Jennifer Power

Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society La Trobe University

Background The rising prevalence of vaping poses new challenges and opportunities for health policy and public health interventions. Given that, historically, smoking has been more prevalent among lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women than other women, this study explores LBQ women’s perceptions and experiences of vaping. Methods Sixty LBQ wome...

Introduction Health literacy is defined as the capacity, resources and insight to seek information, ask critical questions and be an advocate for one’s health. Sexual literacy is framed in similar terms, relating to the capacity to navigate emotionally and physically safe sexual encounters and to hold a critical and assertive stance on relationship...

Women living with HIV are consistently under-represented in HIV clinical trials, including cure trials. Little is known about how cisgender women living with HIV in Australia perceive HIV cure research, their level of trust in research institutions/staff, and factors salient to participation in HIV cure trials. Semi-structured interviews were condu...

This is the is the final community report from a series of studies into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) conversion practices in Australia. The report provides a brief overview of findings from a major national survey of LGBTQA+ Australians’ religious experiences, including experiences of LGBTQA+ conversion practic...

Introduction Sexual revictimisation has detrimental health outcomes for women; yet, little is known about this experience in regional/rural areas. Guided by a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach, we explore sexual assault counsellor perspectives on the revictimisation experiences of their clients and consider what conditions enab...

Purpose of the Review Smart sex toys (‘teledildonics’), are digitally enabled haptic devices designed for sexual or erotic stimulation. Devices may conform to conventional sex toy design (e.g. dildoes) or take other forms. Their primary purpose is to provide sexual or erotic stimulation through the networked haptic function. Here, we present a narr...

Background Despite availability of vaccines or medical prophylaxis for some sexually transmissible infections (STIs), promoting condom use remains an important public health strategy for the prevention of STIs. Recent research shows that regular condom use among young people in Australia has declined over the past decade, while the rate of common S...

Introduction Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer or asexual (LGBTQA+) young people are at heightened risk of suicidality and psychological distress. Interventions in various forms are required to address this issue, which should be informed by the strengths, capacity and insight of LGBTQA+ young people. Methods An online survey was promoted to LG...

The aims of this study were to identify Australian mental health practitioners’ knowledge of what LGBTQA+ conversion practices are and their perceptions of impacts on survivors. We interviewed 18 mental health workers from a range of clinical modalities who were practicing in Australia. We used reflexive thematic analytic techniques to identify the...

Introduction Prevalence and patterns of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among specific lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (trans) and queer (LGBTQ+) subpopulations are well established. However, patterns of substance-related risk have been less thoroughly explored. This study aimed to determine typologies AOD risk among LGBTQ+ adults in Australia...

This is the is the final community report from a series of studies into lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) conversion practices in Australia. The report provides a brief overview of findings from a major national survey of LGBTQA+ Australians’ religious experiences, including experiences of LGBTQA+ conversion practices...

While most research on digital sex toys to date has focussed on their affordances and marketing, or issues of data governance and privacy, research on user experience is limited. This article centres the accounts of 11 interviewees who used digital sex devices within mostly heterosexual relations, and often for remote partnered sex. We demonstrate...

Background Technologies such as the Internet, smartphones, and sex toys have demonstrated the capacity to facilitate and enhance sexual and intimate practice by offering new ways to meet sexual partners, maintain and establish intimate connections, and providing access to sexual education and exposure to new ways of engaging in sex. They have also...

Sexual revictimisation has devastating consequences for victim/survivors, yet there is limited research exploring women's experience of revictimisation in regional/rural areas. Using a community‐based participatory research (CBPR) approach, this paper reports on a qualitative study that employed a material feminist lens and Nixon's theory of “slow...

Frequently referred to as 'sexting' or 'amateur pornography', digital sexual images and videos form an increasingly common part of adult sexual relationships. However, the vocabulary available to speak about these practices is limited, with 'sexting' often associated with young people in negative terms. This study is based on 23 interviews with adu...

Introduction Camera-equipped smartphones and other devices allow people to capture and share images directly with others in ways that are spontaneous, instant and relatively inexpensive. Such sharing is a common part of modern sexual intimacies, despite media and educational discourses warning of potential risks. Methods This paper reports on a qu...

Introduction: This study investigates differences in health and wellbeing associated with current, past, or no injecting drug use (IDU) among a sample of people living with HIV in Australia, identifying key healthcare considerations between injecting experiences. Methods: Data were extracted from the HIV Futures 9 study; a survey of people living...

