SHFPACT Newsletter Sept 2014

Sept 2014/ #3 View this email in your browser     Sex e'News A newsletter of Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT   Find us onFacebook Follow us on Twitter Visit theWebsite Email us News at SHFPACT?   SHFPACT's late clinic Did you know that SHFPACT has late clinic on Wednesday evenings? The clinic is open till 6:30pm. Appointments are essential. To make an appointment or inquire about any of SHFPACT's services please phone our friendly reception team on (02) 6247 3077.   NAPCAN's Play your part awards This year SHFPACT was the proud recipient of the NAPCAN Play your Part Award for our role in the delivery of SoSAFE! user training. NAPCAN initially launched the award during National Child Protection Week in 2012 to highlight inspiring prevention initiatives nationally. The awards recognise individuals, communities and organisations that have played their part in creating safer communities for children and young people. SHFPACT was honoured to accept the award and took the opportunity to talk more about the program and the benefits it has in protecting and supporting people with a mild to moderate intellectual disability, people on the Autism Spectrum and young people.  SoSAFE! is a visual and conceptual tool that promotes social safety through the provision of a simplified and rule-governed model of social reality that teaches the type and degree of verbal and physical intimacy appropriate with different categories of people. SoSAFE! user training is run regularly at SHFPACT - the next course is scheduled for 12th November 2014. See the website for more information and the enrollment form.     Above left: Elle Reid and Rose Gagliardi from Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, with Dr Sue Packer AM, NAPCAN Vice President. Above right: the award.   UC Midwifery students at SHFPACT Each year SHFPACT welcomes 2nd and 3rd year Midwifery students from the University of Canberra to experience a day at a sexual and reproductive health clinic. This provides students with an opportunity to learn more about sexual and reproductive health within the Canberra community, as well as what services and supports SHFPACT offers. This year saw double the amount from previous years of students come along for the experience. Students provided overall highly positive feedback on the experience, with statements like "well organised", "welcoming and friendly" as well as "relevant and practical information and experiences" being echoed in many of the feedback forms. SHFPACT strives to support  students to gain the information and experiences they need to promote and work with sexual and reproductive health in their working life. SHFPACT would like to thank the University of Canberra Midwifery Program for the opportunity to again work with it's students.   Women with Intellectual Disabilities and Menopause Project Did you know - there are little to no dedicated resources that address normalising and managing the process of menopause for women with intellectual disabilities? In addition, resources available to carers, parents, support workers and health professionals are limited and not specifically designed for Australia. While there is ample information on the process of menopause, however it is directed towards women without a disability. SHFPACT wants to change this, but we need a little help. We are currently seeking women with intellectual disabilities and those that care and work with them to help us understand more about what a resource on menopause for women with an intellectual disability should look like. Please see the SHFPACT website at www.shfpact.org.au/shfpact-project/wwid-and-menopause or contact us through email: menopauseproject@shfpact.org.au or call (02) 6247 3077.   Launch of a new DVD - Young Parenting: A New Beginning Recently SHFPACT attended the launch of ACT Health's new DVD resource Young parenting: a new beginning. The documentary-style DVD seeks to educate teenagers and young adults from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the ACT about some of the challenges and rewards that accompany having a baby. Parents share their experiences of attachment and bonding, relationships, single parenting, routine, sleep issues, budgeting, money and housing.   The DVD launch also saw the release of two updated publications part of the Our Mob Cares initiative - "Sexual Heath" and "Health in Pregnancy". The full DVD is available for viewing online on ACT Health Website. Copies of the DVD are also available through the SHFPACT library service. For copies of the publications contact ACT Health - www.health.gov.au or phone 13ACT1 or 132281   Training & PD Opportunities   Family, Friends and Lovers Training Course 22nd October 2014 $255 per participant/ discounts available   Family Friends and Lovers is a sexuality and relationships education training program for adults with intellectual disabilities. SHFPACT delivers Family Friends and Lovers as a train-the-trainer program - participants of this program are the people who work with and care for a person with an intellectual disability.   Topics covered include consent, asking for help, relationships, dating, meeting people and sexual health.     SoSAFE! User Training 12th November 2014 SoSAFE! is a set of visual and conceptual tools designed to promote social safety to clients with an Intellectual Disability (moderate to severe range) and Autism Spectrum Disorder.   The SoSAFE! Tools together with SoSAFE! Certified Training provides teachers, community workers and counselors with simple visual tools to enhance the social, social-sexual and social safety training of people with moderate to severe intellectual disability.   SoSAFE! uses a standardised framework of symbols, visual teaching tools and concepts to teach the type and degree of verbal and physical intimacy appropriate with different categories of people, and strategies for moving into intimate relationships in a safe and measured manner.   