% said they were bullied at least once a week. The national
LGBTT youth education programme Out There used these
results in its 2005 resource Safety in Our Schools.
Most non-heterosexual students believed that adults in their
school cared for them at least somewhat, but over 10% felt
adults in their school didn’t care at all about them, and one in
five did not feel part of their school.
The national Lavender
Islands survey of LGBTT
lives carried out in 2004
found that coming out early
as LGB appeared to be
associated with lower levels
of educational achievement,
which in turn was associated
with bullying and verbal
assault (Henrickson, 2006c).
This suggested that the
results of anti-gay bullying
and assault may last longer
and be more far-reaching
than previously thought.
Consequences may include
lower lifelong levels of
satisfaction with an LGB
identity, and an early coming
out “penalty” in education.
Children of LGBTT parents
also face harassment and
bullying at school and are
concerned about being
stigmatised because of their
parents’ sexuality (Rosier,
1999).
The HRC transgender
inquiry (2008) said that
transgender children and
young people should be
able to play sport and use
appropriate changing rooms
and toilets without fear or
humiliation. “There is an
urgent need to improve the
physical and emotional safety
of transgender students
at school, so their right
to education is no longer
severely compromised.”
for GBTT students in boys’
schools.
Nine informants expressed
major concern at the
homophobic and bullying
environment that young
LGBTT people face daily
at school. “Bullying about
sexuality is still one of the
biggest areas of bullying in
schools,” said one. Another
said their children had been
bullied at school because of
their parent’s sexual identity.
One informant said
that some tertiary halls
of residence “have a
homophobic culture similar
to high school, as many
residents have transplanted
their high school
friendship groups into that
environment”.
Several informants said
schools should have policies
to ensure that they provide
for LGBTT students and
that teachers can be safely
out, as well as support groups
for LGBTT students.
“School was the one
place where it wasn’t even
conceivable that I could be
out,” said one. “The whole
culture was so homophobic,
I wouldn’t know where to
start to improve it. There was
no mention of being gay or
lesbian in health education,
although history and English
teachers would mention it.
Anti-bullying programmes
look great on paper, but some
of my teachers wouldn’t
take homophobic bullying
seriously.”
This informant said most of
the homophobia came from
fellow students. Support was
more likely for a “Friends
of ” group than an LGBTT
group. Another said: “Gay
was a cool word for only a
short time. With teenagers,
anything gay was derogatory:
‘That’s so gay’”.
“Kids get gay bashed in and
outside schools,” said another
informant. “Fourteenyear-old boys are extremely
homophobic. A couple
of Gay-Straight Alliance
groups in each region would
be great, so if a student had
difficulties they could move.”
Two expressed concern at
the complete lack of support
Most public tertiary
institutions in Auckland have
LGBTT student groups;
however, one informant
said they tend to have more
activity at the beginning
of the year when students
join to meet other LGBTT
people. “They make friends
and it disbands over the
year.”
Matt @ GayNZ.com
Auckland University of
Technology (AUT) is the
only tertiary institution to
provide university-funded
student support - $4,000
a year to cover an LGBT
student support co-ordinator
for three hours a week and
activities.
The role ensures that other
student services have the
information they need to
provide LGBTT support.
It includes organising open
talks by high profile LGBTT
people, titled Queering
Life over Lunch. Says Ben
Campion, LGBTT Support
Co-ordinator: “The message
is ‘I’m successful and I also
happen to be LGBT’; it
shows that sexuality is one
component of their identity.”
The service also includes
consciousness-raising for
students and non-LGBTT
staff, providing LGBTT
information at orientation,
enabling Rainbow Youth and
NZAF to provide workshops
and services. Weekly dropins for LGBTT students are
held at AUT city and North
Shore campuses.
Despite this, “some students have been harrassed; they don’t
feel comfortable coming out at AUT,” says Ben. “It’s linked
to other students’ attitudes and the attitudes of some lecturers
rather than the environment as a whole”. Former co-ordinator
Michael Richardson says: “LGBT university students need a
lot more support than they’re currently receiving - awarenessraising about LGBT issues, a visibly supportive environment”.
Discrimination
Discrimination is prominent in particular areas for particular
LGBTT populations. For example, LGBTT youth have a
higher rate of homelessness than their heterosexual peers due
to rejection by family and friends.
Loss of jobs and therefore of income is commonplace for
transgender people during transition, as is active employment
discrimination against them after transition (HRC, 2008).
“Harassment and intimidation affected trans people at work,
with the result that some are under-employed, and others are
dismissed or leave jobs”. This persistent discrimination has
meant that prostitution can be the only way for some male to
female transgender people to earn an income. One informant
said an estimated 60% of central city street sex workers were
transgender.
Matt @ GayNZ.com
Transgender people reported being denied access or singled
out negatively in public places and public transport: “Their
“inability to access public toilets had a major, daily impact”.
Prejudice against sexual and gender minorities is often
pronounced when they form families with children. More than
one in three (37%) of women and 14% of men said they had a
parenting relationship with children in the Lavender Islands
survey (Henrickson, 2007). A similar proportion of women
in the 1999 Lesbian Health Survey (38%) had given birth and
25% lived with children (Saphira & Glover, 1999).
The HRC inquiry heard that
sex workers’ relationship
with police had improved
since prostitution law
reform. Two informants were
positive about police use of
Diversity Liaison Officers.
One informant said he did
not take a charge of domestic
violence against his partner
for fear of not being believed
by the police and another
said the police had “a long
way to go” to be supportive
of LGBTT victims of hate
crime.
Another was told by
their Work and Income
caseworker that they were
using their gender as an
excuse “even though they’d
put me up for so many job
interviews”. Some MtF
transpeople who worked in
male-dominated fields before
they transitioned may face
so much discrimination that
they have to start again at
the bottom in a very different
industry.
Research with a small group of Auckland lesbian mothers
found that all had experienced homophobic attitudes from
healthcare professionals (Bree, 2003). The women’s partners
were not acknowledged as parents by the wider community
Tangata whenua LGBTT
despite the couples’ careful and responsible pre-conception
people or
planning. These women created unique family
those from
forms, usually including two mothers, two fathers,
Prejudice against sexual and gender minorities is often
ethnic
children, the parents’ families-of-origin and close
pronounced when they form families with children.
minorities
friends. Many lesbians are reluctant to disclose
found it
their sexual identity to reproductive services
hard to tell
Almost all the informants
because of prejudiced attitudes by providers (MAC, 2003).
whether
discrimination
they
discussed societal
LGBTT parents must consider whether and how to be open
received
was
because
of
their
heterosexism and
about their sexual and gender identities, negotiations that are
discrimination. “When you’re ethnicity or their sexuality or
specific to LGBTT families.
both.
transgender, every minute
you’re out of your door you
Several New Zealand health professionals, health service and
Five informants talked about
are open to discrimination,”
health policy managers in recent interviews supported the
recent public abuse they had
one said. “Most of what does
establishment of a one-stop-shop health centre for gay and
experienced because of their
happen is low level stuff,
bisexual men, offering co-ordinated health care and health
sexual identity. “I get lots of
people in shops calling you
promotion, although they were concerned about the economic
verbal abuse,” said one. “I feel
‘Sir’ just to score a point.
feasibility of such a service in a small population (Adams et
scared when I’m walking on
Work is probably the worst
al, 2007). This study suggested a health approach that focuses
the street sometimes; I try to
area for most transpeople; it
on LGBTT strengths rather than individual health problems,
avoid groups of men.”
tends to be worse in small
and improving social and physical environments for these
companies.”
populations rather than personal change health strategies.
One discussed the impact this has for same-sex couples:
“Touch and intimacy shouldn’t be just within our four walls. If
you’re anxious about walking down the street holding hands,
what does that do to your relationship?”
“I’ve had amazing abuse from taxi drivers,” said one
transperson. “He said ‘It’s disgusting what you are’. I refused
to pay for the service because of the abuse and he took to me
with a tyre iron.”
One informant gave an example of discrimination by a
supported living provider; they refused to accept their client’s
lesbian identity and described her instead as having “a habit
of inappropriate friendships”. Another said that migrant
organisations “don’t want to know about gay people or HIV.
Gay Asians aren’t going to come out to refugee organisations”.
Seven informants mentioned previous anti-violence initiatives
in Auckland or in overseas LGBTT communities.
Two informants talked about incidents of racism and
discrimination within LGBTT communities.
Societal violence
The HRC report on
discrimination against
transgender people found that
some experienced “constant
harassment and vicious assault”.
Earlier research has found
high rates of public abuse and
assault against LGBTT people
in New Zealand (Rankine,
1997) and overseas (US State
Department, 2008).
Police told the HRC inquiry
that they have “no specific methodology for recording ‘hate/
bias-related crimes’”, so violence against LGBTT people
remains invisible in crime statistics and surveys.
One informant said violence and abuse is a major problem
for transgender street sex workers: “Hit in the head with beer
bottles and full cans, stones, shot at with BB guns”. Homeless
young LGBTT people have been told: “I won’t put you up for
the night if you don’t let me screw you without a condom.”
Two talked of “lots of gay bashing in the back streets of K Rd
to this day”. Another said: “Holding hands I get violence in
the street from young guys who don’t like dykes.”
Depression and suicide
LGBTT people experience high rates of depression and
suicidal feelings as a result of this hostile environment. A
Dunedin study found an increased risk of self-harm and
suicide attempts among those in a group of 26-year-olds who
were attracted to their own gender; the risk of self-harm
increased with the degree of attraction (Skegg et al, 2003).
A Christchurch longitudinal
study found that those
with a predominantly
homosexual orientation had
up to 12 times the rates of
mental disorder and suicidal
behaviour than those who
identified as exclusively
heterosexual (Fergusson et
al, 2005). Both studies found
that these associations were
stronger for men.
Two studies of lesbian health
found 9% reported mental
