LHA provided comments to the Senate Community Affairs References Committee into Universal Access to Reproductive and Sexual Healthcare.

LHA supports the Inquiry’s goal of addressing barriers in accessing such services. Existing data indicates significant barriers to LGBTIQ+ people accessing these services, due to personal and/or structural discrimination that preferences heterosexual, cisgender, and endosex norms. The lack of available and affordable services also impedes access.

In its submission, LHA called for:

• for funding to develop, in consultation with LGBTIQ+ communities, best practice LGBTIQ+ reproductive and sexual health guidelines for services. Such guidelines should be trauma informed, to ensure culturally sensitive and welcoming services for people of diverse gender, sexual orientation and bodies.
• full implementation of the ABS Standard for Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables 2020 all health and wellbeing data collection to ensure accurate and comprehensive data on LGBTIQ+ people.

The Inquiry closed on 15 December 2022. For further information: Universal access to reproductive healthcare | Parliament of Australia

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