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Pacific Health and Spirituality - Proud 2016 [AI Text]

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I start our session. Um, now and in the true Pacific spirit, we always value, um, the blessing of our heavenly father before any meetings. So I will ask, uh, the chair of the PSDNM ja male to start our session with a prayer. A short one. [00:00:30] And thank you, Julie. Um uh, and from the Pacific, we welcome you to the Pacific session, [00:01:00] uh, on LGBTI health, where we will be discussing and, uh, sharing with you some of the latest information on, uh, LGBTI health, Uh, in the Pacific and the format of the session. We will have two, key presentations at the beginning, and then after the pre, uh, after each of those presentations, we will give about five minutes. Uh, we'll open the floor to you to ask any questions [00:01:30] that you may have after the two presenters are done. Then we will have a panel discussion where I will invite three of our panellists also from the Pacific, to share some of the latest information on LGBTI health in their respective, uh, countries. And, uh, we will have the question and answer session for the for the panel at the [00:02:00] end of the presentation. of the final presenter. And then we will have Q and, uh, we will have Q and a S after that. And of course, we are always We will be here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. And you can always, uh, ask us if you have any follow up. Um uh, questions. I am I will be chairing the session. And, uh, I'm the founder and executive director of the Rainbow Pride Foundation and also the deputy chair of the [00:02:30] Pacific Sexual Diversity Network, which is the only, um, registered and existing regional NGO for, um, working for the rights of LGBTI as well as their health and well being. And I'm also the regional advisory group member for the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health. Our first, uh, two presenters. [00:03:00] The first presenter is Mr Kalla, who is also one of the is a who is a human rights activist, uh, from Samoa, uh, and Australia. He currently lives in Australia. He founded the Samoan AIDS Foundation in 2004 and can received an award for human Rights for his work on HIV advocacy in the Pacific. He also co-founded [00:03:30] the Pacific Sexual Diversity Network in 2007, of which he currently works as a technical advisor. Ken is also a board member of the UH Glia Asia Pacific, the Gay and Lesbian International Sports and Human Human Rights Association Asia Pacific. He is also currently serving on the interim committee for ILJO. [00:04:00] He is a member of the outreach ministries for the Christian LGBTI Q people of faith in Australia and is presently doing theological studies for the ministry in Australia. He will be presenting on Christianity and access to sexual health care over to you, Mr Ken. Thank you all for coming. I know it's a very small room, but I'm sure we'll get through. Um, I'd like to dedicate this presentation to my grandparents who [00:04:30] were Christian missionaries to Papua New Guinea. But I also would like to dedicate this, uh, presentation to, uh, 11 of my, um, ministers and, uh, who was actually very instrumental and, uh, very informative of of nurturing me while I was very young. And his name is Reverend, who's just, um I cherish his memory at this moment and who his [00:05:00] daughter is in the room at the moment. Um, but before I start. I just want to give you just a brief outline on the situation of the, um the current situation of the church, Uh, in the Pacific. It is one of the very strong pillars of the Pacific society. In fact, it actually is a ruling it very instrumental and and have an impact on the lives of [00:05:30] people in the Pacific. Uh, with regards to LGBTI Q communities, it can pose a very strong challenge to our existence. Um, because of the traditions because of the colonialization, because of the missionaries that have had this, uh, very detrimental impact on us. But over the period of time, it [00:06:00] has taken a struggle for us as go on and on to come to our own. And that has been only recently in the last 2030 years that we have asserted ourselves and been tolerated by our society. What I am going to present to you may seem very radical, but bearing in mind that times change and we need to go with the change. [00:06:30] And, uh, but bearing in mind that we do hold great respect to with our our leaders of our society Uh, I am presently studying theology in in Australia and I want to be a spokesperson for the LGBT R community from the Pacific, counteracting all the the let's say harassment by the church. So there's no need actually to actually feel [00:07:00] just franchised or marginalised. I think we need to stand up to it. I think we need to really come forward and say, Look, we grew up in this framework. We need to address it, um, within the the boundaries that we have set ourselves. So I will start. And, uh, if you have any questions later, I'm only too happy to answer them. OK, ok, that just gives you an overview of the Pacific area, [00:07:30] which includes, uh, Polynesia, Micronesia and, uh, uh, Polynesia. And we're very fortunate to where PSDN has come over the, uh since its inception, and thank you to our our, our all our members who actually represent quite a big area in the Pacific. Um, there's 22 island territories and countries in the Pacific, and we have reached half of the amount [00:08:00] so far, so we've got a lot of work to do to reach out to all of the areas we have got to touch the French territories. Uh, we have, uh, the American Samoa. Uh, we've got to reach out to all the other territories. Um, but so you know, we have our work before us, and I know with the resurgence of of the various groups in these islands geographically, it's very challenging. OK, OK, Christianity [00:08:30] as a strategy against for queer people and sexual health care is based on what the mainstream and cultural forms of Christianity say about same sex behaviours. What are the Christian teachings that can combat discrimination and encourage access to sexual health care? It really appeals to four main streams. One is singular interpretations of Bible passages to spiritualistic dualism, [00:09:00] three Heter, heteronormative, Theo, theology and ethics and sex and for notions of prohibition and punishment, A very sort of wrong words. But basically I'll try to explain what they all mean. OK, it's sexual harassment in the Bible. It's actually Bible bashing. It's actually, uh, club of passages. They throw these passages at the Bible, especially in the context of the of Sodom [00:09:30] and Gomorrah. Uh, and they're only one liners. They we really need to examine the whole context in In which is written and This is what a lot of fundamental churches are doing. They they think that our community is going against God and the Bible. OK, it also appears to spiritualistic dualism. The soul is more important than the body. So this is what the mainstream churches have saved. [00:10:00] Uh, you're either able or disabled. There is holy or unholy soul or a body permanent or temporal man or woman, human or non spirit spirit matter for living or non living beings. OK, there's also this dualism. You know, it seems to touch no one has come as a link to each other. The soul, which consists of the church and God and the body sex being [00:10:30] gay, and HIV, for example have little to do with each other. The soul should be given more care than the body. So this is the thought of the, uh, mainstream theology, the Christian theology today, OK, just to give a bit of, um, theological background a Augustine of in the fourth century, uh, promoted that abstinence is better than marriage can be good to control, lust and produce Children. This [00:11:00] is the thinking back then and then we had the Saint Thomas aqui in 13 century Sex is legitimate only between men and women for the purpose of offspring. And then we have the Roman Catholicism distinguished between homosexual tendency and homosexual acts. The only legitimate sex the heteronormative sex going against divine order. Natural naturalness. OK, OK. Appeals also