GCN__February_2018

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THE RUTLAND CENTRE SEE BEYOND ADDICTION We’re here to help. The men and women we help have often felt socially isolated in some way before they get in touch. They come from all walks of life and backgrounds. They could be be straight or gay. They could be single, married or in a relationship. But we know that recovery is possible, for everyone. So don’t let misconceptions about addiction stop you from seeking help if you need it. At the Rutland Centre we ofer a safe, conidential treatment service. So if you, or someone you love, is living with addiction and needs help, call us today on (01) 494 6358 or email info@rutlandcentre.ie for more information. rutlandcentre.ie
FOCÁL UP! continued As a GP and a gay man who grew up in the ’90s, access to abortion is surely not a remote issue for Varadkar. QUEER VIEW MIRROR with Stephen Meyler #RepealThe8th #AlPorter #STIs SAY NUTTIN’, LEO The government continues to discuss what it should do about the Repeal the 8th referendum. Will it present the recommendation of abortion on demand up to 12 weeks to the electorate? Will it be something more restrictive? Will it be in May? Leo Varadkar has more than once refused to state his own opinion on the matter. As a GP and a gay man who grew up in the ’90s, access to abortion is surely not a remote issue for him, but all he’ll say is that he will tell the country he leads what he thinks about it when the exact proposition for the referendum has been decided and a date set for the vote. Is this fence-sitting? Or is he respecting voters’ ability to work it out for themselves? It might be both. Although Varadkar won the vote of Fine Gael TDs and ministers during the leadership contest with Simon Coveney, he lost the vote of the more conservative party members, a group he would need on side if the electorate ever got the chance to vote for him as Taoiseach in a general election. Polls suggest he is a popular Taoiseach, so why rock the boat by alienating the Yes or No side with a definite opinion on access to abortion? Of course, he could be staying quiet because he believes the outcome of a referendum should be down to the individual voter and his personal opinion is not relevant at this time. However, when the referendum is announced, will he then forcefully campaign for whichever argument he believes is the more just? TOO ERR IS HUMAN… As the list of male celebrities accused of everything from groping to rape continues to grow, is Ireland’s most famous example on the road to forgiveness? Al Porter lost all of his lucrative work with Today FM, the Olympia Christmas panto and a busy schedule of guest appearances just before Christmas. This was on foot of social media accusations by men that he had behaved in a sexual and inappropriate way on a number of occasions – in bars, after his shows and most seriously of all, at a psychiatric hospital where he was on a charity visit. Groping an adult man in a bar after a few drinks is one thing, but taking advantage of a vulnerable hospital patient is another and Porter’s excuse that it was down to his outrageous public persona read like a self-serving crock. Why bring it up now though? The postponed episodes of the Porter-fronted revamp of Blind Date were the focus of interest at the TV3/Virgin Ireland spring launch (well, that and the departure of Ireland AM host Sinéad Desmond over a gender pay gap). TV3 wouldn’t say anything much about either issue, but don’t be surprised if the show surfaces in the autumn schedule. This followed the inclusion of Porter in the Christmas message by Eamonn Walsh, the Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin with responsibility for Tallaght. The bishop appealed for justice to be allowed to take its course, rather than what has been until recently trial, condemnation and punishment of Porter by social media witch hunt. Now however, that same social media mob is having second thoughts. Even people who find his toilet humour and ’70s-style single entendre act a bit monotonous are now uncomfortable with the damage to his career caused by as yet unfounded allegations of crime. Is this crowd-sourced balance? Maybe many heads, innocent as well as guilty, will have to roll to clear out the rottenness of power relationships in the entertainment industry, but as new accusations appear on an almost daily basis, won’t there be a point when we’ve had enough? A BROKEN RECORD Writing for a queer magazine is a great pleasure. You get to spout your opinions on all sorts of topics of personal and community interest, but the one subject that is a struggle is the regular one about STIs. It’s rarely good news – access to generic PrEP was one of the stand-out good HIV news stories last year – and as every new set of statistics is released, it seems like HIV, not to mention syphilis, hepatitis, chlamydia and all the rest will never go away. Now, hook up apps are blamed for the latest surge in infections – the alienation and isolation of a social media saturated world is inducing us to engage in riskier activities. Maybe, we should accept our sexual and social fallibility and hold out for vaccines, given when we are babies. While we wait though, the old messages of consistent and correct condom use, getting tested regularly and taking the pills, will just have to be repeated and one hopes, be eff ective. 15 g
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Page 11 and 12: Who’ll look after your best frien
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Page 21 and 22: VISAGE VOYAGE Michelle Visage has a
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Page 25 and 26: While new HIV diagnoses continue to
Page 27 and 28: At a low estimate, there are approx
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Page 31 and 32: CALEB OROZCO (Belize) EXECUTIVE DIR
Page 33 and 34: KAROLINA WIECKIEWICZ (Poland) HRD &
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Page 40 and 41: Community Centres Outhouse 105 Cape
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