In Our Own Write - Qnet online community

In Our Own Write: A collection of stories by young queer people in Canberra is finally completed! Thanks to everyone who attended the launch of 5 October and thanks to Bit Bent Woden letting us their space for the launch.

In Our Own Write

The book

Now the book has been launched it will be distributed through various venues around Canberra.

The book is now out of print and we have no copies available! The good news is that you can still download the book (PDF).

The project

In Our Own Write is a project to develop a book describing the current lived experience of same-sex attracted young people (SSAY) in Canberra using an asset-based community development approach. This book will be a valuable resource to support and empower people in this often marginalised group, by providing positive role modelling and self image.

This project builds on two previous Healthpact-supported projects: ‘Queer Stories’ (which produced the resource ‘Yes, I am’) and ‘The Internet as a Safety Net: a project to empower and support gay youth' (which produced the Qnet website). Through the Qnet website and connections to other community groups in Canberra, the AIDS Action Council (AAC) has unprecedented access to a difficult to reach group of young people.

Recent online surveys conducted on the Qnet website found that young people accessing the website had a wide range of skills and many were interested in being involved in community building activities.

As shown in Writing Themselves In Again - 6 years on: the 2nd national report on the sexuality, health and well-being of same sex attracted young Australians (Hillier, Turner, & Mitchell, 2005) have changed for SSAY in the five years since ‘Yes, I am’ was published, and it was suggested that producing a new publication would be a worthwhile community project.

The need for a new publication of the experiences of SSAY is evidenced by demand from the community. After the second printing of ‘Yes, I am’ ran out in 2004, the AAC has continued to get requests for the publication from teachers, counsellors, parents and other groups. A new reprinting is not possible as the AAC cannot get permission from contributors. A reprinting would also not be as relevant for SSAY today.

Nationally, 44% of SSAY have experienced verbal abuse and 15% have experienced physical abuse because of their sexuality (Hillier, et al., 2005). This abuse has a serious impact on their health and well-being, and victims of this abuse are “more likely to self-harm, report a sexually transmissible infection (STI) and use a range of legal and illegal drugs” (Hillier, et al., 2005, p. 43). The same study has shown that SSAY that are able to reframe their negative experiences into a ‘journey of self discovery’ are more likely to feel better about themselves and their sexual identity.

SCOPE A YWCA youth service

Supported by the ACT Government through ACT Health Promotion Grants, YWCA Canberra, through the SCOPE youth service, and the AIDS Action Council of the ACT.