health problems and use of
mental health services among
non-representative samples of
lesbians. This compared with
four percent who reported
mental health problems in
a representational female
sample (Saphira & Glover,
1999; Welch, 1995).
Another study found
that 30% of lesbians who
had used counselling and
mental health services
had experienced “lesbianunfriendly” treatment at
some point (Welch et al,
2000).
Rates of depression among
transgender people may be
higher than among GLB
people. One USA study
found that 62% of male-tofemale transgender people
and 55% of female-to-male
transgender people were
depressed, and 32% of both
groups had attempted suicide
(Clements-Nolle et al, 2001).
One review in Scotland
found that mental health
problems among transgender
people were a serious
concern, and there were no
targeted services.
Same-sex attracted youth
are reported to be six times
more likely to attempt suicide
than GLB people as a whole
(MAC, 2003). The Youth
2000 survey found that 23%
of non-heterosexual New
Zealand students showed
significant depressive
symptoms (Le Brun et al,
2004). Nearly one-third were
unsure or thought it unlikely that they would reach their 25th
birthday and 15% had attempted suicide in the previous 12
months.
USA research reports that attempts occur during their school
years at a mean age of 15 to 17 years, tending to be after the
person identifies as GLB but before they come out or have a
relationship (Fontaine at al, 1997).
One New Zealand study of individual stories of recovery from
disabling mental health problems found that for five lesbian
and gay people, the achievement of a secure and positive sexual
identity was intertwined with the recovery process (Lapsley,
2002). A more recent report found that current practice in
public mental health services can make it very difficult for
some male clients who have sex with men to discuss issues
related to their sexuality (Semp, 2006).
Ten informants commented about mental health needs and
services. One said that when a person’s sexual attraction,
sexual identity and behaviour do not match, it can lead to
mental health problems: “this isn’t the real me, it’s a deviation
that will go away if I ignore it. Unfortunately it doesn’t go
away, and self-loathing and confusion increase”.
OUTLine receives a significant number of calls from people
on medication for depression and anxiety. “Isolation and
loneliness are the main reasons people ring; they want to meet
people”, said OUTLine Co-ordinator Neil Denney.
One informant said that gay men from China, especially if
they are an only child, find the pressure to give their parents
grandchildren very difficult. “They can suicide because they
can’t accept their sexuality.”
Alcohol and drug use
Using alcohol and drugs can be ways to cope with hostile
environments. International research about use of alcohol and
drugs using non-representative samples of LGBT people has
found sometimes conflicting results (Alcohol Concern, 2004).
One international review found that the odds of substance
use for LGB youth were, on average, 190% higher than for
heterosexual youth. The odds were more than three times
as high for bisexual youth and four times higher for young
women (Michael et al, 2008).
One study found high rates of substance use among
transgender people in New York; 27% reported alcohol abuse
and 24% drug abuse (Beatty & Lewis, 2003).
Around two in ten of the non-heterosexual students in the
New Zealand Youth 2000 study had ever used party drugs.
Over 10% smoked cigarettes every day and used marijuana at
least weekly. Nearly one-third of non-heterosexual students
said they binge drank at least once in the last month.
A random New Zealand national telephone survey about
alcohol and other drug use found that the 1.5% who identified
as GLB reported using significantly more cannabis, LSD,
ecstasy and amphetamines than did those who identified as
heterosexual (Pega & Coupe, 2007). A higher proportion of
GLB drank alcohol and smoked regularly than non-GLB
participants. However, the GLB proportion is likely to be an
undercount and cannot be taken as representative.
Over half the 2006 Gay
Auckland Periodic Sex
Survey sample (56.9%)
reported using at least one
of nine non-prescription
recreational drugs in the
previous six months; the
first time this question had
been asked in this two-yearly
survey. The most commonly
reported drugs were amyl
(40.0%) and cannabis
(37.6%), followed by ecstasy
(21.2%) and amphetamines
(12.2%).
The National Lesbian Health
Survey found higher rates
of tobacco and cannabis
use among respondents
compared to a representative
sample of women (Saphira &
Glover, 1999).
Eleven informants
commented on alcohol,
tobacco and other drug
issues; several said smoking
and alcohol and drug use
were likely to stem from
feelings of worthlessness
related to societal prejudice.
“Alcohol and drug use for
any stigmatised population is
always going to be greater,”
said one, “because drugs take
you out of yourself and give
you a break from being you
and dealing with the world.
For far too many people
struggling with self-loathing
it can be a soft suicide. They
feel different and strange and
isolated; if getting wasted
means you’ll be accepted
by people who think you’re
different and strange, that’s
what you’re going to do.”
Alcohol can also let people
express same-sex attraction:
“Especially people in
marriages, women who get
drunk at a party and find
themselves snogging their
best friends; or married
men using alcohol to get the
courage to have sex with
another man.”
One informant described
drug and alcohol use as
“normalised” in segments of
the LGBTT communities.
“You have to take drugs
when you go to a party - it’s
okay to get drunk. I see more
and more people on the scene
who are binge drinking and
still being served alcohol.”
Five informants commented on sexual health issues. While
they were all aware of the HIV epidemic, they expressed
no concern about how it is being managed for LGBTT
communities.
Three said that many patrons
of gay and lesbian venues
drank and smoked heavily
and used other drugs. One
said that under 18-year-old
LGBTT people were getting
into Auckland bars such as
Family and Urge. Another
said Asian gay men drank
alcohol and sometimes
took dance pills, but did
not otherwise use drugs.
One said that drug use was
common among transgender
street sex workers on
Karangahape Rd.
Sexual health
The arrival of the HIV
epidemic in the gay and
bisexual male population
combined with heterosexism
in health services poses
problems for LGBTT sexual
health. Gay and bisexual men
who fail to practice safe sex
continue to be at risk of HIV
infection, and they also have
a higher risk of gonorrhoea,
chlamydia, hepatitis A and B
(Saxton et al, 2002).
An Australian research
review points to higher
rates of unsafe sex among
same-sex attracted young
people compared to their
heterosexual peers (MAC,
2003). It also cites USA
research which found that
transgender sex workers
were stigmatised within the
industry and were more likely
to engage in unprotected sex
if clients demanded it.
treatments (HRC, 2008;
MAC, 2003). This focus
on genital difference as
abnormality often creates
a very negative body image
for intersex people, with
profound effects on their
sense of wellbeing and adult
sexual expression.
The 2006 GAPSS study
(Saxton et al, 2006) found
that four out of five men
whose first experience of anal
sex occurred that year used a
condom and that condom use
on this occasion has steadily
increased over time. “This is
a considerable achievement
by gay and bisexual men in
response to HIV,” the survey
concluded.
These men most commonly
reported first having anal
sex at 17, closely followed by
18 and 19; condom use was
lowest among those who first
had anal sex before the age of
16. The study also reported
an HIV prevalence of 4.4%
among men who have sex
with men, although this was
higher in Auckland.
Intersex people often
undergo unnecessary and
recurrent medical treatment
and examination during
their childhood, usually
without their consent or
understanding, and without
support or counselling or
information on alternative
One informant said he saw a culture of safe sex among his
young Pakeha gay male peers. He said international students
tended to use condoms somewhat less, and that language
barriers may make safe sex more difficult to integrate. He was
concerned about the sexual health messages for young men of
one bar which played barebacking porn videos.
Another informant said that the Family Planning Association
had become more pro-active about LGBTT issues, producing
their first sexuality booklet for lesbians in 2007.
Heterosexism in agencies and
services
LGBTT people have responded to systemic heterosexism
and discrimination by publishing or contributing to a range
of New Zealand resources aiming to create more accepting
social environments. The 1990s saw a rash of publications; a
guide for alcohol and drug treatment workers (MacEwan &
Kinder, 1991), social and health agencies (Rankine, 1992), the
education sector (Liggins et al, 1993), workplaces (Sangster &
Torrie, 1994), and health and disability services (Bloomfield et
al, 1995). This output slowed significantly, although a training
workbook on alcohol and drug treatment for LGBTT people
was recently compiled (Rands, 2007).
However, many equal employment opportunity (EEO) and
diversity policies exclude or marginalise sexual identity. For
example, the EEO Trust’s two-yearly diversity survey does not
ask employers about their treatment of LGBTT workers.
The attitude of health professionals towards sexual identity
was important to participants in the Lavender Islands study
when they chose their health provider. A majority of the
LGBTT people in this study - 83% of women and 65% of
men - said that their healthcare provider usually or always
presumed them to be heterosexual (Neville & Henrickson,
Matt @ GayNZ.com
osteoporosis in transsexual
and intersex people (Saxton
et al, 2002; MAC, 2003).
2006). A minority - 35% of men and 28% of women - had not
told their health provider about their sexual identity.
While most participants said their healthcare providers were
positive when they disclosed their sexual identity or that it did
not affect their care, 11% of women and 6% of men said their
healthcare providers were uncomfortable with this disclosure.
Five percent of participants in the earlier Lesbian Health
Survey also reported a negative response from health workers
(Saphira & Glover, 1999).
Informants said that some
lesbians and gay men in inner
city suburbs were able to find
gay and lesbian-friendly GPs,
but those living elsewhere
had to choose whether to
come out to their GP.
A group of New Zealand health professionals and health
service and policy managers agreed that clinical examinations
and treatment were potentially compromised if LGBTT
people are unable to disclose their sexual identity to their
health professional (Adams et al, 2007).
One said that lesbian
health needs have been
overshadowed by HIV,
which was more urgent and
extreme. “There isn’t a lobby
or voice for lesbians and
breast cancer, for example.”
Some lesbians with cancer
had not found NGO services
appropriate. Another
informant said that takatapui
wahine with Hepatitis C
usually have the genotype
that is most difficult to
treat, compared to the more
treatable genotype found
among Pakeha.
Specialist health services for transgender and intersex people
are extremely limited, and
often too costly for many
transgender people. Health
professionals’ knowledge about
transgender issues, hormone
therapies and their long term
physical effects is also limited.
There are no established
guidelines for medical
practitioners, which subjects
transgender clients to variable