to notions [00:11:30] of prohibition and punishment Mainstream Christianity. HIV AIDS is not a punishment from God. Uh, this is, uh, determined in the Anglo Communion in 2002. They also said that HIV and AIDS are gay diseases which have have merited the wrath of God and just just punishment from transgression. And I deserve to be punished mentality. OK, what are Christian teachings that can combat [00:12:00] discrimination encourage access to sexual health? So we really need to appeal to the overarching message of Christianity. We also need to appeal to the alternative interpretations of the Bible. We need to appeal to queer theology. We also need to appeal to our the theologies of HIV and a ID. OK, what does all that mean? Ok, The Bible is a record of testimonies of ancient people's experiences [00:12:30] of God. The Bible has been and continues to be interpreted. The club of passages I explained before can be interpreted differently. Uh, sexual violence, pride, lack of hospitality, erroneous translations over indulgence and sexual pleasure and fidelity to God going against one's usual sexual disposition. Sexual violence. The consequence. Not cause of sin. Her true [00:13:00] normative ideas of sex but the Bible scholars really meant, remains a mystery. Therefore, the Bible cannot be used as a tool for homophobia and transphobia. OK, let's This is what we need to see in the message of Christianity. The core message of created Christianity is love and non judgement. And those are scriptures referring to that queer theology. [00:13:30] What is queer theology? It's contextual theology, using the experience and knowledge of LGBTI Q people to theologies, theologies, interrogating nominative religious and theological identities and boundaries. Queer theology affirms three important issues. The incarnation of Christ is proof that all bodies are potentially sacred. All of our creation is good and part of God's diverse creativeness. The borderless [00:14:00] body of Christ is parallel to the borderless bodies of the LGBTI Q people. OK, uh affirming to appeal to affirming theologies of HIV and aids. Christ is the head. Christians are the body. Christ. The Body of Christ has AIDS to reach out to people living with HIV A. I DS is to reach out to Christ himself. Christian communities are all connected if one part suffers. All part suffers [00:14:30] first Corinthians 5 26 reflecting Christ by reaching out, reaching out to people living with HIV and AIDS. People living with HIV and AIDS are bearers of God's mission to other people living with HIV and AIDS, and to those who are HIV negative appreciating life more deeply. OK, let's see what, uh, I know it could be high winded at the moment, but the whole idea is to give [00:15:00] the theological approach to what people say about queer people. So what Christianity say about queer people? So the first thing is singular interpretations of biblical passages. Second of the spiritual, uh, spiritualistic dualism, the Heteronormative, theology and ethics and sex and four notions of Prohibition and Punishment. Christianity can be used as a strategy for queer people when it appeals to the [00:15:30] alternative interpretation of the Bible, the overarching messages of Christianity, queer theology and affirming the theologies of human of HIV and aids. OK, uh, just these are the points of of discussion that we may have some time. What are the intersecting perceptions of gender, sexuality, sex and Christianity that influence the sexual behaviour of queer people, especially men who have sex with men and transgender people [00:16:00] in your own cultural context and experiences? OK, what are the main evidence based factors in Christianity driven phobia that obstructs access to sexual health care in your own contextual context and experiences, especially for a men have with men and transgender people. So I'm just gonna leave it like that because otherwise it will just get above our heads. But I'm gonna throw it over to [00:16:30] to our panel to to just to give you an overview of what is happening on the ground in in the Pacific and how this affects, you know, what is the the the the the discussion on these issues that I've brought up and how their communities are affected. So thank you very much. Thank you very much. Uh, Ken, let's give him a round of applause. [00:17:00] Uh, we'll take in one or two questions before we move on to the next, uh, presentation. If not, we will now move on to the next, uh, presentation on transgender people's transgender people. Health needs in the Pacific, and the presentation will be done by M Sulik Wang, who is a Fijian transgender activist, [00:17:30] feminist and human rights defender who has worked on LGBTI Q issues, um, of the Pacific region for the past 13 years. Uh, she founded a transgender women led movement in Fiji, which is called the House of Chameleon, and this used to be a project, uh, under the Fiji Arts Council. For six years now, Sulik has been the chief coordinator of the popular anti pageant, a transgender [00:18:00] pageant in Fiji, and she sits also as a member of the Hibiscus Festival Committee under the Hibiscus Events group. Sulik also serves as a member of the Asia Pacific Transgender Network Regional Steering Committee, and she is also a board member of the Ilg Oceania Miss Luke. Thank you, Kelly. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak. Thank you to the co convenor PSDM as well as And I know that Jack [00:18:30] is also a special mention to Jack because I'll be, you know, picking some key summary recommendations from these blueprints that we were part of last year in terms of the consultation that happened in Nepal Bangladesh as well as in Bangkok. And we will to be present in Bangkok from the Pacific through the Pacific Sexual Diversity Network to be able to put in our submissions and recommendations towards the trans situations health needs of trans people in the Pacific. And I think it's also great that you [00:19:00] know that we have two key people in the room because it's also going to be showcasing some of the the realities and the situation of, you know, from the consultation until now. So basically this really wonderful looking yellow book, the blueprint for the provision of comprehensive care for trans people and trans communities in Asia and the Pacific is a basically a tool to improve access to competent primary and specialised care for trans people in the Asia Pacific region. A particular focus, [00:19:30] uh, thematic focus that I'll be looking at is around the human rights standard of trans people commitments under the International Human Rights Law, as well as monitoring compliance with human rights obligation. One of the wonderful things that we did last year in terms of engaging with Elga World was the submission of Fiji's universal periodic review when we were under review. So we were able to make submissions for to do a presentation in Geneva. So that's one of the ways in which we continue to engage with [00:20:00] ILGO World as well as ILGO Oceania in terms of lobbying at the UN level and also at the international level in terms of improving the lives of and the promoting the rights of transgender people. One of the things that I also wanted to particularly focus on today I really was trying to push for a, you know, just for a minute during the New Zealand Human Rights Commission presentation today. Uh, in terms of how we can also look towards [00:20:30] New Zealand, as you know, one of the key players in the Pacific as well as Australia, not just in terms of regionalism, but also, you know, if you look at the role that they play in the Pacific Island Foreign Secretariat, we also see big role. The New Zealand Human Rights Commission can play in terms of strengthening the national human rights institutions in the Pacific, particularly for Fiji, who have experienced, you know, military coup in 2006, and we have a dysfunctional human Rights Commission some of the duties and the powers [00:21:00] that the Human Rights Commission that's supposed to be, You know, focusing on is no longer there in terms of, you know, fulfilling its role under the Paris principles and its, you know, ability to make sure that it facilitates