Proposed keynote address:
Suicide prevention and LGBTIQA+SB (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and gender diverse, Intersex, Queer/Questioning, Asexual, Sistergirls and Brotherboys) Communities
Victorian Commissioner for LGBTIQA+ Communities, Joe Ball, will address the current research on suicide and its drivers within LGBTIQA+SB communities and outline Victorian Government responses. Systemic discrimination and social stigma continue to impact the wellbeing of LGBTIQA+SB communities. LGBTIQA+SB people are more likely to experience suicidal distress than non-LGBTIQA+SB people. We are also seeing a rise in local, national and global vilification against LGBTIQA+SB, intersectional and marginalised communities and Commissioner Ball will reflect on the impacts of this. Within the fabric of our communities, LGBTIQA+SB people bare the grief of too many lives that have ended in suicide. LGBTIQA+SB communities remain vibrant and wonderful communities, and this does not change because we have these experiences.
Commissioner Ball will outline Victorian Government responses and the importance of co-designing responses with people with lived experience. In August 2024, the findings and recommendations from a Coronial Inquest into a cluster of suicides of young trans and gender diverse people were also released and Joe will reflect on work underway in response to these recommendations. Other work underway includes implementation of the Victorian Government's landmark 10-year LGBTIQA+ Strategy Pride in our future: 2022-32, the Government's Suicide Prevention and Response Strategy and the work of Switchboard Victoria and Mind Aftercare. Commissioner Ball was previously CEO of Switchboard Victoria for seven years. Under his leadership, Switchboard undertook significant and leading suicide prevention and postvention co-design work with LGBTIQA+SB communities and their biological and chosen families, partners and friends. This includes developing the CHARLEE suicide prevention hub made by LGBTIQA+ people who have thought about suicide, lived through suicide attempts, supported others in distress and live with the pain of loss through suicide. It included the development of 'Changing the Landscape', a call to the healthcare sector and governments to take action toward a suicide prevention system where LGBTIQA+SB peer-led services are sector leaders, and their lived experiences shape LGBTIQA+SB care, and LGBTIQA+SB suicide prevention is a national priority. The Changing the Landscape portfolio of work includes: a Statement to support changes in the mental health sector and how the media talks about LGBTIQA+SB suicide; community events; sharing lived experience stories and expertise; capacity building activities for people working in healthcare organisations; and providing resources for organisations to improve how they work with LGBTIQA+SB communities.