standards of care (HRC, 2008:
MAC, 2003).
Ten informants discussed
health issues, with most
commenting on the lack of
knowledge of LGBTT issues
in mainstream mental and physical health services. One said:
“LGBTT people have appalling health statistics - mental
health, suicide, drug use, less likely to visit doctors. It’s well
documented but not being taken up at a government level. The
Ministry of Health should be going ‘this is outrageous for this
community to be facing these issues’.”
Another said: LGBTT people are poorly served in health care
because GPs are embarrassed to ask you the same questions
they ask heterosexuals. They might ask a woman whether she
is using contraception and if she says no, then not ask any
more questions. Men who identify as gay aren’t being offered
anal swabs. You don’t get offered screening as frequently.”
One informant said: “We need every programme to be gay
friendly. Two men or two women or transgender people
walking into any other community centre is going to cause a
riot; they’re unlikely to know how to help them.”
Under-use of health services
Participants in the Lesbian Health Survey tended to delay
seeking health care from professionals, replicating a pattern
found in international research (Saphira & Glover, 1999). This
means they are more likely to visit a health service later in an
illness when it is potentially more severe and less amenable to
treatment (MAC, 2003). This may lead to reduced screening
for several health conditions, which can be compounded by
false beliefs among health
workers and LGBTT
communities that LGBTT
people are at low risk for
some conditions.
One UK resource about
older LGB people said that
social and health providers
need to “ ‘come out’ as gay
or lesbian friendly rather
than depending upon clients
to ‘come out’ in order to
get their needs met” (Age
Concern, 2005).
Overseas research suggests
that lesbians may be underscreened for cervical and
breast cancer and diabetes;
and that health professionals
may not be aware of other
health risks such as anal
cancer and eating disorders
in gay and bisexual
men, ovarian cancer in
lesbians, cancers related to
hormone therapy as well as
One informant said that
transgender people would
not go to a straight doctor,
“unless a sister referred
them”. Three commented
about the black market in
hormones for transgender
people. “Some will take 10
tablets a day to get breasts
really quickly, not realising
the damage they’re doing to
themselves,” said one. “They
can’t get access to hormone
therapy - it’s too expensive to
see an endocrinologist.”
One informant had had
positive experiences dealing
with a mainstream mental
health provider, but had
been the only out gay user of
the service. Two informants
talked about a combination
of homophobia and overwork
prompting mental health
services to offload clients
onto voluntary gay and HIV
support groups. Another said
there were no services that
met the health and cultural
needs of takatapui with
mental health problems.
young people who had run
away or been ousted by their
family. “I couldn’t send them
to a night shelter or they
wouldn’t go because it was
too dangerous” said one.
“There wasn’t anywhere to
send them.”
temporary accommodation place. We haven’t found a solution
- it’s a big difficulty.” Another informant said that there was a
need for more than one respite house for stays of up to a week,
but that funding structures favoured long-term housing.
One informant talked about LGBTT people with little or no
income being forced to live in chronically poor housing; with
not enough money to pay for power, they use candles and cold
water.
Two men or two women or transgender people walking into
any other community centre is going to cause a riot; they’re
unlikely to know how to help them.
Housing
In the USA, national studies
suggest that as many of
50% of all homeless youth
may be gay or lesbian, with
estimates of up to 30% in
UK urban centres. This
data may underestimate
the issue among LGBTT
youth, as they may hide
their sexual identity to get
accommodation and because
emergency accommodation
agencies may not monitor
sexuality as a contributing
factor (Roche, 2005).
Young homeless LGBT
people often move to urban
centres after running away
or being forced out of their
home; many may be under
pressure to take sexual risks.
Bisexual or same-sex
attracted students in the
Youth 2000 survey who had
come out to their families
were twice as likely to
have run away from home
overnight more than once in
the last 12 months than those
who had not come out. Those
who had come out were
almost five times as likely to
have spent a night away from
home without permission
during most weeks than
those who had not come out.
Ten informants said housing
was a difficulty or a crisis
for LGBTT people at some
times in their lives. Several
had been asked for help by
Another said some young
people who have been
chucked out by their parents
go to a gay club, “and
some have ended up in a
lot of trouble. I’ve had text
messages at 11pm saying can
someone sleep on my couch
because they have nowhere
to go. I can’t do it if I don’t
know them, and I wonder
what’s happened to some of
those kids.”
One said that a supported
residential service may be
needed to help transgender
and gay people under 15
who’ve been working in the
sex industry to detox and
change their lives. Child,
Youth and Family Services
(CYFS) had a responsibility
for young people up to 16
who cannot live with a family
member.
One informant talked about
being put in three different
placements by CYFS, none
of which was suitable. The
fear of homelessness and loss
of financial support from
parents kept many young
people from coming out to
their families, one said.
Another said there was a gap
in accommodation services
for 17 to 19-year-olds. “They
end up living at friends’
houses.” The problem was
Auckland-wide. Young
people still at school need
a place close to their school
and friends: “it makes the
problem much worse to
change school and area,
so we need more than one
Another crisis point can come
for older people in heterosexual
relationships when one of them
comes out. “We get calls from
women who came out and their
parents turfed them out or their husband doesn’t want them
in the house,” said one. Some people can lose their homes
when they escape domestic violence. “They may have been in a
closeted relationship for some years, maybe with a controlling
partner and they have nowhere to go.”
Housing during transition can become a crisis for transgender
people. After transition, they often lack documentation and
references in their new name and identity, so may not be able
to get rental housing.
Two people talked about mental health issues in housing.
Some LGBTT people with mental health problems may not
be able to maintain shared living arrangements but may also
not earn enough to be able to live on their own. Some have
experienced harassment by neighbours or landlords, but may
not want to go to Housing New Zealand.
Conventional homeless shelters are often not suitable for gay
men or transgender people, as they risk violence from other
users. One informant knew several LGBTT people who were
homeless or who lived in a car. “One takatapui wahine had
been living in her car for three years. Neighbours harassed her
when she was in a house, forced her out of the neighbourhood.
So you have no address, no phone number, you can’t even get
the benefit.”
Same-sex domestic violence
One New Zealand study suggested that the prevalence of
domestic violence within lesbian relationships is similar to
opposite sex relationships, and is an issue of power and control.
Heterosexism makes it difficult for LGBT communities to
acknowledge the issue, ask for and receive support for either
party involved (Brown, 1995).
Seven informants talked about power imbalances or domestic
violence in same-sex relationships. One said there was no
organised support or community action about relationship
violence between women apart from Women’s Refuge.
Another queried whether refuges would be available to
male to female transgender victims of partner violence. The
organisation has no national policy about this; individual
refuges make their own decisions and have provided
housing and support for MtF transgender people (personal
communication).
Three informants said young men can be very vulnerable in
first relationships with older men. “Many young guys tend to
have a really bad first sexual experience,” said one. “They may
be naive, meeting people off the net for coffee, and they don’t
know how to say no about going back to his place.”
“Most of the Asian gay men here are students, aged around
20 without family support,” said one. “They try to get into a
relationship straight away for the security and support they
don’t get from their families. There can be power imbalance in
relationships with older, more established Pakeha men. They
often have nowhere to go if he is violent.”
Takatapui
The Lavender Islands study identified ways in which Maori
takatapui/LGBT and non-Maori LGBT identities are
constructed differently and suggested that these differences
are integrated by Maori during their life course through
relationships, whanau,
spirituality and culture
(Henrickson, 2006b).
One informant said that many
Maori LGBTT people may be
disassociated from their culture
and reo: “We’re more than just
who we sleep with; if we’re
Maori there’s tikanga needs.”
A community centre needed to
have links with iwi to supply
these cultural needs.
Mahinaarangi Tocker
Te Aronga Hou Inaianei (TAHI) has a communal rather than
individualistic approach to sexual identity, said co-ordinator
Mama Tere Tahere-Strickland. “What works is an inclusive
centre, rather than one that’s exclusively gay.”
Older LGBTT people
In recent interviews, older gays and lesbians in the Blue
Mountains west of Sydney and older lesbians in a London
borough reported direct discrimination from aged care
providers as well as the assumption of heterosexuality among
clients and provider failure to provide lesbian or gay friendly
services (Hughes, 2007; River, 2006).
One UK agency has estimated that, in a rest home or village
of 50 older people, at least three are likely to be lesbian or gay
(Age Concern, 2005). It cites USA research, which found that
older LGB people are more likely to depend on professional
care services because they are twice as likely to be single,
more than twice as likely to live alone and more than four
times as likely to have no children to call upon for help as
heterosexuals.
In 2002, the Auckland
region had the highest
number of people aged 65
or more (115,765), but the
lowest proportion at 10 %
(Pearce, 2004). Older people
who move to retirement
villages want to stay within
their local community and
do not want to be consigned
to sites at the end of the
motorway.
One Northland lesbian
published her experience of
being separated from her
long-term partner who has
Alzheimers, and estimated
that there could be 900
lesbians with dementia
in Aotearoa (Oné, 2007).
She organised meetings in
Auckland, Northland and
Wellington that resulted in
the formation of a Lesbian
Elders Village organisation
in Auckland (LEV, 2008).
Five informants talked about
issues for older LGBTT
people. “We will have a
whole generation of older
lesbians with very few
services,” said one. “Grey
Power and Age Concern and
those groups don’t see us and
don’t want to see us; we’re
invisible to them.” Another
talked of a population of
older LGBTT “people who
don’t have family support”.
Age Concern UK says the first cohort of transgender people
who have taken hormone therapy for 30 years or more is now
also reaching old age. Many LGBT residents in homes or
retirement villages may remain closeted because of fear of