mechanism and processes where we trans women can access redress in court in terms of violations of our human rights. And I think we have a lot to learn in terms of the study that Jack was part of as a commissioner. And that's also one of the things that I wanted to push in [00:21:30] terms of region to have a study. That's one of the challenges that that big gap in the Pacific is that we don't have credible up to date information and evidence to inform our intervention, and that's one of the areas that I really want to work on. One of the priorities in terms of this blueprint as well is the sexual and gender based violence of transgender women, and I know that these two wonderful women here from the Maia they're doing their own, uh, you know, ways in which they are going to be focusing on S, GB V. One of [00:22:00] the things that we're doing this year is a big research on transgender women violence in Fiji. This is going to be the first for Fiji that the house of chameleon that I'm part of is going to be facilitating. We're working with the Fiji Women's Rights Movement and with kind support from the European Union. So that's something to look forward to in terms of, you know, further on the recommendation and working with policy makers and government to be able to implement some of the recommendations from here. And we really looking forward to this and yeah, we [00:22:30] looking forward to sharing it as well with PSGN and also engaging with, uh, PSDN on so many other levels. The other thing, uh, in terms of the Trans of Blueprint is the access to hormonal therapy for transgender women. Just recently, I decided to late last year to go through H RT. One of the unfortunate thing in the Pacific for transgender women is that we have no access to hormonal [00:23:00] pills. So when I I had the opportunity to go back to Bangkok, I managed to work with a few friends there who were supplying pills to me, but unfortunately, uh uh, just, you know, in terms of replenishing my next talk, I couldn't do that because there was virtually none. So that's one of the issues in terms of access to, uh, gender affirming services and treatment in Fiji. [00:23:30] Yeah, I think it's just about it, because I really wanted to also look at Papua New Guinea. Some of the labels development that is taking place in terms of access to treatment for transgender women who's living with HIV as well as, uh, who is working on some, uh, a few projects in collaboration with us as well. Sorry, Jack. Do you wanna add some stuff? Thank you very much. Uh, for the, uh, short, [00:24:00] uh, presentation highlighting the two priority, um, transgender health issues in the pacific. And, uh, there are many more, uh, issues that they face. And these are recorded on the on the trans health blueprint. Um, book that Sulik was showcasing earlier. Are there any questions for If not, we'll keep moving on [00:24:30] to the ask me questions now. And like this today we were talking. We were listening to yesterday at the Trans health consultation like a lot of stuff around medication and all that. It's like I. I could see the Pacific like we were, like, lost in the conversation. It's because, you know, we haven't reached the stage where we actually have that conversation, but it was also interesting to like Listen to some of the the work that's currently going. You know, just listen to some of the challenges that are facing but that intersex people [00:25:00] and trans people face in terms of, uh, genderen citizens, this name in Fiji, there is considerable, uh, Indian originated community. I noticed that there are no no no people from, um, alternative sexualities and in the room from Fiji. But can you tell me to what extent it is, um, is alternate Sexuality is acknowledged in [00:25:30] the Indian community, and it's not or without an issue in terms of the representation of in terms of representation in terms of how the relations between the two. I hate to use the word race because there's there's no such thing, the short code that we used to talk about, people who are different, but what I'm asking, Is there any, um, [00:26:00] what are the relationships between indigenous people and non indigenous people in terms of the same same sex experience. And I don't use the term in, uh, term, um, gay men by trans bisexual in this context, because I use the term men to men and women to women because I think it reflects that they, uh, they a different set of focus. So my question is, um do you have any contact with or any knowledge [00:26:30] of, or any involvement with the, uh, sorry the Indo Fiji community in your organisations or in your work? That's the folks and there are none of them here today. That's one of the things that we've worked with. We have a lot of trans activists who are I don't we don't call, they not. They don't self identify as hater, even though they have a history. I. I have been in wedding where where they have performed. Yeah, but one of the misconceptions, particularly for the [00:27:00] women's movement as well as for the LGT movement, is that we assume that they call themselves as haters. But most of them do not identify themselves as rich, even though they have that history. As you know, those that came through the indeed Labourers system. Most of them would just identify themselves as transgender because of the roles that is expected when you are a hija and the, you know, the the the religion and all of that, they do not. But we have we've worked with. We have a coalition called the Fiji LGBT Coalition. We [00:27:30] have a group for specifically for, uh, Fijian community of Indian descent. They are activists working in the ground. We have members of the House of chameleon who are transgender of Indian descent, who who who continue to engage with us. We have an activist, Chris Prasad, who's been one of the key players and all of that in terms of race relations and all of that. It's we don't Yeah, OK, you've answered my question, but there is a presence [00:28:00] and you are interacting, which was which was the point of my movement because we have indigenous people here. But we don't have any of the people who came to Fiji as a result of the imperial, even the imperial process, not the colonial process, but the imperial process. We don't if any of those people represent here and in New Zealand at this conference. We don't have any from that tradition. From what I can see or any from the as the East Asian communities. [00:28:30] That's my point. I think the point is made. So yes, we need to ask the Pacifica community because you come from these religious dominated societies with looking at another example of Ireland, which was completely dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, in which recently the people all voted by an overwhelming majority of that [00:29:00] draws whether that gives you any inspiration or or or learning that can be applied to your own situations. I've talked to the Irish activists about how they've managed to because they've got gains, gender recognition in Ireland as well, as well as marriage equality. And to be honest, one of the reasons why they think they've been unable to achieve it at this time is because of the huge stigma and lack of faith in the Roman Catholic Church [00:29:30] because of the sexual abuse. Um, you know, stories that have come, you know, all of those experiences have come out and been exposed, and so so when when the minister is speaking from the pulpit and saying a particular line, the authority has been hugely undermined in in an Ireland because of sexual abuse and the numbers of people actively involved in the churches plummeting an Ireland. So that's a different context from [00:30:00] That's why people say that it it it created a space where people were willing to to not just listen to what the church told them to do. But in the Pacific, there's also change, and it differs from one country to another. I can only speak to Fiji. In the past, we used to have, uh, the dominant church marching against like having special marches to march against gay people. Uh, and that was when they were trying to introduce Sochi into a Constitution [00:30:30] back in 1997 I think. But now we are working with the churches, uh, the