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It's almost LBT Women's Health Week!

And suddenly we've arrived at one of my personal highlights of the year... LBT Women's Health Week! We are so excited with the amazing line-up of events that we are bringing to you this year, in collaboration with our amazing Community Collaborators. There really is something for everyone, with a varity of in-person and online events, covering a number of important topics and issues.

Check out the wonderful FREE events happening next week and, if you haven't already, sign up for those which excite you!

Warm wishes always,

Laura Clarke
Stakeholder Engagement Officer
National LGBT Partnership

LBT Women's Health Panel

Monday 7th March • 10am-12pm • Online • FREE

We're kicking off LBT Women's Health Week 2022 with a lively discussion — and you're invited! Join our Stakeholder Engagement Officer, Laura Clarke, as she hosts a panel of five LBT women's health experts to discuss the most pressing issues facing LBT women today, as we slowly return to our lives following the pandemic. You will have an opportunity to ask the panellists your questions about LBT health and wellbeing.

Read below about the panellists and sign up for the event now!

The Host:

Laura Clarke (she/her), Stakeholder Engagement Officer, National LGBT Partnership

Laura is an expert in LGBTQIA+ issues and sex & relationships. She holds an MA in Gender Studies and is an accredited sex educator. Laura has worked with the National LGBT Partnership since 2020, collaborating with LGBTQIA+ voluntary sector organisations, government bodies and the NHS to improve health outcomes for queer people.

Laura's Twitter: @thelauraclarke

The Panellists:

Lizzie Streeter (she/her), National LGBT Programme Manager, NHS England and NHS Improvement

Lizzie manages the LGBT Health programme at NHSE/I to tackle health inequalities for LGBT people. She joined the team from the Maternity Transformation Programme. Prior to joining NHSE/I Lizzie led on the commissioning of an innovative new emotional health and wellbeing service. Lizzie holds a Masters in Children's Rights and has a background in young people's participation.

Lizzie's Twitter: @lizzietweeter

Sarah Humphreys (she/her), Chair, elop

Sarah is a founder member of elop, a LGBT+ mental health and wellbeing charity. Sarah has a background in social work, including a lecturer in social work for the past 20 years, alongside working as a freelance social work educator. Sarah is a founder member of LBT women’s health week and has written a number of resources for this week.

Sarah's Twitter: @SarahHumphreys4

elop's Twitter: @ELOP_LGBT

Michelle Ross (she/they), Director of Holistic Wellbeing, CliniQ

Michelle is founder of CliniQ and Director of Holistic Wellbeing Services for trans and non-binary people. She is a BACP Accredited psychotherapist with 33 years’ experience. She has been involved with Sexual Health, HIV & Holistic Wellbeing since1988.. Michelle convenes CliniQ conferences. She has presented at three International AIDS Conferences, Durban South Africa 2016 and Amsterdam 2018. On-Line 2020. Michelle worked in Bangkok 2016 for a week working on an international project TransIT a trans information book on developing holistic services for trans people globally. Michelle works internationally representing CliniQ and is a director at IRGT a global network of trans women responding to HIV.

Michelle's Twitter: @TransHealthUK

CliniQ's Twitter: @Clini_Q

Elliss Lewin-Turner (she/her), Development and Communications Manager, Black Beetle Health

Elliss Lewin-Turner is the Development and Communications Manager for Black Beetle Health. She seeks to empower, educate and provide escapism for LGBTQ+ BPoC.

Black Beetle Health's Twitter: @HealthBeetle

Hafsa Qureshi (any pronouns), Content Developer, Stonewall

Hafsa is an openly bi Muslim, working to raise visibility and awareness for her community. By talking about faith, sexuality and disability, she wants to help destigmatise people's perceptions of queer people of faith. She currently works within content development for Stonewall (UK).

Hafsa's Twitter: @MsHafsaQureshi

Stonewall's Twitter: @stonewalluk

The New Normal for Queer Women

Friday 11th March • 12pm-1pm • Online • FREE
Attend this webinar hosted by Laura Clarke, the Partnership's Stakeholder Engagement Officer to gain an exclusive insight into our recent research on LGBTQ+ mental health during the aftermath of the pandemic, and how this applied to LBT women. Sign up here.

Health & Wellness Events for Black LBT Women

African Rainbow Family are hosting a series of health and wellbeing workshops for Black LBT Women.

They will be delivering three workshops — one on mental health, one on keeping active and one on healthy lifestyles. You will learn different steps you can take to improve your mental health and wellbeing in these sessions.

Are you a Black LBT Woman and looking to improve your health and wellbeing? Do join African Rainbow Family in one and/or all of these exciting sessions!

Mental Health
Monday 7th March • 3pm-4pm • Online • FREE
Sign up here!

Keep Active Wellbeing
Tuesday 8th March • 1pm-2pm • Online • FREE
Sign up here!

Healthy Lifestyles
Wednesday 9th March • 1pm-2pm • Online • FREE
Sign up here!

The Proud Trust LBT Showcase

Monday 7th March • 6pm-8pm • LGBT+ Centre, Manchester • FREE
The Proud Trust are inviting LBT Young Women (13-25) to attend a showcase of young people-led activities and hear about the Proud Trusts offer. The activities will include poetry reading, a display of artwork (including Femolition Squad's Future Transmissions artwork), Badge making, and other craft activities. Light refreshments will be provided.

People interested in attending the event will need to complete the expression of interest form.