prejudice or exclusion by other residents or staff. This means
that many aged care staff believe they have never worked with
a gay resident.
7 Findings on unmet LGBTT community needs
This section summarises those needs that informant interviews
and survey responses indicate are not being met by LGBTT
organisations or mainstream services.
Drop-in centre
Sixteen informants and 11
survey respondents saw this as
a major need, preferably with
a café attached. “We need a
LGBTT place for overseas
visitors or those new to
Auckland,” said one informant.
Another said that internet
and phone contact was not enough: “We need a face-to-face
service. A lot of people coming out are very hesitant. They’re
not going to go charging up stairs. They need somewhere open
where they can walk past and decide.” Another said that they
wouldn’t go to a gay bar by themselves, but would go to a café
in a community centre alone.
Other survey suggestions
included large community
meetings, practices, a hall
with a stage, exhibition
space, and a garden. One
informant said there was
a need for performing and
visual arts space that was
affordable for LGBTT
community groups. Two
respondents suggested
separate spaces available for
lesbians, gay men and other
sectors of the community.
One respondent suggested “a relaxed, safe space and social
area with couches, TV, pool table.” Two suggested an LGBTT
internet café, or “an LGBTT Borders”: An “alcohol-free, 24hour drop-in and recreational facility - gay bookshop with
coffee lounge, gay theatre”. One wanted late-night washing
facilities and lockers.
Another informant wanted
to see a meeting space run by
LGBTT groups, where they
could bring local and central
government officials and
agencies “to our space, where
we have power and a base to
talk with them”.
A drop-in centre was seen as especially important for people
coming out, those isolated in the suburbs, and those who don’t
want to go to bars and clubs. Two informants wanted to see
LGBTT drop-in spaces in several Auckland areas - north,
south, east and west. “It would be nice if each little suburb had
a day in the community centre when a LGBTT person could
provide resources and answer questions. This would support
smaller initiatives, so three women in Helensville, for example,
could find each other to talk about their children who’d just
come out.”
Meeting and event places
Forty-two survey respondents wanted more meeting and event
spaces for LGBTT people. Fifteen respondents and eight
informants stressed the need for alternatives to commercial
bars and nightclubs. They wanted quiet meeting and social
spaces that were not based on alcohol or sex, as well as more
alcohol and drug-free LGBTT events.
One respondent wrote that it would need to be “safe, not
a place for sexual predators, [with] ethics to protect young
people and those coming out”. One informant said that
transgender people starting to transition need a safe place to
go where they can dress as their chosen gender and be social.
Informants and respondents wanted spaces for a range
of LGBTT events: “We need a venue to host our own
celebrations, events, parties, conferences and workshops,”
said one respondent. “We can’t celebrate ten years of a gay
relationship at the local church hall.” Another wanted to see
“Poetry readings, performances, music and art workshops,
visiting lecturers, debates, pot luck meals, tea dances”.
Co-ordination
Fifteen respondents and
five informants wanted
more office space for small
community groups with
shared facilities such
as a copier, kitchen, fax
and secretarial service.
One respondent wanted
“incubator office space for
new groups”, a role filled by
the Pride Centre until four
years ago. Two informants
and three survey respondents
said many small community
groups and networks needed
low-cost venues.
Six informants and six
survey respondents said
that being located in the
same building would make
smaller community groups
more effective, would help
information sharing between
groups, and make it easier to
maintain updated database
of groups, services and
LGBTT-friendly referrals.
“Groups and service
providers [could] share office
amenities and hardware
to lower costs,” said one
respondent. “Many existing
organisations are able only
to offer limited services.
Co-ordination of services
and funding would be
good.” said another. “Many
of the existing groups are
disconnected and don’t
necessarily share information,
with the risk that knowledge
about initiatives is missed
or organisations overlap in
what they provide.” Another
respondent said that empathy
between LGBTT groups
“needs to be encouraged”.
Accurate
information for
and about LGBTT
communities
Twenty-four respondents
and most informants said
there was a need for easier
access to information about
LGBTT issues and groups.
This included face-to-face
information for visitors
and LGBTT people new
to Auckland, as well as
information available in
writing, by phone, email
or the internet. Several
mentioned that there was
a need for “an LGBTT
Citizens Advice Bureau”
(CAB).
One said most LGBTT
social service groups rely on
volunteers and don’t have
the resources for “a really
well-maintained information
database”. Users needed to
be able to find groups and
individuals “by a range of
criteria, such as activity,
sexual identity, location
and cost. If information is
not current and users get
inaccurate information, they
don’t come back.”
Three informants talked
about people who were
questioning their sexuality
approaching LGBTT
community groups believing
inaccurate information they
had gained from churches,
mainstream community
centres, families, peers or
conservative organisations.
“People go to libraries, skulk
in women’s centres, surf the
internet and get all kinds of
bizarre information,” said
one. “They come thinking all
lesbians are psychologically
unwell, are promiscuous,
don’t have long term
relationships, and so on.
They are scared to leave an
unhappy 25-year marriage
for an environment where
they believe they’ll never
have a long term relationship
Services for
LGBTT youth
Two informants saw a need
for mentoring programmes
for LGBTT students in and
outside schools.
with a partner who is sane. A lot of women with kids also
fear they’ll lose their children, because they can’t find the
information that reassures them that the chances of that
happening are really low now.”
Fifteen survey respondents
wanted to see more support
and coming out groups;
Two talked about a need for an LGBTT list of frequently
ten said there was a need
asked questions, such as: “I’m 17 and I’ve been told if I kiss
for more support services
a boy my nuts will drop off.” Or: “How to tell your wife
for young LGBTT people.
that you’re gay”. Accurate information for secondary school
“Rainbow Youth does a
students was seen as a particular need.
great job, but needs to be
Two talked about the inappropriateness of CABs for LGBTT
three times the size and have
or questioning people seeking information: “They’d be very
groups all over Auckland,”
nice but it’d be like talking to your grandmother about sex said one. “We need antiyou wouldn’t
bullying
want to do
programmes in
They are scared to leave an unhappy 25-year marriage
it.”
for an environment where they believe they’ll never have every school,
not just gayOne
a long term relationship with a partner who is sane.
friendly ones.”
informant
Another said:
said there was a need for HIV/AIDS and LGBTT community
“More school programmes
information for gay and bisexual new migrants; this needed to
and groups, more visibility
be available in Mandarin and other Asian languages as well as
in public schools!” One
English. OUTLine currently has Mandarin, Cantonese and
suggested Big Brother/
Malay-speaking volunteer counsellors, but not on a scheduled
Big Sister mentoring
basis.
programmes.
Another said there was a gap in information for couples about
the legal issues following the changes from the Property and
Relationships and Civil Union Acts, given that many couples
can’t afford lawyers and are anxious about coming out to them.
A common need for survey respondents was information on
safe, LGBTT-friendly counselling and health services. One
who was new to Auckland wrote: “I couldn’t find out any
information about flats for lesbians in the city, so I am now in
a heterosexual flat and am very uncomfortable there.” Another
wanted resources about identity documents for transgender
people, and a third wanted assistance finding a job and life
coaching.
Professional services
Eight informants and 12 survey respondents said there was
a need for face-to-face counselling services in an LGBTT
environment. “A stronger counselling programme is a must,
for young people just coming out and those contemplating
re-assignment, before and after surgery,” said one respondent.
Other suggestions included free law clinics, like those run by
the CAB; JPs, and visits by Police Diversity Liaison Officers.
Services for
lesbians
Seven survey respondents
wanted services and spaces
specifically for lesbians:
“Lesbian only space; lesbian
dances that aren’t in bars.”
One said that lesbians often
had more in common with
other women than with
gay men. Another wanted
“groups and services that
connect all women-lovingwomen - bisexual, lesbian,
queer - in a feminist context.”
One was concerned that
lesbians are meeting on
the net in isolation from
community. One respondent
said that “bisexuals [are]
ignored in the lesbian
community”.
Support for
takatapui
The NZAF programme
Hauora Takatapui provides
a network for takatapui tane
and Te Aronga Hou Inaianei
(TAHI) in Papatoetoe is
oriented towards transgender
takatapui. However, two
informants said there is no
support group or network
for takatapui wahine. One
talked about two earlier
organisations - Wahine mo
nga Wahine o te Moana-nuia-Kiwa and Te Kakano o te
Whanau - which had filled
that role and supported te
reo and tikanga. “There are
no social places for takatapui
wahine.”
Women’s Refuge is the only
mainstream NGO involving
tangata whenua and Pasifika
women where a lesbian
caucus meets regularly: “it’s
quite normal there”.
those takatapui tane who
are struggling tend to be
young or have mental health
problems.
Support for LGBTT people from
minority ethnic communities
Support for older
LGBTT people
Four informants and five survey respondents mentioned
LGBT people among ethnic minorities, new migrant groups
and international student populations. “People may be
choosing to study in New Zealand because they can’t be gay
in their own countries or communities,” said one informant.
“There’s a need for support for settling in New Zealand as a
gay man,” said another.
Six informants and five
survey respondents discussed
the lack of support for
older LGBTT people.
Respondents wanted “rest
homes for elderly/infirm
gays”; “housing for elders,
groups for older lesbians
coming out” and more “social
needs and support for older
people, especially singles”.
Another said that LGBT people in ethnic minorities such
as African, Afgani, Iranian, Indian, Korean, Chinese and
others faced language barriers, were presumed heterosexual by
mainstream services, and needed social support for coming out
and dealing with racism in mainstream LGBT communities.
Another said that ethnic minority LGBT people may lose
their whole cultural support network if they come out.
The Long Yang Club is a social group for Asian gay men and
their Kiwi friends, but has no promotion budget and is hard
to find. There is a “lack of information and support for ethnic
minorities,” said one respondent.
Services for transgender people
Transgender advocacy groups are small and under-resourced
to tackle the entrenched discrimination facing transgender
