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Chroma committee member Ari Edgecombe, secretary Beth Duffill-Brookes, and chairperson David Sar Shalom were at the Southern Institute of Technology on Thursday to present their LGBTQIA+ workshops to health students.
Ever struggled with pronouns or been confused by rainbow acronyms?
Chroma, the LGBTQI+ initiative for Southland, is working to demystify sexual and gender minorities through a series of workshops that can be tailored to the audience.
Last week, the team were at the Southern Institute of Technology to talk to third year nursing students.
As Chroma secretary Beth Duffill-Brookes said: “It’s about visibility. It’s showing that rainbow people are in the community. We’re not scary.”
The workshops “Let’s Make It Perfectly Queer” and “Pronoun Lowdown” look at differences between sexual orientation, gender identity and gender as well as a discussion around stigma, discrimination, legal points, statistics on the current situation for rainbow people, culture and history, and practical points on how to improve environments.
For “Top Story” out-and-proud transgender man Ari Edgecombe shares his story, complete with photos and positive experiences in the health system, to help people understand the transition journey.
”It gives people an understanding of what it’s like for young people with a different quality understanding of themselves,” Edgecombe explained.
The workshops have already been presented to different sectors – focusing on the judicial system for a law firm, for instance – and Chroma have been invited to present in other regions.
In a health context, Duffill-Brookes said the workshop would give students the confidence to navigate discussions, like if a male presenting person were to come in asking for a smear, for example.
Joanne Naish/Stuff
Bless Groome won the West Coast Young Enterprise Scheme for her Pride playing cards.
”Sexual health is for everyone.”
Chroma chairperson Dr David Sar Shalom said sexual and gender minorities often had lower health outcomes because they held out on seeking help as a result of negative experiences with the health system.
He hoped that starting these conversations would mean “they get received with kindness and knowledge”.
Southern Institute of Technology operations lead Daryl Haggerty said Chroma had been offering the workshop to students as result of feedback in the School of Nursing for the past four years.
“We seek to support all ākonga on their journey with us and this workshop lends itself well to this objective,” he said.
Chroma are also gearing up to launch the first Murihiku Pride Week this weekend with family-friendly events all over Invercargill.