organisation I founded. We're working with that church, the Methodist Church, which is the dominant um, which has the most members in Fiji, and things have started to change. They allowed us to have a candlelight peace vigil in one of the main churches in the city on Ida Hot in 2014, and they have also started writing um, op-ed [00:31:00] on Ida Hot and uh, asking the church members to be more compassionate and loving towards, uh, people of LGBT. OK, so change is happening. I think one of the reasons that we have the changes because of the change in the constitution. If you see from 1997 to now, we will then call us a Christian state with the 1997 constitution. But with the change of the 2013 Constitution and with the addition of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression [00:31:30] in the Bill of Rights in the Constitution, we also now a circular state despite, you know, Fiji being a very multi religious, multi racial society. So it you have, you know, that kind of sort of enable, uh, some conversation to take place in terms of the church working along with the LGBT groups in the present climate in Samoa. It's a long way of coming to that situation. Um refer [00:32:00] to, um to give explanation, uh, through certain law reforms that has come about through their situation. Well, currently, we have just recently completed the the the The Revision to our Crimes Ordinance Act now becomes that was crimes, or in 1961 now becomes Crimes Act 2011 12 and so 12 [00:32:30] So that this building in a couple of our legislation that we actually submitted for, like, the impersonation and this between Decision act between Male But unfortunately, we couldn't happen to change the topic, change the still But, um, many other, um, all our legislation and old one, that is the purpose of our reform Commission that has been set up by government recently is to [00:33:00] actually review all the business information legislation that we have. And, um, I'm sure along the same line and in the future we will, of course, lobby where, uh, for for the methods that pertaining to us and also the same sex marriage that the UN is still pushing for us to to lobby for with our leaders. So yeah, but, um, at the moment, we was just doing [00:33:30] fine. We living in harmony, and, uh, we just don't want to stir things up. We just take it one step at a time. But in saying that there needs to be dialogue between the community and the churches. Uh, we need to make those approaches, and I believe they're doing that in in Fiji as well as Tonga through the advocacy of joy. But it's important that we start to to actually make them aware of of of the situation we are in. And that's where you know Building [00:34:00] Bridges is is coming into play. Our work is actually because it's never been, I don't know, but it's never been happening before that we actually get to face down face to face with the church leaders. But recently we've been doing, um, uh workshops with them And, you know, I'm very glad that we actually come face to face with them. And they, um you know, they've been bracing us with all the work that we do, but then at the, uh, you know that I don't know what else is there, but, [00:34:30] uh, we still face problems with some of the non mainstream churches, you know, the new ones, like the a OG and all that. But with with our main one is Catholic and Methodist. But we still have faced problems with the new the new I don't know what it's called, but we we've been calling home the new established churches. Those are the ones that actually, um, time and time again. They always say stuff about us that we are. [00:35:00] We are law breakers. So we are. But otherwise our main church are with us all the way, and they traditional, but they they do understand our issues and our our our way of life. But, um, we will never start from there. We will continue with our work to allow for more fans and more sponsor there so they can assist us further with our work with them. But I believe that it's a matter of keep on knocking and always continue [00:35:30] to have those conversations with them. Uh, data gatherings. Thank you, Roger. So, um, if you have any questions, we can You can ask those questions again at the end of the panel discussion. Uh, we will now move on to the panel discussion. And other three colleagues that would be in the panel include, uh, Miss Joy. Miss, uh, here am I right, Miss Julio Baxter and Miss Elizabeth Taylor from, uh, PNG. [00:36:00] Who would like to go first? Miss Taylor Taylor. OK, miss, uh, Elizabeth Taylor. She's from, um PNG. She works for the Save the Children, uh, back in PNG under their sexual and reproductive health. Uh, programme. Uh, programme. Um particularly in the area of, uh, transgender and sister health. Uh, she's their clinic coordinator, and she's a trans activist and a human rights defender. [00:36:30] She's also a member of the carpool champion, which is a group of men with diverse sexuality and transgender, uh, people organisation. And she's also part of the French, uh, friends friendship, which is a sex worker organisation. Um, over to you, Miss Taylor. Thank you. And thank you for the, um organising this conference and bringing [00:37:00] us here for us to share our issues back in the Pacific, especially. I'm gonna present about issues related to human rights and health in Papua New Guinea. Before I go on, I'll talk a little bit about the background of couple Champion. What it is like couple champion is a human rights. Uh, base, uh, focus on the national advocacy for men who have sex with men and transgender individuals in Papua New [00:37:30] Guinea. What couple champion, do we advocate and promote the rights of MS M and transgender individual in the country? We educate and empower members to take responsibilities of their behaviours and fight against HIV and AIDS We work closely with several service providers so they can provide conducive and friendly and environment for our members. And also we advocate for the law reform, especially the decriminalisation or rule of the Law on [00:38:00] Sodom and indeed in Dissent Act section 2, 10 and 2 12 of the Criminal Act of Papua New Guinea. PN is failing to adequately protect rights of LGBTI. PNG continues to enforce laws, criminalise concessional sex between men more. It does not enact any laws or policies that protect against decriminalisation [00:38:30] on the basics of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. This has resulted in widespread of social discrimination, including difficulties accessing police protection from violence, health services and employment. Transgender people are more likely than other groups to face stigma and discrimination in existing health services. Transgender people are particularly stigmatised when presenting [00:39:00] for health checkup, test and treatment in relation to possible sexual transmitted infection. This impediment to accessing health care services not only proportionately affect this vulnerable population, but generally the leads to the high prevalence rate of HIV epidemic among trans gender people in Papua New Guinea, the National health plan in 2011 to 2020 does not make any mention [00:39:30] of transgender pets and other members of LGBTI community. As a result, the national plan does not address the specific risk and vulnerability facing LGBTI pets and especially transgender women. The risk included the risk of IV infection as a result of criminalization of same sex relations, as well as mental and physical health issues arising from a rising to a rate of discrimination and physical [00:40:00] and sexual violence in the country. Transgender people are not able to freely seek health services due to a rate of stigma and disc and counter that clinic clinic clinicians often stigmatised and discriminate then when they seek health services. This has caused many LGBTI people, especially transgender women, to withdraw from seeking health services in the country. There are several cases where transgender people die due to lack of treatment of HIV related [00:40:30] illnesses. There is no profile statistic and M MA system in place to capture transgender people. Accessing health facilities, like most of the datas, are