Dr Heather McCormack
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heathermccormack.bsky.social
Dr Heather McCormack
@heathermccormack.bsky.social
220 followers 420 following 200 posts
Sexual health and blood-borne virus researcher. IUHPE accredited health promotion practitioner. Wiradjuri living and learning on Bidjigal land. she/they
@hmlittlecbigc in other places
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heathermccormack.bsky.social
My Diablo IV sorceress and I have similar public speaking styles (mysterious orb)
A screenshot of a sorceress in Diablo IV, wearing a cape with a floating red orb hovering above her right hand
October 7, 2025 at 11:23 PM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
That’s the end of the Joint Australasian HIV&AIDS and ASRH Conferences. For various reasons, it’s been a while since I attended a sexual health conference, and this was a great one to come back to. Lots of familiar faces and fascinating presentations. Looking forward to 2026! #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Save the date banner for next year’s conference, to be held from 14th to 17th September in Melbourne
September 18, 2025 at 7:27 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Stephanie again emphasises that congenital syphilis is an systems failure requiring systemic solutions: investment in sexual health infrastructure, system change, normalisation of testing, reduction of stigma, and meaningful partnerships #ASRH2025
Lessons from Other Regions: Strong surveillance Infectious diseases in pregnancy screening programme: ISOSS Universal repeat screening Investment in sexual health infrastructure Systems change, not just clinician effort, is key Congenital syphilis = sentinel health system failure Universal + repeat screening = Normalising testing = reducing stigma Implementation research closes the gap Partnerships across 0&G, sexual health, paeds, public health essential
September 18, 2025 at 12:29 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Stephanie’s key principles of prevention emphasise early and repeat screening and timeline treatment, but also the importance of partner notification and treatment - it’s not enough to just tell women to tell their partners #ASRH2025
Key Principles of Prevention 1. Early antenatal screening 2. Repeat screening later in pregnancy 3. Timely maternal treatment 4. Partner management 5. Infant follow-up
September 18, 2025 at 12:22 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Now speaking on the changes in the Australian testing guidelines (more tests recommended). Stephanie’s keynote is largely clinical, but here she’s talking about the vital role these guidelines play in normalising syphilis testing, which is a neat link for the social and cultural attendees #ASRH2025
September 18, 2025 at 12:19 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Notification data in Australia - the key detail in this graph is that the red represents congenital cases resulting in infant death #ASRH2025
Figure 6: Notifications (n) and notification rate (per 100,000 live births) of congenital syphilis, by Indigenous status, remoteness area, and year, 2016 - Q4 2024 There’s a lot of red
September 18, 2025 at 12:15 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Second keynote Stephanie Bond giving a sobering overview of congenital syphilis globally - the increase in the US over the last ten years is grim and some Pacific Island nations have among the highest rates in the world #ASRH2025
Graph showing a tenfold increase in congenital syphilis in the USA in the last ten years Graph showing rising rates of syphilis in women of reproductive age in the UK Heat map of Pacific Island countries with highest prevalence of syphilis in ANC
September 18, 2025 at 12:12 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Tying the cross-cutting themes together now into a framework for Indigenous sexual and reproductive justice, highlighting the role of discourse at the core of many health inequities and the role of Indigenous knowledges in addressing them #ASRH2025
Indigenous Sexual & Reproductive Justice through Indigenous-led Research: Cross cutting themes Social norms & assumptions • Unravelling how social social forces such as colonisation, poverty, racism, sexism shape and constrain Mãori sexual and reproductive lives, decisions, opportunities and aspirations Knowledge • Unravelling whether knowledge produced 'about indigenous people is accurate, and creating space for indigenous knowledge to be developed in this space Health Practice • Unravelling how discourse might shape inequitable health practices, and working to correct that Pedagogy • Working to understand how we can educate our communities for healthy, safe, ethical, and happy sexual, reproductive, and family lives
September 18, 2025 at 12:05 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Le Grice’s final study is on infertility in the Māori context and the intersections here of medical fertility treatment and cultural values around family, pregnancy, childbirth and child rearing #ASRH2025
Mãori & Pacific infertility discourse & knowledge • Mãori and Pacific people in New Zealand have higher overall reproductive rates than European people (Khawaja et al., 2000; Urale et al., 2019) that obscures the possibility of Mãori and Pacific infertility (Foese, 2018; Glover et al., 2008; Reynolds & Smith, 2012). • The sociocultural norm of having many children within Mãori and Pacific communities created challenges for those experiencing infertility, reaching out and access support, creating intense pressures on their couple relationships (Le Grice et al., 2023). • The absence of culturally resonant wrap around support across key pressure points in a journey of infertility - traversing pregnancy loss (miscarriage, still birth), seeking eligibility for public funding, and going through the process of medicalised treatments - created intense (and life-threatening) psychosocial impacts (Le Grice et al. Artist: Riona Kipa, Tokipa des grasth
September 18, 2025 at 12:02 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Le Grice now speaking about her research on abortion among Māori women. Historically framed around some awful racist stereotypes, but in a the modern context more accepted in the community and often supported with cultural practice #ASRH2025