This publication has been written by a team of researchers and survivors of conversion practices from an Australian conversion ideology and practices research project led by university and community collaborators. It is for mental health professionals, including counsellors and phone counsellors, who may encounter survivors of conversion practices...

This resource provides guidelines for safer pastoral care with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, asexual and other people with diverse sexual and gender identities (LGBTQA+). The guidelines are based on our research with LGBTQA+ people about their experiences of pastoral care, reported in Healing Spiritual Harms. It has been p...

IntroductionSex work decriminalisation is widely supported by public health research and sex worker advocates as the best model to protect the health and rights of sex workers. In order to understand the actual implications of sex work decriminalisation on sex workers’ health, this article reviews and summarises existing research from two sites whe...

HIV Futures is the largest and longest-running study of people living with HIV in Australia. Running since 1997, the study involves periodic surveys of Australians living with HIV. In 2022, the survey now includes people who have now been living with HIV for up to 40 years, as well as people diagnosed very recently, in the past five years or less....

Hepatitis B is a significant global health issue where the 296 million people estimated to live with the infection risk liver disease or cancer without clinical intervention. The World Health Organization has committed to eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, with future curative hepatitis B interventions potentially revolu...

It is well documented that lower socio-economic status is associated with poorer health outcomes, while health literacy is considered important for improving health. What is less clear, is the extent to which greater health literacy can improve health outcomes among people for whom poverty or financial insecurity are important barriers to health. T...

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) Australians are vulnerable to religion-based attempts to change or suppress their sexuality and/or gender identity, including conversion ideology messaging in school-based sex education. Conversion bans are currently being debated across the country. This paper reports on a critical surviv...

A range of technologies now exist to facilitate sexual desire, pleasure and intimacy. Colloquially known as tech-sex, the growth in the use of such technologies has created a range of new opportunities for sexual expression and connection. Alongside these benefits are harms arising out of their non-consensual use. Drawing on a case study examining...

This paper examines how antiretroviral therapy (ART) use and fears towards the onward transmission of HIV have changed among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Australia between 1997 and 2018. Participants were recruited as part of the HIV Futures study, a large cross-sectional survey of PLHIV in Australia, in 1997, 2003, 2012 and 2018 (total n = 38...

ABSTRACT Objective: This paper reports on a critical survivor-driven study exploring how Australian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) adults attempt recovery from religious Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts (SOGIECE), and what supports they find useful in this process. The...

Religion-based LGBTQA + conversion practices frame all people as potential heterosexuals whose gender aligns with their birth sex (in a cisgender binary model of male and female sexes). Deviation from this heterosexual cisgender social identity model is cast as curable ‘sexual brokenness’. However, research shows conversion practices are harmful, a...

Purpose: This article examines factors associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in the past 12 months among lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, queer, asexual, or other non-heterosexual identifying youth (LGBQA+). Methods: A national Australian cross-sectional online survey was conducted involving 4370 cisgender LGBQA+ participants age...

This study explores in depth the health needs of diverse sex workers in Victoria by means of qualitative interviews with 31 sex workers and 17 key stakeholders. It looks at sex workers’ experiences in sexual, general and mental health provision and highlights how their health needs can be shaped by the experience of stigma, criminalisation, and a l...

Background: This paper examines how antiretroviral therapy (ART) use and attitudes towards the onward transmission of HIV have changed among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Australia between 1997 and 2018. Method: Participants were recruited as part of the HIV Futures study, a large cross-sectional survey of PLHIV in Australia, in 1997, 2003, 2...

Recent research has shown that conversion practices are poorly understood in Australia and that health workers would benefit from training to improve their care of survivors. As part of a comprehensive civil response, training for medical and mental health practitioners will be important given that increased public attention on these issues will li...

Background: Digital technologies play a significant role in people's sexual and intimate lives via smart phones, cameras, dating apps and social media. Although there is a large body of research on the potential risks posed by these technologies, research on benefits and pleasures is limited. Methods: This study explored digital sexual practices...

Introduction Teachers need training to provide high-quality sexuality education to adolescents. The recent release of a new Australian health curriculum provides a timely opportunity to examine the experiences of Australian sexuality education teachers since the release of this curriculum. Methods Australian teachers who had taught sexuality educa...

This special issue brings together interdisciplinary work exploring the relationship between bodies, masculinity, and the penis or phallus. The symbolism, significance, and meaning of the phallus or penis has varied historically and across disciplines. In the psychoanalytic tradition, “the subject…can only assume its identity through the adoption o...