always captured on the male and female. There is no pre exposure prophylaxis is available in health facility for trans people to access with that, um, just to conclude the eight. I would just, uh, state out the recommendation here, especially to [00:41:00] other Pacific countries that PNG will need lobby support from other Oceania countries, especially from Fiji and New Zealand, to, uh, this this criminalization of same sex law, which, uh, in regards to the U PR that was submitted to to be presented in July, guarantee that public health system provide comprehensive quality service that acceptable [00:41:30] and accessible to trans people and appropriate training is provided to health care providers to address transgender issues in that country. UN bodies. And you got to E Council in Pacific country like PNG, we do have a council that's, um, to reveal the policy or the impact impact means HIV many men and prevents an act which does not protect the rights [00:42:00] of transgender people. It's more like broad covering men and women. Transgender people are not involved in that act. And also we need trans specialists available to provide health care and counselling services to trans people who are HIV positive or seeking other health related issues. Thank you. And with that, I'm gonna give a case like John Paul of our one of our 20 experience when she was accessing [00:42:30] a clinic back in what must be the name because of confidentiality. I describe a different name, but the story is what she told me. Miss Tony is a transgender woman from Central Province, Papua New Guinea. She had some, and they need to seek medical advice from a doctor. She went to a government clinic and waited on the queue to be saved while waiting, she noticed that the doctor had no and several other patients who are arriving after her. When [00:43:00] it was finally time to see the doctor. The doctor might say to wait further While she was waiting, the doctor left the clinic through the back door without saving it. She was dismayed. Minutes later, when she landed, a doctor departed to avoid providing her with a consultation. Thank you. That's all. Thank you very much. Uh, Ms Taylor for sharing, uh, PNG experience. And, uh, we hope to discuss that further, Um, after [00:43:30] all the presentations are made, uh, our next presenter is Miss Julio MGI Baxter from, uh, via she does a lot of, uh, activist, uh, work around the islands of Vanuatu and have also, um, done done some work across the Pacific in Cook Islands, Tonga and Fiji. And, uh, she, in fact, is [00:44:00] a TV star from, uh, a popular Pacific TV show called Love Patrol. It is aired on Maori TV in New Zealand. Um, and Love Patrol is A to local production by an NGO called one small bank that, uh, confronts issues in the Pacific region and LGBT. Uh, human rights is one of the [00:44:30] one of the main issues. That's, uh, sort of incorporated into, uh, the narratives that are are shown in the programme. Gigi is, in fact, also the leader for V Pride Foundation, which is an LGBT movement in Vanuatu. And she also currently serves as the secretary to the PSDN, uh, board. And, uh, she is currently a student [00:45:00] also with the Australian Pacific Technical College doing a diploma in human rights and good governance and leadership. Miss Thank you. Good afternoon, everyone. Um, I will not talk much about fee pride because I'll just give you the word press website that we are on so you can read it at your own time and also with our Facebook page. And you have any questions? Just flick us a message. Um, but I'll just tell you specifically. On what? Pride. [00:45:30] Um, just a little bit about free pride. Um, pride provides the opportunity for members to learn and to involve, um, in peer education. Uh, this is by, um, by the, um our local NGO clearly already mentioned. And then we get funding from, uh, NZ a and, um D a, um, topics that we cover is sexual health, reproductive health, HIV and SD I teenage pregnancy and other health related issues. Peer education. [00:46:00] Um, we do a lot of peer education because we find it's a It's a tool that we get to engage with the community. And, um um, addressing those issues, we find that we build up a relationship with the community to help them understand our issue as well. Um, not only that, we talk about the issues that the whole community face, but indirectly, we sensitise them to, uh, get them to understand our lives as an LGBT. Person. Um, [00:46:30] we have a safe space, uh, called, um, campus in Isla campus. Means come, come and see us. Uh, the name campus head is, um, that was put on is not, um it's not to stigmatise anybody, but it's It's a friendly, um, and attractive place where everyone just come in. Um, even if you walk into that clinic or wherever that space, um, no one can discriminate you or you feel [00:47:00] stigmatised because everyone knows that you will go and look for H and everyone will assume that Oh, this person might have HIV or this person is gay and is entering this year. So it's, um that's why we put that name, um, campus. Um, at the moment, the group is doing a, um, in collaboration with PSD. And they're doing a Pacific um, well, collaboration with PSDN and U NDP And also, uh, UN SW a study on Pacific multicultural, [00:47:30] multi country mapping and behavioural study on HIV and SD. I risk vulnerability among key populations. And, uh, just last week, we have, um, recruited some members of our, um of the to, um to get involved. Um, so these are the things that we've been doing, uh, the challenges that we faced, Uh, I think, um, kind of already touched base on it. So, um, the Christian influence that we have back home, I [00:48:00] think that's one thing that we still, uh, they use Bible. They they prosecuted that the local, um, the community are still prosecuting us again with the with the Bible. Um, it's very challenging. Um, because most of the members are, um well, members are from, um, from chiefly from backgrounds or family, and they could not express themselves or be comfortable of themselves. Therefore, [00:48:30] they come out to us. Um, uh, because of myself that I'm from, um from also from a chiefly background and I'm being myself. So they feel like coming through me and I talk with them. Helps them to, uh, to find their own, um, comfortable space. Um, also. Oh, um, yeah. And our cultural background. Um, because we are also a multicultural [00:49:00] country. Some of the parts of the, um, the country, um, they they originate from Tonga and Samoa. So we do not have a local terminology, um, of a like because the different of different terminologies. Like for some parts of the country. They use the word and, um yeah, and there's some other terminologies. And, um, I think [00:49:30] with what we are doing, Yes. So the understanding is not well communicated across because some people are still using cultural background and a Christian influence to fight against us. Um, another thing as well is amongst just the LGBT community. Those who of us who are well educated once they are successful and they're up there, they forget about the others who are done. Um, from the grassroots level that do not communicate [00:50:00] or do not want to assist, uh, any of us like, for example, if those of those of us who were in the session yesterday I did touch base on about it. And, um, I was Karl K did a demonstration that, uh, in in the conclusion of the, um on the condition of her presentation. And that was one thing that, uh, is very important that I think for us, man, to, uh, we need to get that addressed [00:50:30] because it's, uh, it it it feels like just amongst the LGBT community, we are being discriminated amongst other members. Yes, So, um yeah, I think I'll stop from there. Thank you. Ok, thank you very much. Uh, for the very informative, uh, presentation on the situation in Vanuatu. And, uh, we hope that in the discussion, we will be able to discuss, uh, more about that. Now we will move on to [00:51:00] our final, uh, panellist Miss Julie Jolene Male who will share with us a little bit about the experience. So let me introduce Uh um, an introduction is way too long, and, uh, I'm the runner for this network. OK, um, [00:51:30] I'm