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Inclusive sex education and healthcare can feel like a myth when you鈥檙e a young LGBTI person living in western Sydney. John Voutos reports.

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Benjamin Jimenez is part of a group of young LGBTI people in Sydney鈥檚 west who have struggled to access inclusive sexual education and healthcare services.

Jimenez, now 30, reflects on an incident he experienced as a young 17-year-old gay man with his once trusted family doctor, that quickly turned south and led him to not see another doctor 鈥渇or a very long time鈥�.

鈥淚 thought, 鈥楾his is the standard of healthcare that I鈥檓 receiving as a gay man鈥� there are going to be people who are discriminatory鈥� I鈥檝e just got to deal with it鈥�,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 had no other option. I had to go down to a clinic and pick up a pamphlet. As a 17-year-old I was like, 鈥業鈥檓 reading a pamphlet on gonorrhoea and I don鈥檛 know what this is.鈥欌��

The STIs in Gay Men Action Group (STIGMA) only recently expanded their geographical boundaries to cover western and southwestern areas in Sydney.

STIGMA鈥檚 gay friendly GP list demonstrates the lack of accessibility in these areas, with only eight western Sydney suburbs out of a total 68 in Sydney offering gay-friendly general practitioners.

And of the 199 gay-friendly GPs on the list, 21 are based in western Sydney, with only one specialising in working with both HIV-positive and negative gay men and only two completing STIGMA鈥檚 Gay Friendly Online Learning Module.

To counter the stigma, ACON and its partners have been holding events, workshops, and other initiatives in western Sydney to increase community acceptance, visibility, and inclusion, and to improve the overall health and wellbeing of those navigating tough situations.

Tim Wark, ACON鈥檚 peer education programs manager, says that one of the main challenges the LGBTI community faces in Sydney鈥檚 west is that the community is 鈥渄ispersed and not routinely visible to other LGBTI people within their areas鈥�.

鈥淭he spaces we create allow an LGBTI person to feel like they are not alone in their area and that they are going to be okay, which leads to far better health outcomes for the community as a whole.鈥�

Dr Nigel Grebert, a general practitioner at Castle Hill Medical Centre in Sydney鈥檚 north-west, attests to this notion.

鈥淟GBTI people are less assured of the response they are going to receive in western Sydney,鈥� he says, which causes young queer people to 鈥渟tay in the closet鈥� and not 鈥渆xpose themselves to safety information鈥�.

Grebert attributes western Sydney鈥檚 lack of LGBTI resources to its religious and cultural demographics.

鈥淐astle Hill is pretty much the buckle of the bible belt,鈥� he says.

鈥淲hen you have much of western Sydney rated as 鈥楢reas of Medical Service Need鈥� (AoN), it attracts GPs who have recently immigrated,鈥� he says, noting that 鈥渟ome come from countries where tolerance is not the norm鈥�.

Josh, 21, from Sydney鈥檚 south-west, similarly attributes a lack of resources in his area to its high percentage of No voters in last year鈥檚 marriage equality postal survey.

鈥淲hen I was 19, I remember going to a nearby practice with questions about sexual health, only for this older doctor in broken English to presume I was heterosexual and passive-aggressively caution me against eating girls out.

鈥淚mmediately after that experience, I fled to the city for my checkups and never looked back.”

Jimenez adds that or a doctor鈥檚 office鈥攊s neither explicit or educational.

鈥淚t was, 鈥楢 man has sex with a woman. He has a penis, she has a vagina鈥�. That was the extent of it,鈥� he says.

鈥淪o, I thought, 鈥業鈥檒l go and see my doctor鈥� because she seemed like the type of person that would be cool to deal with it.

鈥淭urns out she wasn鈥檛.鈥�

When Jimenez told his doctor he wanted a blood test she was 鈥渂ubbly, sweet鈥� and asked him how long he鈥檚 been with his girlfriend, to which he responded that he had a boyfriend.

鈥淗er whole demeanour changed,鈥� he says.

鈥淗er face shut down, she stiffened up, her arms became super rigid and she had to stop typing. She just sat there and I thought, 鈥楾his lady is going to explode鈥�.

鈥淪he began to ask me if my parents knew, whether they were okay with it, and how long I had been gay for. I told her my sexuality wasn鈥檛 just a t-shirt that I鈥檝e put on and her response was, 鈥楾hat doesn鈥檛 make any sense鈥� I used to treat you when you were little鈥�.

鈥溾��and all of a sudden, she starts referring to my cystic acne as lesions.鈥�

Later that week, when Jimenez went in for his results, the doctor wouldn鈥檛 see him.

鈥淭he receptionist gave me my results. I was told she wasn鈥檛 taking any more appointments for the day,鈥� he says.

鈥淚 just thought, if she can do that and get away with it, anybody can.鈥