Our vision is that all women and gender diverse people in the northern metropolitan region can freely exercise their rights to positive, pleasurable and affirming sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
Sexual and reproductive health includes:
Freedom to:
– choose if, when, how and how often to have children
– express and explore sexuality without shame or stigm
– live without coercion, discrimination or violence.
Respect for:
– genders, sexualities and bodies beyond cis-heteronormative binaries
– decision-making in relation to sex, relationships, reproduction and service access.
Equity in:
– access to appropriate, affordable sexual and reproductive health services and support when and where they are needed
– access to evidence-based, positive sexual and reproductive health information and resources that promote health-seeking behaviours
– access to equal, safe, respectful and pleasurable sexual experiences, intimacy and relationships.
Are you looking for resources on this topic? See our Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources page.
What We Do
We provide leadership and resourcing for strategic regional work to promote women and gender-diverse people’s sexual and reproductive health, including the development and implementation of Freedom, Respect and Equity in Sexual Health 2022–2026. We offer community education and professional development on women and gender-diverse people’s sexual and reproductive health. We lead and resource regional networks that facilitate knowledge and resource sharing, and promote collaborative action.
Freedom, Respect and Equity in Sexual Health 2022–2026
Women and gender-diverse people living in the northern metropolitan region (NMR) continue to be disproportionately affected by poor sexual and reproductive health. Many local government areas have higher than state average teenage birth rates chlamydia, gonorrhoea and hepatitis B, with some areas having much lower cervical screening and HPV immunisation rates.
Freedom, Respect and Equity in Sexual Health 2022–2026 has been designed to guide regional action to improve sexual and reproductive health across the northern metropolitan region of Melbourne. We acknowledge that sexual and reproductive health is a complex, multi-faceted area that requires clinical and non-clinical interventions – which can seem daunting. A regional approach that facilitates knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration will strengthen collective impact through a shared vision and commitment towards positive change. We welcome collaboration and engagement across sectors with this strategy, and are eager to work together towards an NMR where all women and gender diverse people can freely exercise their rights to positive, pleasurable and affirming sexual and reproductive health outcomes.
If you would like to get involved in sexual and reproductive health promotion in the NMR, get in touch with Coordinator, Sexual and Reproductive Health Tilly Mahoney at tilly.m@whin.org.au.
Health Practitioner Sexual and Reproductive Health Education and Training
WHIN works in close collaboration with key stakeholders to support the delivery of training to general practitioners, practice nurses and pharmacists in the NMR. Training and education is delivered on a range of topics such as respectful relationships in schools, post-natal sexuality, medical termination of pregnancy and long-acting reversible contraceptives, female genital cutting/circumcision, cervical screening and sexually transmissible infections and blood-borne viruses.
Key Projects
Side by Side
‘Side by Side’ is a culturally responsive, respectful relationships and sexual and reproductive health program for women, girls and gender-diverse people from countries that traditionally practise female genital cutting (FGC).
MindCycle
MindCycle sought to understand the challenges for women and other people in the NMR who menstruate and whether there has been a compounding impact on their mental health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project sought to identify whether women and other people who menstruate were supported to meet their menstrual health management needs throughout the pandemic, with a particular focus on the specific needs of those with endometriosis and/or polycystic ovary syndrome. See our MindCycle video on our Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources page. This project was funded by the Office for Women.
Sex Ed 101
Sex Ed 101 is a social media campaign advocating for sexual and reproductive health as a health priority for women and gender-diverse people. The campaign provides sex positive, accessible information about sexual and reproductive health and health care that enables individuals to access and interact with healthcare systems, to seek out services, manage their own health and make everyday decisions to maintain good health. Access the Sex Ed 101 eBook on our Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources page and keep an eye on our social media for the next iteration of this campaign..
Female Genital Cutting (FGC)
Female genital cutting comprises all practices involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to female genital organs, for non-medical reasons. FGC is usually performed on young people under the age of 15. At least 200 million women and girls alive today have been cut. A significant population of women and gender-diverse people in Melbourne’s northern metropolitan region (NMR) are from communities where FGC is practised.
Are you looking for resources on this topic? See our Female Genital Cutting Resources on the Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources page.
What We Do
- We work towards the abandonment of the practice of FGC, and recognise it as a violation of human rights, specifically the sexual and reproductive rights of women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
- We believe that in order to eradicate FGC, responses must be holistic, community-based and led, culturally sensitive and delivered in a sexual and reproductive health context.
- We provide community education and professional development on FGC including how to manage the sexual and reproductive health problems it may cause and support and referral for those affected.
FARREP
WHIN’s Family and Reproductive Rights Education Program (FARREP) delivers community education and professional development sessions in the NMR on FGC issues. These sessions provide education on the practice and how to manage the sexual and reproductive health issues FGC may cause. WHIN also provides support and referral for those who have experienced FGC.
As part of this work, WHIN has been pleased to develop, produce and distribute FGC fact sheets, which can be accessed on the Sexual and Reproductive Health Resources page.
Professional Development
WHIN delivers FGC professional education sessions to clinicians and allied health staff, for example at Northern Hospital and Craigieburn Health Services. The sessions focus on culturally sensitive service provision and the key health issues that women and gender-diverse people who have been impacted by the practice may experience.