gonna be fast, because we don't have, uh, too much time for for this presentation, because I'm running a a whole workshop on my own, um, tomorrow at, 01 o'clock, I think. Or something like that. Um, yeah, at one o'clock, um, and then I will share the whole history of To lay as and how he started and everything. Um, [00:52:00] but, um, I'm just going to be touching base on what's really going on at the moment. Because the association started in 1992 because of the first transgender person, Um, that was infected with aids in 1987. And, um, from 1987 to 1992 4 doctors, um, decided to put together together [00:52:30] with the help of S PC and a member of parliament, the first female member of Parliament, Mrs. Papi together the ladies, um, community and see what they can do to educate the LGBT um uh, communities which is more driven by the transgender community, and they're more visible. Ok, um so by 1992 [00:53:00] we finally were able to put together everything. And, um, we got the the the, um uh, the network registered in the government as an NGO. And, um, from since 1992 to 2016, uh, 100. And now we have 148 members. Um, registered members [00:53:30] from that's from the whole 140 uh, islands inhabited islands of to and to is is, um uh contains of three groups of island which is to the group and of a group. Um, so our results that just came in from the HIV, uh, has [00:54:00] been all negative, and we've been negative right through. OK, so it was hard at first to get to actually, when we first started, it was quite hard for for us to get our members to actually test it to be tested because everybody had a fear of being talked about or being found out that you've got ST I or HIV. But then we went through. We went through quite a few consultations with our members. And they were, [00:54:30] um, with they were ok with the idea, but they didn't. They still didn't want to go to the lab or the hospital. So what we did was we asked the lab people to come to a retreat centre. I mean, retreat, um, to our annual retreat that we usually do and get the testing done over there. Ok, so it was a bit weird because there was no confidentiality over [00:55:00] there, and yet we were trying to get away from the confidentiality at the hospital. You know, um uh, being being baptised over there because every time you walk into the lab, the people that are sitting around there waiting to be examined or something are going Mm, There's another victim. And, uh but, you know, it got to the point that we were called a DC aids. When you walk down the road, you know, a a DC. [00:55:30] But we got over it. Um, but since then, the TL a has been leading the HIV programme. Uh, HIV awareness programmes in Tonga throughout Tonga. Um and, um, we have an an an an HIV animal test. We're the only ones who are, um, who are out there in public distributing condoms. When [00:56:00] we first started doing that in the early nineties, it was the biggest joke ever because the Methodist Church or the Wesleyan Church totally went against it. The Catholic were OK. And then they went no. And but then I went with one of the nuns that we were in the same HIV national, um [00:56:30] HIV Stakeholders Committee, Um, and asked the the the bishop, who is the cardinal now, Um, how can we address HIV? You know, um and and and and promote condom condom use for our youth because at the end of the day, we have to protect their lives, you know? So instead of the cardinal turned around and [00:57:00] said, OK, go and do whatever you want to do. But don't promote it like how it is done everywhere else. Use it as a tool to make sure that that they know that if there's anything to protect them, there's something there for them. But don't try and make them convince them that they can just go and have sex all the time. And there's something there for them, you know, like so as [00:57:30] long as we had the OK from him, it's fine. But of course, we still had backlashes from other people that didn't like it, you know, from the church. But then that didn't stop us from doing it. Especially a nun who was actually an auntie of mine. And, um and, um then she got pulled up, pulled off from the project, and, uh, then we tried again, Um, with some of the other members, uh, approaching the cardinal [00:58:00] again to for the, uh, Christian families, uh, network within the church to try and promote health issues, HIV and everything. So now that is working, you know? So it's just I. I think it was just a matter of explaining consultations with members with the leaders of the groups and telling them what it what it's all about. It's not just condom, you know, um, it's [00:58:30] all about health, because what we had to actually put there when we started showing them that the, you know, the, um the what the present our presentation was all about and all that. The first question was, Why do you come to us? Why don't you just concentrate with the or the queers or the trends or the whatever. Because they're the ones who are out there using their bodies in sinful things. And, you know, and [00:59:00] then we had one thing good about having your data. Your HIV test data is to show them the LGBT community are all HIV free. The ones that are sick now are the so-called church goers, you know. And so that's how we were able to get into their brains, you know, to actually make sure that you have your proof to make them believe you [00:59:30] so that when that has break that barrier a little, You know, we still have a little ups and down from from other churches, Um, and a But, uh uh, One thing that that, um, that we are still trying to go through now is instead of concentrating on on, uh, on HIV, we're trying to go into the [01:00:00] registration, um, to try and see if we can change some of the laws. You know, um, now we have passed the the the family protection. Uh, bill, we've passed the, um the gender. Uh, policy. Um, they've passed the name change so you can change your name. from John to Mary. Now, you know, um but still, you still can't change the ID from [01:00:30] male to female. You know, Uh, so those are the the things that we're trying to go through now? Um, yeah. I think I better stop here to let you guys ask, uh, ask some questions and bear in mind. I will be covering all of this with the story and my story tomorrow. Thank you. Ok, thank you very much. Uh, Joey GG and, uh, Miss [01:01:00] Taylor, for your short, uh, presentation, we will now open the floor for questions. Yeah, well, one question I had was about us as activists at a like, you know, those of you in countries I know. So not everyone here might know what the universal periodic review is, but it's It's a chance when your government reviews all of its human rights laws so and in lots of parts of the world. Ji communities [01:01:30] have used that because sometimes lesbians tried to use the convention. That's about the rights of women. Um, but there isn't a convention that's about the rights of of soI. So the U PR has sometimes been seen as a place where we can do that and I know Tonga has done. You've got some soI recommendations out of your U PR. You've done a submission, the one in Fiji for probably Maybe it's the first one in the Pacific. It talks about the rights of lesbians in the Pacific as well. And then you've [01:02:00] done one for Papua New Guinea and I don't know what other parts have. And and the other thing about the U PR process is that the you write your your submissions and then the people that question your government are governments from other parts of the world. So someone from the New Zealand delegation in Geneva will decide when Tonga comes up when when Papua New Guinea comes up, when Fiji comes up. Of all the issues that all the NGO S asked, they [01:02:30] will pick a couple that they will ask questions about and can we help by lobbying them so that they ask the JI question and what is the most effective way for us to do that is that the final decision will be made by the by our national Party that's in power is, would it be most effective for those of you from the Pacific community who know national Party MP S to be talking to them like I'm just wondering, what does it look like when New Zealand [01:03:00] tells the Pacific