Family planning and support for LBTQ+ women during and post Covid

Wednesday 9th March • 7:30pm-8:30pm • Instagram • FREE
Join Georgia Hinton from Birmingham LGBT and Laura-Rose Thorogood from The LGBT Mummies tribe to discuss LBTQ+ Women and people’s experience of accessing fertility treatment and support, post/pre-natal care during and after the pandemic. Join the Instagram live on Wednesday 9th March at 7:30pm over on @birminghamlgbt Instagram page.

Sexual Health Workshop & STI Testing

Thursday 10th March • 1pm-4pm • Hull CVS • FREE
Yorkshire MESMAC are hosting a free event for LBT women’s health week! Learn about sexuality and gender identity, sexual health (including STIs) and barriers that LBT women can face, plus more. The first half of the session is a workshop exploring health inequalities for Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Women; particularly looking at the impact on mental and sexual health. Followed by a sexual health drop in for an hour with free STI testing, condoms and dental dams, support and advice or just a chat.

Sign up for the workshop here!

Rainbow Roses

Thursday 10th March • 6:30pm-8pm • Burnley Central Library • FREE
Lancashire LGBT invite you to join them in a celebration of their group; a space where meaningful connections have been built in difficult circumstances. The artworks will represent the group’s expressions of their Queer identities as Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Women and Non-Binary People in Lancashire. They will showcase a range of artworks created by group members including illustration, painting, and photography.

Everyone is welcome to the event. Doors will open at 6:30pm and the exhibition will be open until 8:00pm. Refreshments will be provided. A BSL interpreter will be present. Sign up here!

Find Your Inner King!: Drag King Workshop with Jodie Mitchell

Thursday 10th March • 6pm-9pm • The Green House, London • FREE

Join elop and Tower Hamlets LGBT+ Community Forum in partnership with Jodie Mitchell, comedian and member of award-winning collective Pecs Drag Kings, for a Drag King Workshop in celebration of LBT+ Women’s Health Week.

In this beginner’s workshop, you'll get a chance to build your own drag persona from the ground up, exploring the way they move, talk, and what makes them tick.

Open to all: performers and non-performers, any level of experience welcome. Sign up here!

Creative Wellness: Panel Discussion

Friday 11th March • 6pm-8pm • Online • FREE

This year for LBT Women’s Health Week, METRO Charity are launching a new campaign encouraging LBT women and non-binary people nationwide to embrace their creativity by designing original pieces for a new online exhibition ‘Creative Wellness: Celebrating artistic expression of LBT women and non-binary people’. METRO’s LBT Women’s Health Week celebrations will culminate with a live panel discussion event and discussion of the positive impact of creativity on people’s wellbeing, returning to normal and showcasing the submitted artworks. You can view the panel discussion here.

LGBTQ+ Survivors Writing Workshop

Friday 11th March • 6pm-8pm • Brighton Community Base • FREE

Brighton & Hove LGBT Switchboard's domestic abuse project will be holding a writing workshop in collaborating with LGBT Partnership, exploring the theme of recovery and a ''return to normal''. Whether you're an avid poet, aspiring novelist or just want to connect with yourself through the power of words, you're invited! This event is open to LGBTQ+ people who have experienced violence of any kind. The event will be facilitated by Switchboard's wonderful staff and will provide light refreshments.

Please email domestic.abuse@switchboard.org.uk to sign up.

Dates for the Diary

Bisexual Health Awareness Month — March 2022
Zero Discrimination Day — 1st March 2022
LBT Women's Health Week — 7th-11th March 2022
Trans Day of Visibility — 31st March 2022
National Transgender HIV Testing Day — 18th April 2022
Lesbian Visibility Day — 18th April 2022

Courses & Events

Below are a few of the events that are coming up in the month of March. To sign up click on the title of the event. To see a full list of events happening this month and in the future click here.

Abolishing legal sex status: A help or hindrance to gender equality?
March 24th • 5:30pm - 7pm • FREE
This online webinar presents findings from the Future of Legal Gender – a four-year research project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which explored the implications of “decertifying” sex and gender and wider public perspectives on its reform. Drawing from over 100 interviews with NGOs, unions, lawyers, service providers, academics, activists, and local government, the research considered whether the decertification of sex and gender would be a good idea from a social justice perspective, and how to address the concerns raised.

London Members Networking Event
March 29th • 6pm - 8pm • FREE
Consortium warmly invites our London members to 2022’s first in-person London networking event. This will be an event where reconnection will be in focus, and we will have a relaxed programme to enable members to build relationships with other member groups as well as the Consortium team.

Allyship and Ageing: An Introduction to Trans Allyship
March 31st • 11am - 12pm • £5
Older trans and non-binary people living in the UK exist at an intersection of transness and age, and are therefore increasingly vulnerable in a country which often demonstrates blatant transphobia and ageism. Opening Doors London is increasingly aware of the need to rally allies in order to ensure equality, safety, and dignity for all older trans and non-binary people, and with this in mind, we present to you “Allyship and Ageing: An Introduction to Trans Allyship”.

Resources

Don't forget that the Partnership's website has an array of publications available for download covering a diverse range of LGBT health issues. As we navigate through the pandemic and beyond it is important to reflect on the lived experiences of LGBT people and communities as we rebuild new ways of working and explore the additional impacts on vulnerable and marginalised communities.

Jobs & Volunteering

Paid Roles

The Consortium website has a page dedicated to jobs in the sector.

Voluntary Roles
There are currently a significant number of voluntary opportunities also outlined on the Consortium page.

If you would like to advertise a vacancy relevant to LGBT Health & Social Care in our newsletter please email nationalgbtpartnership@gmail.com

We hope you enjoy LBT Women's Health Week 2022!