It was difficult to determine the right cover for this special issue. The purpose of the issue was to encourage new ways of thinking about the phallus, and the aim was to find an image that did just this—ask people to wonder what the image is telling us. What does it represent? What is the story? It is perhaps ironic that the image we found most ap...

Background Sexual minority women consume both alcohol and tobacco at higher rates than heterosexual women. However, various sociodemographic and cultural factors associated with these practices among sexual minority women in Australia are not well understood, nor are the factors associated with seeking alcohol-related support. Methods This study u...

This paper explores men’s use of dating apps with an emergent body image focus, addressing cisgender, heterosexual men’s feelings about dating app profile pictures. Drawing from interviews with 15 cisgender, heterosexual men residing in Australia about their use of dating applications including Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble, this paper examines how cis...

Social research with people living with HIV (PLHIV) rarely distinguishes between gay men and bisexual men. However, bisexual men may have unique experiences of HIV-related stigma and distinct support needs. In this paper, findings are presented from a cross-sectional survey of Australian PLHIV, which included the Berger (HIV) stigma scale. A total...

Despite the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV, lifelong treatment is required and there is no cure. HIV can integrate in the host genome and persist for the life span of the infected cell. These latently infected cells are not recognized as foreign because they are largely transcriptionally silent, but contain repli...

Background Establishing typologies of drug use among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) who are living with HIV, as well as differences in health outcomes between them, is important in addressing health inequalities within this population. We sought to determine how use of non-prescription drugs is clustered for these individuals an...

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA+) Australians are vulnerable to religion-based attempts to change or suppress their sexuality and/or gender identity, including conversion ideology messaging in school-based sex education. Conversion bans are currently being debated across the country. This paper reports on a critical surviv...

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed sexual relationships into sharp focus as strict containment measures, including physical distancing and ‘stay at home’ restrictions, were initiated to control the spread of the virus. Governments in some jurisdictions prevented contact between non-cohabiting sexual partners (except for couples in pre-existing relati...

Background Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and gender diverse adults with intellectual disability experience exclusion within disability services. Objective This review explores the experiences of social inclusion/exclusion of this cohort in the context of disability services. Search Method A systematic search was conducted of...

Background: Establishing typologies of drug use among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) who are living with HIV, as well as differences in health outcomes between them, is important in addressing health inequalities within this population. We sought to determine how use of non-prescription drugs is clustered for these individuals a...

Introduction: Multiple jurisdictions are debating responses to United Nations calls for banning attempts at conversion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and asexual (LGBTQA +) peoples' identities to fit religious norms. This paper aimed to examine Australian LGBTQA + youths' experiences and outcomes of religious conversion practices att...

Many countries, including Australia, have laws that enable criminal prosecution of an individual based on reckless or intentional transmission of HIV to another person. Previous research has suggested that criminalisation of HIV may serve to hamper public health efforts by inhibiting HIV status disclosure or testing. Limited research to date has so...

IntroductionDespite bisexual people being found to have significantly poorer mental health than their gay, lesbian and heterosexual counterparts, research into their experiences of mental health service use remains sparse.Methods This paper presents findings from one of the largest studies of bisexual people to date (n = 2651) and examines their ac...

A cascade of care model is central to contemporary approaches to HIV prevention. The model prioritizes strategies to increase rates of HIV testing and promote early and sustained uptake of antiretroviral treatment (ART) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). The model aims to prevent new HIV transmissions by increasing the number of PLHIV who have a...

This research report presents findings from a project conducted in partnership with the Brave Network, the Australian LGBTIQ+ Multicultural Council (AGMC) and the Victorian Government on recovery support needs of survivors of LGBTQA+ change and suppression (conversion) practices. This study investigated survivors’ experiences of recovery through in...

With a times-appropriate cover image from Mel Simpson of Kittenpants studios, and contributions of art, poetry, essay, first-person memoir, interviews, and fiction from: Peter Waples-Crowe, Tiffany Jones, Sam Elkin, Indiah Money, Jude Munro, Firdhan Aria Wijaya, Steph Amir, Mel Simpson, Jean Taylor, Andrew McNamara, Jodie Hare, Frank Bonnici, Guy J...

Background Analytical treatment interruptions (ATI) are commonly used clinical endpoints to assess interventions aimed at curing HIV or achieving antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free HIV remission. Understanding the acceptability of ATI amongst people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their HIV healthcare providers (HHP) is limited. Methods Two online surv...

