Dating online will soon come hand-in-hand with health advice for gay and bisexual men living in central Victoria.
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The Victorian AIDS Council is preparing to launch its Sexperts project, which will see members of the LGBTI community answer their peers’ questions about sex, drugs and wellbeing, all via gay dating apps.
VACountry co-ordinator Harry McAnulty said tackling sensitive conversations online meant those too nervous to ask for face-to-face help could remain anonymous, including those who did not publicly identify as LGBTI.
“We wanted to go to places where gay men are, and its easy to meet gay men in online communities,” Mr McAnulty said.
“People can asked things and not feel embarrassed.
“It reduces barriers that we see when people have to meet in-person.”
Many men in regional Victoria did not ask services for assistance because they feared being met with homophobia, Mr McAnulty said, a concern he planned to ease by having peers answer questions.
The Sexperts project will also extend VACountry’s geographic reach.
Mr McAnulty single-handedly covers an area from Gisborne to Mildura, his clients not always able to access the organisation’s Myers Street headquarters.
People in Bendigo, Castlemaine, Kyneton, Shepparton and Daylesford have volunteered to offer advice, point app users to online resources and manage crisis situations.
They will remain anonymous, shown on apps as just a torso wearing a VAC shirt.
One volunteer told the Bendigo Advertiser they signed up so others would not go through the same uncertainty about sexual health they experienced.
“I’ve used these apps, I remember what it was like to be unsure about some things, like safe sex,” he said.
“That’s why I hope I can make a difference.”
The Victorian government’s ice action grants will fund the project, while the Burnet Institute will also take the opportunity to research the experience of regional LGBTI people.