off for so stuff? And what's the way that the Pacific is most likely to listen and that it's most likely to create dialogues between Pacific people here and Pacific people in your own countries in any thoughts you know, be might have some thoughts on. We've had cases where we presented our our report to the in Geneva, the Fiji, the last U PR. We presented our report the Fiji government and [01:03:30] we had two recommendations specifically from Chile and Germany that was based on Sochi and those recommendations was taken in by the Fiji government and we've been following up with them in terms of pushing implementation. And those recommendations was the implementation and the making sure that the Constitution, the provisions of the Bill of Rights around Sochi, is harmonised around domestic laws, it is implemented throughout. That's still one of the challenge in terms of, you know, like I said yesterday, the implementation and the interpretation of the Constitution. [01:04:00] One very good example was the dismissal of the high court case of the transgender woman who was seeking legal gender recognition in Fiji's High Court last week. Yeah, and you know, we still but in terms of actually lobbying with international community and partners like and that can, you know, mobilise countries and foreign missions in Geneva, I think it's very effective, particularly for Australia, New Zealand. It could well be a collective, but we're actually doing something that of [01:04:30] the same, um, and like, everything that that each of you has spoken about is actually is quite important. So you see, we have those are the things that we need to be considering we actually raising, um, those issues in our homelands. Um, just following on on the D PR. Um, so So I I'm based in Geneva. Um, and you know what? We often, uh, advise [01:05:00] activists is to lobby, Um, you know, the the the embassies back home. But of course, in a lot of the Pacific countries, the embassies won't be there. So you you know you won't have a Chilean embassy there. You won't have a German embassy there, So I think maybe what people based in New Zealand and Australia can do is work together with you to then communicate with the embassies that are in the region as well as then you, you know, to you lobby your capital back home and then, you know, we [01:05:30] also help to lobby the go the the missions in Geneva. Um, following on on that as well. I just recently had the experience of going to New York, um, during the human Rights day events. And I think that that's also another area that we tend to leave out the General Assembly and the missions there because, um, the US, you know, has a very, very strongly funded multi multi pronged right wing, um, lobby calendar. And they are [01:06:00] They are in New York all year round, lobbying all the states. So all the states are represented in Geneva. And I think also, you know, to not forget that, you know, to try and speak to the missions in Gene, uh, sorry in New York and not just concentrate all the time in Geneva because they get a lot of right wing action targeted at them and and we don't have the resources there for our voice to be heard there. So just just to one of the challenges that also, [01:06:30] in terms of like lobbying straight through missions in New York is that sometimes it's not always agreed at capital like you can have the missions in New York agree on certain things. But when you come to capital, it's like, OK, no, you should be taking direction. We don't agree to that statement. We don't agree to that tax exchange and all that. So I think it's also very important to sort of, like, you know, making sure that at Home Capital you are also pushing in terms of the foreign affairs and making sure that, you know they are [01:07:00] on the same level that foreign missions one of the, uh, experience in terms of lobbying within the country. Uh, in PNG in 2012. Uh, with the help of the community development minister, we submit a bill to decriminalise the sex work and, um, sodomy act of same sex relationship to the parliamentary and within the country. But it was, um, rejected because only the out of 109 [01:07:30] members in the only three voted for it, and the rest didn't voted for So this bill is still pending in the parliament. So we're still working around the clock to, um, the consultations and dialogue within the country to try and revive the bill again. Thank you. Uh, Miss Dia? Any other questions? Yes. Thank you for your, uh, informative [01:08:00] presentations. Um, I just wanted to pick up on that point about, um, change and the pace of change and and the Pacific and the influence of the of the church because I think someone mentioned that it is slow. I mean, in different spots, it is slow, but, um, I think that, um it's important that it's great that we take this time to kind of acknowledge that it is happening and to highlight where it is happening. So I acknowledge all the work that all of you do in in different projects. And I also wanted to to present the example because I think change, [01:08:30] um, in terms of change happening. It's a generational thing, too. I think a lot of younger people are, you know, start to develop a new take on, you know, ideas and and and and to reconceptualizing their, um, values around spirituality and and things like that and one example I can think of is, um with the Samoa National Youth Council in Samoa, which is a village based youth organisation. Um, last year you would have known that Samoa hosted the Commonwealth Youth [01:09:00] Games. But not a lot of people knew that before that before the Games, over three days, Samoa hosted the Commonwealth Youth Pacific Region meeting. And so that was when all the youth ministers from across the Pacific met in Samoa. Um, alongside other youth leaders within the region, um, China from Fiji. Anyone? Yeah, um and so there was a meeting of, of of, um, youth leaders from around the Pacific. And one of the issues that that came up during that [01:09:30] particular forum was this discussion about gender identities and sexual diversities and and things like that. And so, um, it was a contentious issue. And at our September, um, forum for the sale National Youth Council, we kind of discussed it as a group because we wanted to ensure that we had consensus going into the meeting and there was definitely a divide because the group's quite diverse, and, um, you have a lot of younger, younger people and then you have a lot of people who are slightly older. You know, in the Pacific, when you're not married, you're still part of the, [01:10:00] um And so they had very specific ideas about, you know, um, sexuality and identity, whereas the younger people like and I heard the point about people, um, someone mentioning that, you know, church attendance was going low. I think people are starting to reevaluate, um and we, um, and rethink how they exercise their spirituality and how they how they treat other people. And so, with the younger people that were at that particular forum, um, when we put the issue across to them, you know, sort of within the framework of of [01:10:30] of human rights or another particular discourse and other kind of, you know, cuts across all those other issues. A lot of people start, you know, thinking, OK, this, you know, start changing their mindset. And so even though they probably go back home and then go straight back to church and be told the other way, I think the fact that they that they're thinking that and that they're having these conversations in these spaces and then taking it back to where they're from. I think it's really, really important. So thank you and keep up the very word, Thank you. I think another important thing to note [01:11:00] is, sometimes we often confuse a church acceptance with participation of, for example, transgender women in church choir. A lot of people can say that Oh, because there's a lot of participation of transgender women in the choir. They are more acceptable. But I seriously think that the real conversation is not taking place. They're not having the conversation about LGBT rights. And a lot of us in the Pacific continue to think that there is real conversation within the church and