ANWERNEKENHE II: 'Us Mob'

In the Arrente language it means "us mob". ANWERNEKENHE II was the second national conference for Indigenous Australian gay men and sista girls. And as GARY LEE writes, it was a time for breaking silences, making resolutions, and naming some deep-running waters.
 
 
 
 

EVERYONE'S BUSINESS

Love, magic, and the art of resistance
There is a wealth of Indigenous art dealing with issues of sex, sexuality, health and HIV. And a radical forthcoming exhibition, Love Magic will take up the theme of Aboriginal erotica. Maurice O'Riordan explores the art of resistance
 
 
 
 

AMONG, WITHIN AND BETWEEN

Interview: Sue Fowles and Chris Lawrence,
AIDS Council of NSW
When Sue Fowles took the reins as the first Aboriginal women's project officer within the state AIDS council, she had to hit the ground running. She describes her time as a steep learning curve, not just for herself, but for those in the communities who are her "target groups". Sue and her counterpart, gay men's project officer Chris Lawrence, have had to become virtual cultural acrobats, challenging and confronting cultural differences at every level. Without the comfort of clearly identified 'target groups' who fall politiely into categories, they have necessarily had to reinvent how HIV education "gets done". They talk with Kirsty Machon
 
 
 
 

FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS?

In a time when many are hailing advances in HIV/AIDS treatments, and lauding Australia's response to HIV as exemplary, just how proud of our record should we be? Gay, Indigenous and HIV positive, Rodney Junga-Williams tells a different story. For Aboriginal Australians, he writes, its a question of: What access? Whose equality?
 
 
 
 

VAST DISTANCES...VAST DIFFERENCES

There have been many "explanations" for the outrageous discrepencies between the health levels of Indigenous Australians and the health of non-Indigenous people. Not so long ago, the possibility that Indigenous people are "genetically predisposed" to alcoholism was seriously entertained. Gary Lee looks at the confluence of factors which adversly affect Aboriginal health in remote settings, and argues for a culturally appropriate mix of Western medical science and Indigenous philospohies of healing.
 
 
 
 

BOYS TO MEN

One of the more confronting issues to arise from the recent Indigenous gay and transgender consultation was that sexual abuse of young boys, often by men from within their own extended families and friendship networks. Gary lee finds voices from within a cultural silence.
 
 

 

AFAO is the peak non-government organisation representing Australia's community based response to the epidemic of HIV/AIDS. AFAO's members are the state and territory AIDS councils and the National Association of People living with HIV/AIDS , the Australian IV League and the Scarlet Alliance. In recognising the fundamental importance of information and education in working against the epidemic, all written materials in this publication may be reproduced free of charge, providing the following citation made: 'Reprinted from Volume X number Y of the National AIDS Bulletin, published by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations.' For more information on HIV/AIDS and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people contact the Australian Federation of AIDS Organizations Views expressed in the National AIDS Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of AFAO