Introduction Involving affected communities and people living with HIV (PLHIV) in HIV cure-focused clinical trials has ethical and practical benefits. However, there can be barriers to meaningful involvement of ‘lay people’ in scientific research meaning community consultation is often limited or tokenistic. This paper reports on an Australian proj...

Genital fashioning practices, such as Brazilian waxing and female genital cosmetic surgery, have become increasingly prevalent within contemporary western societies. This paper explores the role of genital fashioning in the construction of contemporary femininity. It uses in-depth interviews and focus groups with Australian women aged 18–30 to inve...

Amendments to various state laws have made it easier for cisgendered lesbian, bisexual and queer (LBQ) women to access Australian fertility clinics. When women conceive through clinics, they generally use intrauterine insemination (IUI) or in vitro fertilisation (IVF). IUI is cheaper and requires less invasive medical intervention than IVF. A recen...

This paper explores heterosexual men’s experiences of sexting with a primary focus on how, when and why men send sexually explicit photos to women. Previous research has focused either on gay and bisexual men’s experiences or considered sexting within a broader youth context. This research considers young men and their engagement with sexting pract...

Hard copies available from The Bookshop Darlinghurst, Hares and Hyenas Melbourne and the usual online book platforms. Bookshops and Libraries can order through Lightning Source. eBook available soon. ISBN: (paperback) 978-0-6487469-3-5 | RRP AUS $26.95 | 192pp, colour ISBN: (ebook) 978-0-6487469-4-2 Cover Art—Jake Alexander Cruz. Acknowledgment—3...

This essay engages with contemporary thinking about sex bots and queerness. Is it possible to have a queer sex bot?

Background and objectives: People who identify as bisexual, transgender or gender diverse report poorer mental health than their homosexual and cisgender counterparts. The aim of this article is to shed light on the mental health experiences of gender diverse bisexual people and the reasons for poor mental health in this group. Method: This arti...

Background: It is estimated that up to one in three lesbian, bisexual or queer (LBQ) women in Australia have children. In the past decade, it has become common for LBQ women to pursue pregnancy using clinic-acquired donor sperm. Aims: The aims of this paper are to explore pathways to parenthood among Australian LBQ women in the context of increa...

Understanding contributors to smoking and quitting cigarettes is important to developing effective cessation programs and addressing smoking related morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Using data from a large cross-sectional study of Australian PLHIV we provide a smoking prevalence estimate and explore the relationship bet...

Bisexual people have consistently been found to experience poorer mental health than their lesbian, gay and heterosexual counterparts and more research is urgently needed to shed greater light on the reasons behind this phenomenon. However, due to the paucity of such research, there is a severe limitation of methodological insights to inform future...

Most people living with HIV (PLHIV) with reliable access to antiretroviral treatment (ART) have a life expectancy similar to uninfected populations. Despite this, HIV can negatively affect their social and psychological wellbeing. This study aimed to enhance understanding of the expectations PLHIV hold for HIV cure research and the implications thi...

Background Analytical treatment interruptions (ATI) are commonly used clinical endpoints to assess interventions aimed at curing HIV or achieving antiretroviral therapy (ART)-free HIV remission. Understanding the acceptability of ATI amongst people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their HIV healthcare providers (HHP) is limited. Methods Two online surve...

Over the past three decades, there has been increasing recognition and acceptance of same-sex couples and families in high-income countries. In this chapter, we review research pertaining to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families across the globe. The first section of the chapter will review important terminology in relation to LGB...

Approximately one in 10 Australian individuals report bisexual attraction, and this group has repeatedly been found to experience high rates of poor mental health. Despite this finding, our understanding of who is most at risk within this group remains limited. The current article presents findings of an online survey conducted in Australia with on...

In June 2015, the state of Victoria, Australia retrospectively opened its sperm and egg donors’ records, becoming only the second jurisdiction in the world to do so and the first where substantial pre-legislative records are available and stored in a central register. The new legislation gave donor-conceived adults and donors who were conceived or...

Cover art by Jamie James. This edition contains essays, art, research, poetry, stories, installations, graphic stories and more! Themes are of this year (2019) and include Indigenous Queer studies, identity and visibility; religious themes in law, politics and conversion therapy; climate change; Trump; Hong Kong; feminisms; gender transitions; lov...

At the opening of the 2019 Victorian Pride March, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that his government would be the first in Australia to ‘introduce new legislation to ensure so-called ‘conversion therapy’ is against the law—once and for all’. Victoria joins over 20 jurisdictions around the world that have legislated or commenced legislat...