Dalarinji, Your Story: Understanding and Promoting the Social and Emotional Well-being and Mental Health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ Young People

This is a NSW research project that aims to understand and promote the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning young people, and to work with services to develop appropriate supports.

There is very little locally specific guidance available for services on how best to support a young person who is both Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Asexual or other (LGBTQA+). This means that young people (14-25 years) who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and LGBTQA+ may not receive the same level of support, sexual health care and information as other members of the community. Young people who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and LGBTQA+ may be at increased risk of poor social and emotional wellbeing, but there is little information available on how best to support you and keep you strong.

This is an opportunity to inform researchers about your needs for support and information as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young person to:

• Build greater understanding of your social and emotional wellbeing, and
• Inform local health, counselling and appropriate services to develop programs that support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander LGBTQA+ young people say will help them.

Researchers: Professor Karen Soldatic (NSW Lead CI), Linda Briskman (CI), Professor Corrinne Sullivan (AI), Kim Spurway (PM), William Trewllyn (RA)

Partners: BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation, ACON - Aboriginal Project

Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council 

Period: 2019–2024

Outcome

Community Reports

• Community Roadmap: https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:67773/
• Community Final Report: https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:61700/
• Community Preliminary Report: https://apo.org.au/node/310399

Special Issues

Social Inclusion and Exclusion for First Nations LGBTIQ+ People in Australia

What Matters: Indigenous LGBTIQ+ Pasts, Presents and Futures

Webinar

Webinar: Indigenous and LGBTIQ+: Challenges of Social Inclusion in Australia

Publications

• Sullivan, C. T., Spurway, K., Leha, J., Trewllyn, W., & Soldatic, K. (2023). The Dalarinji Project-“Your Story”: A Narrative Synthesis. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 7(2), 1-25.

• Briskman, L., Sullivan, C. T., Spurway, K., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W., & Soldatic, K. (2022). (Re)Claiming Health: The Human Rights of Young LGBTIQ+ Indigenous People in Australia. Health and Human Rights, 24(1), 35–48.

• Soldatic, K., Sullivan, C., Briskman, L., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W., & Spurway, K. (2023, in progress). Indigenous LGBTIQSB+ People’s Experiences of Family Violence in Australia. Journal of Family Violence, preprint online, March 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-023-00539-1

• Soldatic, K., Briskman, L., Trewlynn, W., Leha, J. and Spurway, K. (2022), 'Social and emotional wellbeing of indigenous gender and sexuality diverse youth : mapping the evidence', Culture, Health and Sexuality, vol 24, no 4 , pp 564 - 582.

• Soldatic, Briskman, L., Trewlynn, W., Leha, J., & Spurway, K. (2021). Social Exclusion/Inclusion and Australian First Nations LGBTIQ+ Young People’s Wellbeing. Social Inclusion, 9(2), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i2.3603

• Soldatic, K., Sullivan, C., Briskman, L., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W. and Spurway, K. (2021), 'Social inclusion and exclusion for First Nations LGBTIQ+ people in Australia', Social Inclusion, vol 9, no 2 , pp 1 - 6.
• Spurway, K., Sullivan, C., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W., Briskman, L. and Soldatic, K. (2022), '[In Press] "I felt invisible" : First nations LGBTIQSB+ young people's experiences with health service provision in Australia', Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services.
• Spurway, K., Soldatic, K., Briskman, L., Uink, B., Liddelow-Hunt, S., Hill, B. and Lin, A. (2022), 'The social and emotional wellbeing of Indigenous LGBTQA+ young people : a global perspective', Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, vol 39, no 2 , pp 138 - 147.
• Sullivan, C., Coe, G., Spurway, K., Briskman, L., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W. and Soldatic, K. (2022), 'Transforming colonial social suffering : strategies of hope and resistance by LGBTIQ+ Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial Australia', Social Suffering in the Neoliberal Age: State Power, Logics and Resistance, Routledge 9780367675554.
• Sullivan, C., Spurway, K., Briskman, L., Leha, J., Trewlynn, W. and Soldatic, K. (2022), '"She's always been a fighter for me" : Indigenous mothers as advocates and defenders of their LGBTIQSB+ children', LGBTQ+ Family, vol 18, no 5 , pp 463 - 474.
• Sullivan, C., Coe, G., Spurway, K., Briskman, L., Trewlynn, W., Leha, J. and Soldatic, K. (2022), 'Mobility tactics : young LGBTIQ+ Indigenous Australians' belonging and connectedness', Journal of Global Indigeneity, vol 6, no 1 , pp 1 - 15.
• Sullivan, C.T., Tran, D.; Trewlynn, W., Spurway, K., Leha, J., Briskman, L., Soldatic, K. (2022). “We Want to Help but We Don’t Know What to Do”: Service Providers Working with Indigenous LGBTIQ+ Youth in Australia. Sexes, 3, 308–324. https://doi.org/10.3390/sexes3020024