OUT’s Engage Men’s Health project and Mainline International recently hosted a webinar with several South African mental health professionals on the topic of chemsex and harm reduction.
The aim was to better understand the dynamic of chemsex among gay, bi and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and to discuss strategies to address associated mental health risks. The webinar was part of Engage Men’s Health’s Highs & Lows campaign.
Earlier, Mainline International also helped train and sensitise Engage Men’s Health staff about chemsex and harm reduction to be better placed to provide effective and stigma-free services.
For more information on harm reduction, visit the Engage Men’s Health website.
10/05-2021 – The numbers speak for themselves! In the 2019/2020 financial year, OUT conducted 26,403 HIV tests and reached 39,416 people with HIV prevention services. In Johannesburg alone, we initiated 414 HIV positive clients on ART (HIV treatment) and 1,908 clients on PrEP (the HIV prevention pill).
We also provided psychosocial services to 716 clients and LGBTIQ paralegal services in 47 cases across the country.
To find out more about the work OUT does and how we made use of our funders’ financial support, download our most recent annual report here.
5 March 2021 – In the last few months, OUT LGBT Well-being has provided training on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics to dozens of individuals all over South Africa.
Between July 2020 and February 2021, we trained civil society organisations, university students and LGBTI groups in various provinces – including the Western Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KZN – and dealt with the following subject matter:
- General sensitisation: Unpacking SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation. Gender Identity and Expression and Sex Characteristics)
- Unpacking the LGBTI acronym
- Information about pronouns
- Hate Crimes: How to identify them
- Legislation that protects LGBTI persons
- How to access justice without a lawyer
- Legal Gender Recognition: How to change forenames and how to change one’s gender marker/ sex descriptor.
OUT also partnered with The Arum Institute and administered victim empowerment training for their transgender beneficiaries.
For more information about OUT’s training services, please contact Roché Kester on kesterr@out.org.za.