Deb’s House Concerts …………

Deb’s House Concerts

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I’ve never heard of this before. The International Day Against Homophobia is tomorow, May 17, 2008. From the website, it looks like it’s based in Canada.

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The focus this year is Health Care Workers. I wish them well. This is certainly a worthy focus. All people should be treated with dignity and respect. This applies when seeking health care, too. I am happy to see that someone is addressing this issue. Education is a good place to start.

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Annual campaigns to combat homophobia focus on a different scope of activity each year. The goal of the Homosexuality is not a sickness! campaign is to reach all healthcare workers and professionals.

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The 2008 campaign highlights gay and lesbian health issues. Just like any other citizens, gays and lesbians need to receive health services free of discrimination.

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Read more from the web page after the fold.

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Healthcare

HEALTHCARE

Annual campaigns to combat homophobia focus on a different scope of activity each year. The goal of the Homosexuality is not a sickness! campaign is to reach all healthcare workers and professionals.

Healthcare includes a vast number of workers and professionals in the physical, mental, and public health fields: chiropractors, dental hygienists, dentists, denturists, dieticians, emergency medical technicians, guidance counsellors, health technicians, hearing-aid specialists, midwives, nurses, occupational therapists, opticians, optometrists, pharmacists, physicians and specialists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, school psychologists, social workers, surgeons, and so on.

Healthcare workers and professionals work in many environments that affect the entire population: hospitals, care centres, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, child welfare organisations, detention centres, learning institutions, medical clinics, assisted reproduction clinics, and daycare centres. They work in a wide range of service fields such as home care, social services, rehabilitation, domestic violence, suicide prevention, and alcohol and drug addiction.

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Homosexuality Is Not A Sickness

HOMOSEXUALITY
IS NOT A SICKNESS!

Homosexuality is not a sickness. However, specialists haven’t always thought so. For a long time, mental health professionals considered sexual activity between same-sex partners an illness.

Accustomed only to handling people with mental health issues, psychiatrists ended up believing that all gay men and lesbians were ill. They listed homosexuality among mental illnesses in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder) used by the American Psychiatric Association, an internationally recognized organisation. It wasn’t until December 15, 1973, that homosexuality was removed from the Association’s reference manual. This decision is reflected in the DSM-III published in 1980.

During an annual Board of Trustees meeting held on January 1975, the American Psychological Association did likewise by passing a resolution to remove homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses and emotional disorders for good. In 1996, the Canadian Psychological Association followed suit by adopting several resolutions based on the same principle.

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WHO

On May 17, 1991, the World Health Organisation (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. In 1992, this withdrawal was officially recorded in its international classification (ICD-10). At its 2006 National Conference, the American Psychological Association restated its position in which homosexuality was not an illness.

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Conversion Therapies

CONVERSION THERAPIES

One of the methods created to attack or eliminate homosexuality has been conversion therapies, or so-called “reparative therapies”, which ex-gay and other anti-LGBT movements are still based on today. However, starting in the early 90’s, they have been discredited by virtually all major medical, psychiatric, and psychological organisations because there is no scientific basis for such therapies and they can cause more harm than good.

Source: Fortier, C. and Julien, D. Les psychothérapies de conversion pour les personnes gaies, lesbiennes et bisexuelles : enjeux éthiques et déontologiques. [transl.: Conversion Psychotherapies for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual People: Moral and Ethics Issues.] Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne, Vol. 44: 4, November 2003, pp 332-350.

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SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STIS)

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED
INFECTIONS (STIS)

Homosexuality is not a disease. It is not how infections and diseases are spread during sexual activity between same-sex partners. A person can transmit an infection or disease to another person during sex. It’s possible between a woman and a man, between two women or between two men since it has nothing to do with their sexual orientation.

Unprotected sex and a high-number of sex partners increase the risk of becoming infected. Many men who have sex with other men have become aware of this and take steps to minimise the risk.

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Blood and Organ Donation

HIV/AIDS Information

Further
information
on AIDSwww.catie.ca

Public health authority Health Canada has decided to bar men who have sex with other men from donating blood and organs. This policy ban on groups of people is based on statistical probabilities and does not take into account actual sexual behaviour.

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Prejudice

Unfortunately, prejudice is deep-rooted. Some people continue to think that homosexuality is a mental disorder while others mistakenly believe that it can be cured. Specialists know that this is impossible. Bisexual and transgendered people experience the same prejudice as well.