people in most areas of society. One informant said
“Transgender are the most in need of advocacy and lobbying to
provide equal access to services and rights other people in New
Zealand take for granted in work, housing and health care.”
They mentioned the lack of programmes providing choices
and training for transgender sex workers who want to get off
the streets. One informant said that some Pacific cultures are
more accepting of their third sex members than others.
One respondent said there is “little for those partnered with
transgender”. Another said there were few places to be safely
out as a transsexual couple. “I would like info on where to find
others.” Another wanted more “transgendered advocates”.
Support for
LGBTT people
with disabilities
One informant talked of the
“layers of discrimination”
for those LGBTT people
with a disability. “There’s
a presumption that they’re
heterosexual or not sexual at
all. We’re far less sensitised
to disability than in the late
80s.” Many LGBTT bars,
venues and community group
meetings, especially lesbian
ones, have been upstairs or
otherwise inaccessible to
people with disabilities.
Three survey respondents
wanted greater recognition of
the needs of LGBTT people
with disabilities, starting
with “wheelchair accessible
venues”.
Social support
for families with
children
Two informants and three
survey respondents wanted
more support for LGBTT
parents and the parents of
LGBTT children. One
informant wanted more
LGBTT events like the
Big Gay Out that include
families. “The children of our
mates loved it, being there
with kids of other gay parents
just blew them away,” one
said. They also wanted play
groups and parents’ support
groups for families with
children of different ages.
Heterosexism in mainstream services
Nine informants and five survey respondents raised the lack of
training about heterosexism and LGBTT issues in health and
social services. “We need specific government policy, training
for health workers, change at every level,” said one informant.
“There’s no attempt to make health environments welcoming
and accepting for LGBTT people.” Another said that some
Maori Hauora organisations were scared of gay issues and
needed “to take on this kaupapa”. Others spoke of the lack of
sexuality training for GPs.
“There is no systematic diversity training in Government
agencies that includes training about LGBTT issues and
there should be,” said one respondent. Another wanted more
“lobbying/working with other community groups/social and
health services to provide appropriate services to LGBTT
people”.
Another pointed at the lack of a centre of expertise for a sector
to call if they have a problem with sexuality issues.
None of the groups interviewed (see Appendix 2) have an
organised programme of diversity or heterosexism training for
non-LGBTT agencies and services, although a few provide
some ad hoc training.
Other LGBTT health and social needs
Thirteen respondents and 11 informants wanted centralised
access to LGBTT health services, including mental health,
health promotion, HIV testing and information. One
informant wanted to see more holistic health promotion
focused on wellness, rather than on problems. Another said: “I
know a lot of people with depression; a depression or a general
mental health support group would be good.”
Four informants discussed inadequacies in alcohol and drug
services for LGBTT people. One had had people referred to
them with alcohol and drug issues because the appropriate
agencies were not able to deal with gender issues.
Four survey respondents wrote about specific health needs.
One said: “There needs to be LGBTT-specific health
promotion, eg on pathways to parenthood, tobacco, alcohol
and drug use, addiction and gambling”. Others wanted easier
access to hormone treatment for transgender people, services
for LGBTT people with severe mental health problems, and
lesbian health services.
One informant was positive about the use of diversity liaison
officers in the Police and defence forces and wanted to see
them in health and government services.
One informant and one survey respondent raised problem
gambling. “[Some Asian gay men] don’t have family here
and can do anything they want; their parents are just putting
money into their account.”
Housing
Ten informants and eight survey respondents said short-term
respite housing was a major community need. “Auckland
often ends up as a haven for many young gay people who are
kicked out of home or forced to run away from unliveable
environments,” said one respondent. “Currently there is
nowhere for these people to go, which becomes more and more
of an issue as people come out at a younger age. The addition
of a half-way house to the gay community to help get our
youth back on their feet would be a great asset.”
Other respondents wrote about “queer youth homelessness”,
housing for older transgender people, and lesbian housing
needs.
“Transgender people living in rental complexes have been
seriously intimidated and traumatised by other tenants, and
there has been nowhere for the victimised person to go,” one
said.
Community development
Seven informants and four survey respondents said there
was a need for LGBTT community development in addition
to service provision. This could include supporting the
creation of new community groups and services, creating
new programmes, projects and advocacy. We need “facilities
so community groups and activities can be nurtured and
developed,” said one respondent. Other examples suggested
included “a night for gay dads; an Indian lesbian shared lunch;
a non-alcoholic party for gay 14-year-olds”; a clothing and
skills exchange.
All the organisations contacted focus on supplying specific
services, and only the NZAF has staff whose jobs include
community development.
Four informants and four survey respondents said there was a
need for anti-violence programmes. “We need to do something
about hate crimes,” said one respondent. “Emergency, police
and health services have to understand the needs of victims of
hate violence, and notify same-sex partners, for example. The
police are getting much better but still have a long way to go.”
One respondent said: “The disturbing rise in homophobia on
K Rd needs to be stamped out quickly”.
Three informants and two survey respondents said there
was a need to go beyond anti-violence or diversity training
and do social marketing campaigns. “Voluntary LGBTT
organisations don’t have the time or resources to do that,” said
one informant. Another said there was a case for health sector
funding for anti-heterosexism campaigns. We need “more
campaigns showing acceptance and tolerance towards LGBTT
people and relationships in public,” said one respondent.
Political action
Two informants and eight survey respondents wanted to see
ongoing political action for LGBTT rights. One informant
said that while LGBTT people are represented in national
politics, “local bodies are the last bastion of homophobia”.
Survey respondents wanted a community centre to provide
“political coalition spaces”, “political advocacy, activism and
discussion” and “campaigns to lobby for legal equality with
heterosexuals in all areas”.
“One of the odd things is that we don’t have a national queer
network or umbrella organisation,” said another. “If we had
something like that, that may be very helpful as a vehicle
for unity, to increase political clout, to increase networking,
to outreach into communities outside the cities, to increase
community profile and be a voice on issues. Right now we lack
this, except through the NZAF as a proxy.” Two survey respondents saw the need for a research
clearinghouse about LGBTT issues, including use of drugs
and “research to back up submission for more commitment
from local government agencies and organisations”. One informant and one respondent said any community centre
needed workers from each of the major LGBTT communities.
Workplaces and commercial
accommodation
One informant said that diversity training should be part of
being a good employer. Another pointed out that workplace
diversity often referred to ethnicity and excluded LGBTT
people.
One respondent said: “Help with finding employment seems
to be an area that isn’t catered for. This can be a challenge
for transgender.” Another wanted “support for workers rights,
LGBTT union activities, and beneficiaries’ rights, including
single parents”.
Another informant remembered being anxious about being
public about their sexual identity when staying away from
home: “it destroyed a couple of holidays. That’s why I want
to see a symbol for lesbian/gay friendly on hotels, motels and
campgrounds, something to indicate to all the highly anxious
LGBTT people out there that they can relax.”
Inclusion
The tension between being inclusive and enabling different
sectors of the community to have their own social and political
spaces was evident in some of the comments from informants
and respondents. One respondent said there was a “marked
separation that needs to be addressed” between different
sectors of the community; another wanted non-gay support for
transgender people; and another said a centre needed “womenonly space/men-only space”.
One informant said her group had discussed the inclusion of
transgender lesbians, and summarised different viewpoints in
the non-transgender lesbian community: “How can you be a
lesbian if you’ve been a man for most of your life; and who are
we to tell transgender people what they can be?”
One transgender informant said: “a number of groups,
including lesbian groups, don’t say that they’re inclusive. You
just have to turn up and see if there’s a problem.”
8 LGBTT interactions with Auckland City Council
The history of Auckland City Council interactions with
the LGBTT community is mixed. A majority of informants
and three survey respondents mentioned prejudicial remarks
about LGBTT people made by one or more current Council
members, and saw this as an indication that LGBTT issues
would receive no support at this level.
Two mentioned the large-scale and high-level political support
given to LGBTT communities by cities such as Sydney,
San Francisco, London, New York and Manchester, where
the council “put their own events people in to help rescue
the Pride Festival when it ran into trouble”. Compared to
this, they saw Auckland City Council’s interaction with the
LGBTT community as grudging and partial.
Another said: “If the Council makes a commitment to the
Chinese and other ethnic communities for festivals, they need
to do more than allow Pt Chevalier to be used [for the Big
Gay Out]”. What one informant described as “the Council’s
discrimination” against Hero in 1994 when it refused to fund
the Hero Parade still resonated with many, as did the resulting
Council meeting in the Town Hall which enabled the airing
of extreme homophobic views.
“The Council charged the maximum for cleanup and made
it as difficult as possible for Hero,” said another. Comments
made at the time by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor during
a discussion on funding for the Gay and Lesbian (later the
Pride) Centre led the centre to take a discrimination case to
the Human Rights Commission.
The Pride Centre later obtained funding from the Auckland
City Council for events, as well as permits for its Coming
Out Days and marches. The centre organised two surveys of
candidates’ opinions and attitudes before local body elections.
All informants appreciated the co-ordinating function of
the Auckland City Council’s quarterly LGBTT Network
meetings, first proposed by the Pride Centre in the mid-1990s.
It brought groups together which did not otherwise interact.
Several also appreciated the Auckland City Council’s support
of a 20th anniversary of homosexual law reform function at