Mãori & abortion: Discourse & knowledge • Dominant representations of traditional Maori reproductive practice indicate disapproval of abortion (Turia, 2007 Rimene, Hassan, & Broughton, 1998; Manihera & Turnbull, 1990). • Yet, historical accounts of Mãori practices of abortion tell a more complex story. • Abortion was not linguistically distinguished from miscarriage (T. Smith, 2012). • Known and accepted methods for 2002, 8. Slot, 2002, Tangon au, 2003). Artist: Rawiri Horne Gifted by Waikaremoana Waitoki Mãori & abortion: Colonising discourse, knowledge & health practice • Existing research about Mäori engagement with abortion, written by Päkehã (European) psychiatrists. Claims about Mãori and abortion drew from colonising, oppressive understandings about Mäori aligned with notions of Mãori 'savagery (Le Grice & Braun, 2017). • Assumed patriarchal gender relations, and negative and vengeful subject positions for women (e.g. Hunton, 1977). • Suggested abortion was widely practiced among Maon due to "savagery" (e.g. Hunton, 1977) - • Suggested abortion was not practiced due to "superstition" (e.g. Gluckman, 1973, 1981). • Discourse informed the pathologisation & criminalisation of Mäori women who sought abortion as reproductive healthcare • Discourse aligned with wider national narratives of missionaries saving" Maori through British colonisation and assumption of rule (Pool, 2015) through the construction of Mãori cultural "deficits' Mãori & abortion: Mãori discourse, knowledge & health practice • The deliberate loss of conception (abortion) is not anathema to Mãori knowledges, ways of being and patterns of practice • Mãori are diverse in their understanding and engagement with matauranga Mãori, with implications for their perspectives on abortion • Christian influences, focus on protecting the new life (although often framed as personal choice) • Mãori women's rangatiratanga, understood as women's self determination in the context of her unique circumstances, hopes, dreams and aspirations • Focus and priorisation of whanau, and care for one another (whangai, and/or support for the individual woman) • The practice of whenua ki te whenua (returning pregnancy tissue/placenta to ancestral lands) nurtures connections between atua, tangata and whenua providing kai atawhai (sheltering and protection) in these domains
September 17, 2025 at 11:57 PM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Opening keynote of the final day of the conference Jade Le Grice opening with some insights into sex and sexuality education among Māori young people in Aotearoa. Storytelling, language and culture strongly foregrounded #ASRH2025
Mãori & Sexuality education: Pedagogy • The growth of online media has seen understandings of relationships that reinforce Western social pressures Relationships, sex, and sexuality are portrayed in ways that reinforce sexism, racism, and heterosexism prevalent in our society • Online contexts provide animportance site of intervention • Creating accessible content informed by matauranga (Mãori knowledge) and tikanga Mãori (Mãori practices) provides young Mãori with a window into Mãori ways of knowing, being, and doing sexuality Mãori & Sexuality Education: Discourse and Storytelling Contemporary realities of Mäori youth are complex, shaped by the impacts of colonisation and intersecting vectors of oppression. The marginalisation of Mãori ways of being, doing, and knowing opens a space for racialised understandings of Mãori girls and boys to make sense of themselves, their choices, identities, pathways and futures. education: . We share rangatahi prakau (stories) based on stories shared by our research participants, alongside a set of storytelling. enquiry questions. We make visible the challenges that young Mãori encounter, pathways to make sense of the social context that shapes them, and how they can overcome them. • In context with the mätauranga (Mãori knowledge) we have shared, we want to support rangatahi to come back to who they are and shake off the conditioning
September 17, 2025 at 11:53 PM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Simon Graham taking a novel angle on strengths-based approaches to sexual health research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by opening talking explicitly about funding - how things are done, how they should be done, and some examples of doing it well #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Strengths-based approaches actions 1. Engagement way before starting the grant application 2. Partnership agreements with Aboriginal organisations a. Who owners the data, IP, authorship on papers (first/ last authors) 3. Community benefits not academic benefits - MY promotion, papers, grants 4. Hiring First Nations people as project manager not just to recruit or interviewers 6. PhD scholarships - knowing an Indigenous person to accept the PhD scholarships. Lets Including a PhD scholarship and then worry about find someone after we win = handing to a white PhD student 6. First Nations Cis early in the list, not just the one at the end of the list 7. The deficit approach is great for a grant application Next Generation Youth Cohort Study • Pre-grant engagement and long lead up period • Indigenous led • Partnerships with local organisations at data collection sites • Aboriginal ethics committees • Indigenous PhD students • Indigenous leads salaries paid for at sites • Feedback sessions of analyses conducted • Engagement about what would you like to see for phase 2 grant Next Generation Youth Cohort Study • Pre-grant engagement and long lead up period • Indigenous led • Partnerships with local organisations at data collection sites • Aboriginal ethics committees • Indigenous PhD students • Indigenous leads salaries paid for at sites • Feedback sessions of analyses conducted • Engagement about what would you like to see for phase 2 grant
September 17, 2025 at 7:38 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Margaret explains many use the “duty of care” to justify “protecting” people with disability FROM sex but a strengths-based approach involves balancing duty of care with the dignity of risk to facilitate healthy risk enablement - neither overprotection or neglect #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
A diagram showing duty of care balanced against dignity of risk on a continuum between overprotection and neglect, with the centre point labeled risk enablement Risk Enablement • Risk enablement, also called positive risk taking, is a way of supporting people which helps to maintain people's choice and control over activities.