Traffic Lights Training 9th October 2014 Early bird registration (before 19/10/2014) = $295 (+booking fee) General registration (20/10/2014 onwards) = $330 (+booking fee) Traffic lights training supports the use of the FPQ resource framework "Sexual Behaviours in Children and Young people: a guide to identify, understand and respond to sexual behaviours" This framework can be used  to: - Identify healthy sexual behaviours as well as those which are concerning, problematic or harmful. - Understand concerning and problem sexual behaviours. - Explore bridges and barriers to prevention, protection and reporting. - Formulate positive strategies to meet the needs of children and young people.   Educating in Sexuality and Health 14th and 15th October 2014 This 2 day course is designed for professionals involved in the provision of sexuality education programs. Participants will learn how to perform a needs assessment and design, deliver and evaluate sexuality education programs. Participants will develop skills including the design & facilitation of sexuality education programs; evaluating the effectiveness of program delivery and revising & adapting programs to meet the needs of a diverse group of learners.     New resources in Sexual and Reproductive Health Stillbirths in Australia 1991-2009 Released: 12 Sep 2014 Author: AIHW: Hilder L, Li Z, Zeki R & Sullivan EA This is the first national report on the epidemiology of stillbirth in Australia. The report makes use of the extensive data about pregnancy and birth that have been collected in all states and territories since 1991. For the period 1991–2009, the stillbirth rate ranged from 6.4–7.8 per 1,000 births.     2014 Aboriginal Surveillance Report of HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs This surveillance report provides information on the occurrence of blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, for the purposes of stimulating and supporting discussion on ways forward in minimising the transmission risks. As well as discussing the personal and social consequences of these infections within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.   Not just an older woman's disease: Breast cancer in your 20s and 30s National Breast Cancer Foundation This National Breast Cancer Foundation report raises awareness about the practical, physical and psychological consequences of breast cancer in young women.   Australians' attitudes to violence against women Release date: 17.09.14 This is the third survey of its kind, with the first undertaken in 1995 and the second in 2009. The survey tells us that Australia has been able to challenge a culture that allows violence against women to occur. There have been sustained improvements since 1995 in a number of areas. However, there are other areas in which progress has been minimal, along with some concerning negative findings.   Gender is Not Uniform Gender is Not Uniform is a campaign aimed at supporting gender diversity within Australian schools through inclusive uniforms and challenging transphobia. While most students will have never considered their own gender identity, there are a growing number of young people taking steps to express gender identity in ways that may differ from the sex they were assigned at birth, or traditional gender categories. The program has released a resource guide and more recently posters that can be downloaded from the site.   Brief review of contemporary sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia Hayley Boxall Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, September 2014 The report provides an overview of the offences that an individual who sexually abuses a child in an institutional setting may be charged with in the nine Australian jurisdictions. These offences include contact and non-contact sexual, child pornography offences and offences for which institutions and/or their representatives that were aware of child sexual abuse may be charged.     Sexual & Reproductive Health in the media Cervical cancer: So preventable but so often ignored Canberra Times - 3rd Sept 2014 A 2007 report finds that young woman are not having their pap tests - common reasons include: vulnerability, cost, embarrassment, anxiety and fear of cancer.   Sexual health isn't just about health – it's about sex too The Guardian - Blog entry 4th Sept 2014 Achieving the non-controversial medical goals of sexual health requires dealing with the controversial aspects of sexual life.   The global impact of the female condom Daily Life - 24th July 2014 Researchers are working on developing a new female condom - something that is comfortable, can be inserted well before sexual activity and give women around the world more opportunity to control their sexual health. No sex please, I'm sober The Daily Telegraph - 21st Sept 2014 For most Australians, dating and drinking go hand-in-hand. But what starts out as social lubricant can lead to sexual dysfunction.   Syphilis reaches record levels in Australia The New Zealand Herald - 18th Sept 2014 Syphilis has reached its highest level ever recorded in Australia, with the increase almost exclusively among gay men.   National campaign to end domestic violence against women launched The Advocate - 5th Sept 2014 Our Watch, a new national initiative aimed to prevent violence against women and their children, has been launched today by Board Chair, Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls.     For more articles like these as well as up to date information about SHFPACT why not follow us on Facebook and Twitter?   Facebook Twitter     Want to become a friend of SHFPACT?   Becoming a Friend of SHFPACT is a great way to show your support for the work and goals of SHFPACT without the obligations of members to attend general meetings of the association. Membership benefits include SHFPACT Library and Resource center membership 5% discount on SHFPACT bookshop purchases Annual or biannual members only events Member's newsletter x3 per year Discounted fee for training Joining is easy - simply fill in a from from our website, fill it and get it back to us. Forms can be found here or visit our street location.   Copyright © 2014 Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in for it Our mailing address is: Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT 1/28 University Avenue, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia Canberra, ACT 2601 Australia Add us to your address book