the Auckland Town Hall in 2006.
The NZAF reported a very “supportive” and close relationship
with Auckland City Council staff on planning for the Big
Gay Out, including licensing, security, neighbour liaison and
cleaning up. Some informants represented LGBTT groups
that booked community halls for regular events: “They’ve
always been extremely positive, friendly and courteous - they
don’t shriek or throw up their hands in horror - we’ve never
had a problem”. One group had had major difficulties two
years running with the Auckland City Council doublebooking a large venue, necessitating a last minute shift both
times.
Informants knew of three
LGBTT community groups
that currently receive
Council funding towards
rent, and four that have
recently received Council
or community board
funding towards projects.
One informant had been a
member of Auckland City’s
Youth Council but was
harassed so much about their
sexual identity that they left.
One informant and
three survey respondents
mentioned non-LGBTT
community centres in the
context of places where it
was not safe to come out,
where people questioning
their sexuality had received
inaccurate or prejudicial
information or where there
was little knowledge of
LGBTT issues.
Policy
The Auckland City Council’s Inclusive Auckland policy,
published in 2007, mentions sexuality as one of many
factors in “diverse cultural expression”, but goes on to define
culture only in terms of ethnicity. One informant said
that Wellington’s policy was more inclusive. “Once we are
included in policies at that level, [councils] have to address
our needs as of right in the Annual Plan.”
Wellington City’s Culture Strategy identifies eight features
that should be supported. One is: “Diversity – celebrating
and nurturing the differences amongst people and their
customs”. Diversity is not exclusively defined and the
strategy’s objectives are • To ensure that WCC policies and practices are
considerate of the needs of people from diverse groups.
• To ensure that people from diverse groups are able to
access Wellington City Council’s services.
• To support people from diverse groups to understand and
access services from other agencies – government and nongovernment.
• To support and promote a range of events and
celebrations which reflect the diverse composition of the
city.
Auckland City Council has an internal employee
support group called GiLBerT, which aims to make the
workplace a positive environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender employees. It is one of Auckland City Council’s
employee support groups that offers help, encouragement and
networking services to its employees.
9 Why a community centre?
One hundred and four survey respondents
answered this question, with a range of overlapping reasons.
Forty-six saw it as a focal point, contributing to community
cohesion and making community information accessible to
visitors and non-LGBTT organisations.
Comments on this theme included:
• “The ‘community’ is so disconnected, a focus point where all
LGBTT could feel at home would be fab.”
• “A non-commercial space which groups and services shared
would create politicisation and coalition, which will help
society to change as well as people to gain solidarity with each
other and to feel supported.”
• “We need a heart, a centre; a visible place for visitors,
those coming out and mainstream services to get help and
information.”
• “A central place for information, help, advice, a sense of ‘our
place’.”
• “Great to have one main place - cohesive for LGBTT.”
Sixteen people’s main reasons for a community centre focused
on support • “It would be a place where people with similar interests
meet and where they can get support.”
• “So LGBTT people can make confident, sustaining
relationships.”
• “I like the idea of it being like a bigger brother to help
Rainbow Youth members transition.”
Thirteen people emphasised a need for safety • “Would be good to have a place that felt safe just for us.”
• “Because it would be a massive comfort.”
• “Safe, welcoming space.”
Eight focused on the need for an alternative to bars and
commercial venues • “We need a non-alcohol, low noise, safe environment with
information for LGBT of all ages.”
• “Because there is nowhere to meet others for support or
socialising that is not commercial.”
• “To increase access for non-scene people, non-commercial
related activities.”
Ten said a community centre would fill a gap • “There’s nowhere that is actually OURS.”
• “Services run by volunteers are limited.”
• “We don’t have anything now.”
Two focused on lesbian support • “But there is a need for lesbian-only space within or
attached to [a community centre].”
Matt @ GayNZ.com
One wanted to discuss new ideas and one believed that
funding and lobbying “is biased towards mainstream rather
than minority groups”. Another did not find existing
venues supportive for non-gay transgender people. One
said OUTLine was not suitable due to its location and
the Rainbow Youth office is too small, while another said
OUTLine “could easily fulfil [a community centre] with
adequate and secure funding”.
Only two of the people who didn’t know if there was a need
for a community centre gave a reason. One said: “The socioeconomic group I mix with doesn’t differentiate so I don’t
feel the need for a LGBTT facility - but that is just me”. The
other was concerned about avoiding capture by one group, and
ensuring that a centre was welcoming for “all takatapui and
unsure/curious people”.
10 What needs would a community centre supply?
All informants and 87% (116) of the 134 survey
respondents said there was a need for an LGBTT community
centre in Auckland City. Fifteen (11%) of the
respondents said they didn’t know, one said yes
and don’t know, two did not answer. None said
a community centre was not needed.
Where demographic details were identified, all
seven of those under 25 said yes, while more
gay men (six) than lesbians (two) were unsure.
Fourteen percent (11) of those living in the
Auckland City Council area were unsure.
The most common community need identified
by survey respondents (107, 80%) was for coming out groups
and services. The next most common was for mental health
services, identified by 75% (100). Sixty-one percent (82)
said there was a need for anti-discrimination campaigns and
meeting places for LGBTT groups. Fifty-four percent (73)
saw a need for alcohol and drug services for LGBTT people.
Fifty-two percent (70) wanted services for older LGBTT
people and half (67) saw a need for support of LGBTT
families.
Just under half (65) saw a need for LGBTT-specific health
services and services for transgender people. Forty-five percent
(60) wanted anti-violence services. Twenty-nine percent (39)
saw a need for services for takatapui people and 25% (34) for
housing services.
These needs were matched to geographical area. The majority
of respondents (60% of the total) lived in the Auckland City
Council area; 39 (29%) lived in the inner city zone identified
by Saxton and Hughes as having a high proportion of gay
men. Fourteen (10%) lived in North Shore City, 10% in
Manukau City and 9% in Waitakere City; 10% did not state
their suburb.
Ye s
D o n 't kn o w
These two answers combined
indicate a strong need for a
set of services and activities
similar to those provided by
overseas community centres
and the Pride Centre -
Answers to the survey question:
Do you think there is a need for an
LGBTT community centre?
• A focal point and meeting
space for the community,
providing information
to mainstream services
and anti-discrimination
campaigns.
• Support and coming out
services and safe, alcohol-free
social space.
• Mental health, alcohol and
drug services, and support
for older LGBTT people and
families.
A higher proportion of Manukau City than Auckland City
respondents wanted housing services, anti-violence services
and anti-discrimination campaigns. All of the respondents
who lived in Waitakere City saw a need for alcohol and drug
services, and a higher proportion also saw a need for housing,
anti-violence and anti-discrimination campaigns.
Fifty-two percent (70) of survey respondents gave their gender
identity; just over half of this group were male, over one-third
were female and 7% were transgender.
A similar proportion identified their ethnicity; of these 84%
were Pakeha, 5% Maori, 5% Chinese and 3% Pacific. Fifty
percent stated their age; of these 65% were between 25 and 50,
25% over 50, all Pakeha, and 10% under 25, all but one male.
Most respondents (88, 66%) used or worked for, voluntarily
or for pay, at least two LGBTT organisations; one-fifth
were involved with four or more. Sixteen percent (21) said
they neither worked for nor used any LGBTT groups, and
19% (25) were involved with only one. Of those, the most
commonly used was a commercial venue (nine), followed by
informal networks (eight).
Where should a centre be located?
Eighty-four percent (113) of the survey respondents gave a
preferred location for the centre; 42 gave a single answer,
fifteen gave a location with a qualifier, and the rest gave
multiple locations. All the informants suggested a location.
Twenty-one respondents and nine informants said a centre
needed to be accessible by public transport and have lots of
parking.
The most popular location was
central Auckland (54 survey
respondents). While many
informants wanted a centre to
be centrally located, no one
suggested the CBD because
of the difficulty of finding a
carpark, or, for some, safety:
“Would you feel comfortable
leaving Pitt St at 11 at night?”
Ponsonby was next highest among survey respondents
(24), and supported by seven informants. One informant
argued: “Ponsonby Rd is not where the need is for services.
The likelihood of some homeless kid or some trannie in
trouble with the police for soliciting finding it halfway down
Ponsonby Rd is slight.”
Eight informants and 15 survey respondents suggested
Karangahape Rd: “There are good buses and everyone knows
that’s where you go if you’re queer,” said one informant. One
respondent wrote: “K Rd, ideally as it’s the centre of gayville”.
Rainbow Youth said some parents and youth don’t want to
come to their Karangahape Rd office because they feel it is
unsafe.
Four informants suggested inner city suburbs such as Grey
Lynn or Mt Eden, largely due to the difficulty of finding a
park in the CBD or Ponsonby. Grey Lynn was supported
by 15 survey respondents; 11 said “central”. Eight wanted a
central location with satellites in South Auckland, the North
Shore, West and East Auckland. Six voted for the inner city,
another six for Mt Eden and four said Kingsland. Four also
just said “near transport”. Two each voted for Mt Albert,
Freemans Bay and “anywhere”, and one each suggested Mt
Wellington, Pt Chevalier and West Auckland.
One informant said that LGBTT people on low incomes
“aren’t going to own a home in Ponsonby” and for many
takatapui out south or west “coming into the city is a hoha.
Maybe Three Kings; Southside people can get there and West
Aucklanders can come through Hillsborough”. Another
suggested Otahuhu, because that would be accessible to people
from South Auckland.
Others had had enough of old buildings: “The last thing I
want to see is some scummy little office in a back street that
people don’t want to go to, with that slightly dirty bookshop
feel. It needs to be comfortable and smart, as you would expect
from any business or community organisation.”
Central A uc k land
P ons onby
K arangahape Rd
G rey Ly nn
O ther inner c ity
S atellites
Three respondents stressed
that any centre needed
to be accessible to people
in wheelchairs or with
disabilities; many LGBTT
community groups and
venues have not been able to
afford accessible premises.