accept us when it is not. And I think it's important that we pick out and make sure that, you know [01:11:30] there's a difference between you know them, agreeing to the, you know, the rights of LG and then participation. There's a huge confusion in the Pacific in terms of what level is the tolerance level. At what level do they we engage? It's tricky, but we know it's not, [01:12:00] and, uh, you know the work in terms of the the the work around, you know, and that is around homophobia. It's around. That is the work. And, um, and it's It's never been an easy task. But actually we need to be. And not just in our homeland. We need to be doing it here with our communities as well. And I think that the way you know what? What? You've already spoken about [01:12:30] how we lobby, Um, and it is. It is the churches, you know. It's not just the government, it is. It is going to be the churches because that's where the that's where the power in terms of the decision making around what in terms of how where people's mindsets are, um and how how will we get into those churches? And, um and it's an everyday thing. How do we do that within our own families? And it is the ministers, you know, And it's amazing the conversations [01:13:00] we can be having with the ministers and actually how they do, um, sit and listen. And actually, you know, if you have a good relationship with your minister, Actually, the conversation is pretty easy and straightforward. And how do we continue to do have those, um, and in it, probably the young people. What you said about the young people asking questions, and we should really encourage that because it's important that we do ask the right questions because [01:13:30] invariably, you know, we're told to shut up and not to to to voice our opinions. But, uh, you asked, how can we continue it? I think we to create awareness and especially in the church arena, we need to ask questions. What is your issue on this? What is your views on that? And I think we are outspoken. I know it cost you a slap or two, but you at least you you you You said your piece, what's been interesting is actually after the, um yeah, the [01:14:00] Presbyterian Church here. The It was the P IC churches that pushed, um, for, um for, um, LGBT Q I not to hold positions within the church. Now, that was really interesting, because what we had was, uh, general Assembly at first saying, actually, they would support, you know, they would, um, support um, the, um uh, having G BT Q. I actually sit within the church, but it was the P IC [01:14:30] churches and that and that is a concern because it was and and they had the power to be able to change that. Um, and that's where the push came from. And so it does say to me that there's something that just haven't changed at all. And, um, where is it that we need to be putting the energy? Um, yeah, homophobia. So And you were very visible supporting the through the marriage equality stuff. What were the lessons learned from [01:15:00] there? I mean, my father, my father, is a minister, you know, and like, um and which is why I say it's really important that we actually have those conversations with ministers because they do listen. And it's about, and it's their job to actually think about how they may have those conversations with their congregations. But actually how they include that as part of the everyday, whether it's their or because the people look up to them, you know, it's like they're the gods and, um, and it hard it hasn't been easy. I mean, there's a lot of backlash. [01:15:30] I don't care, you know? And the thing is, I've used my being the the minister's daughter to actually, um, advocate and, um, continue kind of, um, challenging, and I think that's important. And it's like, you know, the other thing about it is that actually, how do we grab all the ministers kids and actually get them to start pushing, pushing the book? Because I think that's, you know, and young people, there's lots of young people that actually are right behind us. And so how do we get the momentum [01:16:00] going? I think there's a lot. I think there's a lot to be said in there. Yeah, thank you. Are there any other questions for the panel and from the Pacific? It just the one thing I think number one me to face is, um, the data I came to to question your data. And now because some of us some violence are very isolated, very huge, you know, the amount of land mass and all that. [01:16:30] And I just wanted to ask whether what? You face any challenges and difficulties in collecting and collecting the data, and I think it's very important that we have because the number one problem with us. So I'm asking whether you are lobbying for more funds or more, um, spot out there so you can actually do a proper job moving forward in collecting our data and make sure we have some baseline data in place because that's the number one problem we face in Samoa. It's just a [01:17:00] matter of no data available. So yeah, we really, um, in our fight at the ground level and that we and somebody can assist us in the future, collecting our data and make sure we have our data in store. Um, so I'm I'm also putting it to you whether you are loping or you're doing something for that same man issue. Thank you. Yes, Mr. I would like to add on to, um What Roger said, [01:17:30] Um, yeah, I feel like you said about the islands, but, um, the the geographical layout of the islands. But also I think it's there's another problem. That issue that is also in place in data collection is the participation. Like, I've mentioned that those who are well off are well qualified or be successful graduates. They do not participate in this, um, testing. I've noticed that in Vanuatu, in Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and, um, [01:18:00] they do, even if we the members or the or the the movement, we go and approach them to get our spread out The word for, um, HIV tests. They do not get involved. They either stay discreet and do not participate at all. So I think that's another way. Um, maybe if we can find ways to communicate or get them engaged in participation. Um, maybe because they're just afraid of being yeah, exposed to. And then when [01:18:30] we found out that they are the ones that we want to, we noticed that that their behaviour is always at risk. And there's another question of how do we make available make use of the existing data that's available most of the times the Pacific like for some of the work that's been done around the HIV response around key populations, transgender sex workers. So these data are still in the shelf. They're not being used by the very people that you know did the research. One very good example [01:19:00] is integrated by behavioural research that was done in Fiji still in the shelf, no follow up, no implementations. You know, I think it's also a responsibility for the LGBT movement in terms of saying that there is a huge gap but to also do sort of like a desk review or whatever. Look at existing available data that we can make use of before we sort of, like, you know, making sure that, uh, current trends are included, and current emerging issues and things like that are taken into account. Thank you. I think that probably brings [01:19:30] to a close our session today, and just to summarise Thank you very much, uh, to the presenters and also the panellist for raising some of the issues. Uh, the health issues pertinent to LGBT There were only a few that was raised, but those were probably the priority health issues that they felt needed to be raised at this forum. And we hope that the strategies or some of the way forward [01:20:00] that we have discussed in trying to ensure that, uh, we increase the access to health for our LGBTI Q in the Pacific will be improved through strengthening or strengthening or creating an enabling environment around faith around legislation which we have also spoke. Spoke about to that will contribute to, um, increasing access, uh, to health services [01:20:30] for our LGBT members. Thank you very much. We hope to see you in our next session tomorrow.

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AI Text:September 2023
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