While current OUTLine
expertise could supply
many of the services of
a community centre,
feedback indicates that the
organisation would need to
be in a different location to
do this.
Summary of answers to the survey
question: Where should an LGBTT
community centre be located?
11 Key findings
This study found a major need for an LGBTT
community centre in Auckland City.
• LGBTT populations are highly concentrated in the
Auckland City Council area.
• The strongest single need identified by this project is for
safe, non-judgemental and alcohol-free social spaces where
isolated LGBTT people can meet others and interact with
their communities. This need is particularly acute for people
coming out, at all ages.
• Current organisations that provide a drop-in service cater
only to specific sectors of the LGBTT population and thus
are not able to function as an LGBTT community centre, or
act as a centre of expertise for the wider community about all
LGBTT issues.
• The most marginalised LGBTT populations are those
at the intersections of gender, class, ethnicity and sexuality,
including takatapui, Pacific peoples, refugees, sex workers,
those with mental health problems, and those on low incomes.
• Most community organisations apart from TAHI work
from dominant culture paradigms; it is important that existing
organisations and any proposed community centre include
tangata whenua in their board and staff, build strong links
with iwi, and provide ways for takatapui to maintain tikanga
and te reo Maori.
• Young people coming out at school are surrounded by
an intensely hostile and dangerous environment. These
environments need to change, and young LGBTT people
need more support groups and alcohol-free social venues than
are currently available.
• All of the LGBTT community groups contacted described
their services as supplying only part of the support needs
of LGBTT populations and people with HIV. None of
the informants or survey respondents said there was any
unnecessary duplication in services; to the contrary, they
identified major unmet community needs in many areas.
12 Recommendations
This study recommends that the Auckland City Council • Commission a scoping study of a community centre
serving its LGBTTI populations in Auckland City Council
facilities in the CBD or inner city area.
• Work with LGBTTI communities to plan the centre.
In the interim • Ensure that staff in its community facilities receive
training in the needs of LGBTT communities, provide
accurate information about LGBTT issues, and that
Auckland City Council community facilities are
perceived as welcoming by LGBTT people.
organisations to provide part-time LGBTT satellite
services in outlying Auckland City Council community
centres.
organisations to promote LGBTT community
development and the inclusion of LGBTT priorites
in current Auckland City Council community
development projects.
• Mainstream physical and mental health and social services
routinely assume that clients are heterosexual and often know
little about LGBTT needs and issues. There is a major need
for an organised programme of heterosexism training for these
agencies and services.
• Housing can be a sudden crisis in the lives of many
LGBTT people and the provision of safe accommodation
options for young LGBTT people is an urgent need.
• The first generation to live their lives as out LGBTT
people is aging, and will soon create a strong need for
LGBTT-friendly aged-care services, which currently do not
exist.
Purpose and vision of a
community centre
This study suggests a community centre purpose could be to • Provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive alcohol-free place
for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, takatapui, transgender and
intersex people, their friends, whanau and supporters
• Provide support and information services for LGBTTI
people about LGBTTI issues
• Host and organise LGBTTI community groups, activities,
events and campaigns
• Nurture and develop LGBTTI communities and contribute
to LGBTTI-friendly mainstream services
• Counter systemic heterosexism and discrimination against
LGBTTI people.
Operational issues for a community
centre
Issues raised by informants and respondents included • Ensuring all LGBTT communities are represented on the
board and that the organisation serves all their needs.
• Ensuring funding for a centre is sustainable.
• Being supportive of tangata whenua and actively
encouraging all cultures.
• Ensuring diversity in staffing so that major community
sectors are represented.
• Being inclusive rather than exclusive, welcoming friends
and whanau of LGBTT people.
• Building funding and programme partnerships with
mainstream agencies.
Meeting space
•
•
•
•
•
•
Available at different times of the day.
Suitable for children, crèches and play groups.
Close to public transport.
Flexible spaces that can be re-arranged for different uses.
Suitable for small groups, workshops and conferences.
Able to be hired at low rates by community groups.
Counselling
• Provision of individual and group counselling on LGBTT
issues, in multiple languages.
Office space for groups
• Office space and infrastructure support for small
community groups.
Community development
• Paid community development and advocacy staff.
• Development of new projects and services in consultation
with LGBTT communities and through partnerships with
non-LGBTT organisations.
• Development of anti-violence programmes, liaising with
police and other services.
Events
Spaces to host fundraising events for community groups, kapa
haka, art exhibitions, civil unions, indoor sports, anniversaries
and concerts.
Centre services
• Staff to organise events such as alcohol-free tea dances,
literary evenings and lunchtime talks.
• Workshops on positive LGBTT identities, drug and alcohol
issues, self-defence, heterosexism, HIV and other issues.
Criteria and suggestions arising from the study were -
Health services and checks
Drop-in
• Health promotion, for example about HIV, drugs, alcohol,
obesity and smoking cessation.
• Physical and mental satellite clinic services.
• Sexual health, including HIV testing and cervical smears.
• Alcohol and drug treatment outreach clinic.
• Ground floor.
• Accessible to wheelchairs and prams.
• Preferably with a café attached.
• Welcoming to everyone - tangata whenua and other
cultures, men, women and transgender, young and old.
• Well-maintained, not run down.
• Unisex toilets.
Information
•
•
•
•
•
A database of LGBTT venues and groups.
Referrals to LBGTT-friendly professional services.
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
Life in New Zealand for new migrants.
Conditions overseas for LGBTT people.
Library
• Lending and reference library of information, books and
DVDs about being LGBTT, health and self-help.
• Computer access.
• Current LGBTT magazines and newsletters.
Other professional services
•
•
•
•
•
Free legal advice.
Budget advice.
Police Diversity Liaison Officers.
Housing.
Immigration.
Social marketing campaigns
• A billboard campaign such as the UK one which says
“Some people are gay - get used to it”.
Services in outer suburbs
• Satellite outreach to the North Shore, east and west
Auckland, providing LGBTT drop-in at existing community
centre for a day a week.
12 Glossary
AIDS - Acquired
Immune Deficiency
Syndrome, a collection
of diseases or infections
occurring in people with
weakened immune systems
caused by the Human
Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV).
Bisexual (B) - People
attracted to both genders.
Coming out Acknowledging one’s
LGBTT sexual or gender
identity to oneself and others.
Fa’fafine - Literally, like a
woman; a Samoan term for
biological males who express
a female gender identity.
Fakaleiti - A Tongan term
for biological males who
express a female gender
identity.
FtM - Female to male
transgender transition.
GAPSS - Gay Auckland
Periodic Sex Survey; a twoyearly survey about safe sex
practices by the NZAF.
Gay (G) - Can refer to
women or men; in this report
it refers to same-sex attracted
men.
Haka - Fierce dance with
chanting; part of kapa haka.
Hero - An Auckland
LGBTT festival, sometimes
including a parade, organised
by volunteers and community
groups in February each year.
Heterosexual - People
attracted to the other gender.
HIV - Human
Immunodeficiency Virus, the
retrovirus that causes AIDS.
HIV+ - Tested positive for
HIV; usually refers to a
person living with the virus.
Intersex (I) - People
whose genitals at birth are
atypical or ambiguous, or
who develop at puberty in
variance to their assigned
gender.
Sexual identity - How
people identify their own
sexuality.
Kapa haka - Maori cultural
performance group.
Sexual orientation - The
gender of the people to whom
an individual is attracted;
this may be different to
sexual identity.
Kaumatua - Elder/s.
Straight - Heterosexual.
Kaupapa - Topic/s.
Takatapui (T) Traditionally, intimate
companion of the same sex;
an inclusive Maori term for
gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender.
Lesbian (L) - Woman
attracted to other women.
LGBTT - Lesbian, gay,
bisexual, takatapui and
transgender people.
MSM - Men who have
sex with men; a term used
because many MSM do not
identify as gay or bisexual.
MtF - Male to female
transgender transition.
NZAF - New Zealand
AIDS Foundation.
Poi - Flax ball used in kapa
haka performance.
Pride - A common umbrella
term for LGBTT events and
organisations.
Te reo Maori - The Maori
language.
Tikanga - Maori custom/s.
Trans or transgender (T) People whose internal sense
of gender is at variance with
their biological gender or the
gender assigned at birth.
Whakapapa - Genealogy.
Whakawahine - Literally,
like a woman; Maori term
for MtF transgender people.
(MSD, 2006).
Queer - Umbrella term for
non-heterosexual people;
used by a minority of
LGBTT people because it
tends to be associated more
with men and is still used
by non-LGBTT people as a
term of abuse.
Rainbow - A symbol of
LGBTT pride and diversity
used by LGBTT community
and political groups overseas
and in Aotearoa/New
Zealand in logos, flags and
other gear since the 1970s.
Sexual behaviour - Refers
to sexual activity and the
partner with whom an
individual is sexually active;
this may be different to
sexual identity.
13 References
Adams, Jeffery, Braun, Virginia & McCreanor, Timothy. (2007)
Warning voices in a policy vacuum: Professional accounts of gay men’s
health in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Policy Journal of New Zealand,
30, 199 - 215.
Age Concern. (2005). The whole of me: Meeting the needs of older
lesbians, gay men and bisexuals living in care homes and extra care
housing. Age Concern, UK.
Age Concern. (2008). Transgender Issues. http://www.ageconcern.
org.uk/AgeConcern/1057B44338A147ED86A2BC90F8796A17.asp
Downloaded 24/3/2008
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Bree, Caroline, (2003). Lesbian mothers, queer families: The experience
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Clements-Nolle, K., Marx, R. et al. (2001). HIV prevalence, risk
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Location
California,
USA
San Diego,
USA
Bay Area Inclusion
LGBT Community
Centre
(1973)
Affirmations L&G
Ferndale,
Community Centre Michigan,
USA
LGBT Community New York,
Centre
USA
(1983)
Hamilton,
Canada
Montreal,
Canada
Edmonton,
Canada
Winnipeg,
Canada
Toronto,
Canada
The Well
Gay West
Community
Network
(2008)
Rainbow Resource
Centre
(1988)
G&L Community
Centre
GLBT Pride Centre
Perth,
Australia
Sydney,
Australia
The Gender Centre Sydney,
Australia
GLBTTQ
Ottawa,
Community Centre Canada
(2006)
The 519 Church St Toronto,
Community Centre Canada
Freedom Centre
(Founded in 1994)
Pride Centre
Centre
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

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





Drop-in




Phone/faceto-face
counselling


Support
groups

Social/
sports
groups
Services






Advocacy
Australian organisations are listed first, followed by Canadian and USA centres.

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Meeting
/office
space
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
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



Library
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


Event
organising
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


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

Health Publications Outreach
services
education
programmes




Other
services
(eg legal)
40 paid staff; computer lab; digital media
projects; families, elders, relationship
violence and youth housing programmes;
human rights lobbying; music and
performance groups; speakers bureau;
thecentersd.org/
14 staff; speakers bureau; gym;
exhibitions; www.goaffirmations.org/site/
PageServer?pagename=homepage
National Museum; National LGBT History
Archive; youth and family programmes;
internet café; research; exhibitions; www.
gaycenter.org/
Office infrastructure for LGBT groups;
www.ccglm.org/en/
Computer access, TV with LGBT DVDs;
weekly coffee house;
www.pridecentreofedmonton.org
Resources for making early childhood
services inclusive and for LGBT parents;
www.thewellhamilton.ca/
Film nights;
www.bayareainclusion.org/index.htm
Youth camp; anti-homophobia education;
www. rainbowresourcecentre.org
Organises 10-day annual Queer West Fest;
www.gaywest.905host.net/files/about.
php
Meal and clothing programme; movies;
children’s, parenting and seniors
programmes; courses; www.the519.org/
http://glbttqottawacentre.org/prod/en/
index.php?page=index
Supported accommodation;
www.gendercentre.org.au/
www.sydneypride.com.au
LGBT art project and exhibitions;
www.freedom.org.au/about/
Programme examples and web address
Los Angeles,
USA
Arizona, USA
Washington
D.C., USA
Tucson, USA
Freemont,
USA
Garden Grove,
USA
Hayward,
California,
USA
San Francisco,
USA
Aspen, USA
G&L Center
Prescott Pride
Center
Stonewall Alliance
Center
The Center
(2002)
Wingspan
The Edge - Men
Together Project
The Center Orange
County
Lighthouse
Community Center
(2000)
LGBT Community
Center
Gay & Lesbian
Community Fund
OutYouth
Texas, USA
Seattle, USA
Madison, USA
Lambert House
Outreach
Salt Lake City,
USA
R.U.1.2? Queer
Burlington,
Community Center USA
Utah Pride Center
Anchorage,
USA
G&L Community
Centre
Chico, USA
Location
Centre
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
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




Drop-in






Phone/faceto-face
counselling





Support
groups






Social/
sports
groups
Services






Advocacy






Meeting
/office
space








Library








Event
organising




















Health Publications Outreach
services
education
programmes


Other
services
(eg legal)
Gallery; job search; small business
development; childcare; computer centre;
www.sfcenter.org
Speakers bureau, campouts;
www.gayskiweek.com
For 19 and under: Speakers bureau; Safe
School training; www.outyouth.org
Pride festival; computer lab; gallery;
www.utahpridecenter.org
Vermont Queer Archives; open mic coffee
house; anti-violence programme;
www.ru12.org
For age 22 and under: weekly movie night;
computer centre; www.lamberthouse.org
Annual resource directory;
www.outreachinc.com
Computer lab, art shows, health fairs;
www.lgbtlighthouse.com
Computer centre; www.thecenteroc.org
www.mentogether.org
Computer centre; crystal meth working
group; art exhibitions; www.thedccenter.
org/
Anti-violence; computer centre; youth,
seniors and transgender programmes;
community fora www.wingspan.org/
www.stonewallchico.org
www.prescottpridecenter.com/index.htm
Homeless youth services; computer
centre; adult education; domestic
violence programme; exhibitions;
theatres; clinical research trials;
www.lagaycenter.org/
Computer access; yearly Pride Fest and
Pride Conference ; www.identityinc.org
Programme examples and web address
Appendix 2: Appendix 4: Survey
Informants interviewed form
Edward Bennett, former Co-ordinator, Auckland Pride Centre.
Phylesha Brown-Acton, Health Promoter, New Zealand AIDS
Foundation Pacific Peoples Project.
Ben Campion, LGBT Student Support Officer, Auckland University of
Technology.
Nemo Craig, community volunteer.
Neil Denney, former General Manager, OUTLine NZ.
Catherine Gillhooly, Auckland City Council GiLBerT facilitator
(GLBT employee support group).
Glenda Haines, Lesbian Education and Support Organisation.
Valeriano Incapas Jr, Health Promoter, New Zealand AIDS
Foundation.
Bruce Kilmister, CEO, Body Positive.
Rachel Le Mesurier, Executive Director, New Zealand AIDS
Foundation.
Rob Marshall, Co-ordinator, Rainbow Youth.
Cathy Parker, Chairperson, Genderbridge.
Eriata Peri, Co-ordinator, Hau Ora Takatapui Team, New Zealand
AIDS Foundation.
Julie Radford-Poupard, former Community Centres Manager,
Auckland City Council.
Lindsey Rea, Auckland Central Rainbow Labour.
Maxine Revell, community informant.
Michael Richardson, former LGBT Student Support Officer,
Auckland University of Technology.
Betty Iusitini Sio, community informant.
Mama Tere Tahere-Strickland, Co-ordinator, Te Aronga Hou
Inaianei.
Michelle Tohi, community informant.
Appendix 3: Interview schedule
• Demographics
• What involvement have you had with the LGBTT community
(eg paid or voluntary work with an organisation)?
• What interactions has your organisations/s had with Auckland
City Council and what impact has this had?
• What other LGBTT community groups and venues do you use?
• What sectors of the LGBTT community do you know best?
• What sectors of the LGBTT community do you know least?
• What are the major social and health needs of LGBTT
communities?
• Are there areas where existing community groups overlap or
double up in providing services?
• Are there needs that are not being met by existing LGBTT
community organisations?
• Do you think there is a need for a LGBTT community centre?
• If so, what services should it provide? If so, where should it be
located?
LGBTT Community Centre needs assessment survey
This survey is for Auckland-based lesbian/gay/bisexual/takatapui/transgender (LGBTT) people.
It is part of an Auckland City Council-funded research project examining the need for a LGBTT
community centre in Auckland City. The project includes x
A research review and case studies of overseas LGBTT facilities
x
A review of previous and present LGBTT facilities and services in Auckland
x
An outline of the social service needs of LGBTT communities
x
Interviews with key informants active in Auckland LGBTT communities
x
Email and print surveys of LGBTT community members.
Your responses to this survey will be anonymous and confidential. No information will be published
that could identify any individual.
The research is being carried out by Jenny Rankine. The deadline is Friday March 7; survey
results will go to the Council in April and be published after that in gay and lesbian media.
1 Some information about yourself
Please tick Female
Male
Lesbian
Gay
Other sexual identity (Please describe
Maori
Pakeha
Transgender
Bisexual
Takatapui
……………………………………………………………...)
Pacific
Indian
Aged under 25
25-50
50-plus
Your suburb in Auckland ……………………………………………………………………………………
2 Do you work for any LGBTT community organisations for pay or as a volunteer
Please tick as many as are relevant HIV-related organisation
Gay community organisation
Sports or recreational group
Lesbian community organisation
Other LGBTT group (please list)
Gay/lesbian commercial venue
Transgender community group
……………………………………………………
…………………………………………………….
3 What other LGBTT venues and community groups do you use or are you a member of?
Please tick as many as are relevant Gay commercial venue (eg bar)
Lesbian commercial venue
Gay community organisation
Lesbian community organisation
Transgender community organisation

HIV-related organisation
Sports or recreational group
Informal LGBTT network
Other LGBTT group (please list)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
4 What sectors of the LGBTT community
do you know best?

Gay community
Lesbian community
Transgender community
Takatapui community
Pacific community
Other (please list)
……………………………………………………
5 What sectors of the LGBTT community
do you know least?

Gay community
Lesbian community
Transgender community
Takatapui community
Pacific community
Other (please list)
……………………………………………………
6 What do you think are the major social and health needs of LGBTT communities?
Please tick as many as you think relevant Coming out groups and services
LGBTT-specific health services
Mental health and suicide prevention
services
Housing services
Campaigns against discrimination
experienced by LGBTT people
Alcohol and drug services for LGBTT
people
Services for transgender people
Services for takatapui people
Services for older LGBTT people
Anti-violence services
Meeting places for LGBTT groups

Support for LGBTT families
Services for LGBTT ethnic minorities,
including new migrants
Other (please list)
……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………
…………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………….
6 Are there needs that are not being met by existing LGBTT community organisations?
Please list ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
7 Do you think there is a need for a LGBTT community centre?
Yes
No
Don’t know
Why? ………………………………………………………………………………………
8 If yes, what services should it provide?
Please list ……………………………………………………………………………………………………...
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
9 If yes, where should it be located?
Please list ………………………………………………………………………………………………….......
Thank you very much for your participation.
Submit by Email
Deadline: Friday 7 March
Print Form
If you print the form out, please post it to 1/300 Sandringham Rd, Auckland 1025.
Encourage your Auckland-based LGBTT friends to fill out the survey online at www.gaynz.com or
www.lesbian.co.nz
Contact Jenny Rankine at 021 112 6868 or email jrankine@actrix.co.nz if you have any questions or you
would like a copy of the survey results.
Note: Auckland City Council currently has no funds allocated for a LGBTT facility.
Chinese
Other ethnicity (Please describe ………………………………………………………………………)
ISBN 978-0-473-13566-9 (print)
ISBN 978-0-473-13567-6 (PDF)