September 17, 2025 at 7:29 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Next speaker Margaret Spencer now articulating the principles of strengths-based approaches to reproductive rights with women with intellectual disability - a three-way combination that many working the sexual and reproductive health space might find challenging #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Factors which affect the persons with intellectual disability exercising their right to sexual intimacy, and parenthood • Societal threat (legacy of eugenics discourse) • Ableism • Deficit Approach • Risk-averse practices Being strengths-based involves: 1. Being Disability-Informed 2. Engaging well 3. Adopting a risk enablement approach 4. Prioritising supported decision-making 5. Fostering circles of support
September 17, 2025 at 7:21 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
JJ refers to “script breaking” as the process by which study participants accessed the authenticity, care and reciprocity encapsulated by “queer and trans sexual joy” #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
TO CONCLUDE 2SLGBTQ+ communities are not utopias free from violence. What the study found, however, was that much of this violence reflected the reproduction of cisheteronormativity and the settler colonial logics of objectification, domination, and conquest Queer and trans sexual joy confronted these logics and seemed to alchemize them. Through script breaking, participants described greater authenticity, embodied pleasure, care, and reciprocity vis a vis queer and trans sexual joy.
September 17, 2025 at 7:11 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
JJ Wright joining remotely from Canada to share some incredible work on queer and trans joy as disruptive to heteronormativity, patriarchy, shame and rape culture. Delighted to see pleasure foregrounded as a strength at conference that often has a heavy biomedical focus #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
JJ Wright joining via video call from their brightly lit living room By highlighting queer sexual joy as a place to imagine sexual cultures away from rape culture, we might loosen up the rigid dominant sexual scripts and find more flexibility, ease, and joy in sex despite the ambiguitics inherent to it. Study participants talked about their struggle with homophobia and transphobia as mediating if not co-constructed the euphoria and joy of their subversive sexual and gender formations. Over 80% identified as survivors of gender-based violence.
September 17, 2025 at 7:09 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Joanne says that what we call “strengths” can be understood through two logics: logics of individualism and logics or relationalities, which position strengths as fixed traits residing in an individual vs as social practices and community resources #HIVAIDS2025 #ASHR2025
Logics of individualism ('strengths' found within individuals and immediate environments) Logics of relationalities (strengths' found in relationships, goods and opportunities) Individualising logics can.. Cast young people as not 'resilient-enough' • Perpetuate approaches that focus on changing individual behaviours and choices • Hides other ways of understanding 'strengths-based approaches Relational logics can…. Shift focus to changing relationships, goods and opportunities within networks
September 17, 2025 at 6:52 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Joanne Bryant opens session on strengths-based approaches in sexual and reproductive health research by summarising the main approaches identified in the literature to “strengths-based” work with marginalised young people #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Joanne presenting in front of a slide that reads Main approaches Broadly characterised: "positive adaptation within the context of adversity" (Alessi et al., 2020:11240) Main language and concepts: 1. Resilience (n=19) 2. Protective factors (n=13) 3. Resilience and protective factors (n= 12) 4. Social capital (n=16)
September 17, 2025 at 6:44 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Nothing subtle about using this image to open a presentation on the global implications of funding cuts to HIV-related aid in the current political climate, but the data presented by Felicity Young from Health Equity Matters justifies the bold choice #HIVAIDS2025
A painting featuring the four horsemen of the Apocalypse from the Christian Bible’s Book of Revelation
September 17, 2025 at 5:12 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
I’m doing it in almost every photo
Heather speaking at a podium, holding one of her hands extended, palm up. A cartoon orb hovers above her hand. An arrow pointing towards Heather reads “me presenting important research” and an arrow pointing towards the orb reads “the mysterious orb that accompanies me to every public speaking engagement”
September 17, 2025 at 2:18 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
This jumped out at me from Jen Power’s presentation on intersections of HIV and migration and quality of life for Asian-born MSM living with HIV, drawn from HIV Futures. This theme of “belonging” appeared throughout the data, re: community but also care, reflecting importance of peers #HIVAIDS2025
Jen presenting in front of a slide that reads NAVIGATING BELONGING Experiences of racism and exclusion "Culturaly it's very different how I grew up, so I guess even like after being In Australia for 7 years now I stil find it sometimes can be a fittle bit (ot a) struggle because of my race (-|I guess just because of my appearance it's very different than what Australian society looks Tke." - NSW, HIV Resilience and empowerment through HIV experience I think you know because the health care system that treated me well when I first diagnosed positive in Victoria, I was inspired to work in the heath care setting, that's why I've chosen to work in (heath field)"-Adam, VIC, 30s Representation fosters belonging and safety It's just the fact that when as a client if I go to a group, a peer group, a service, and I con see someone of my skin colour there, I know I will be safe. That is why having representation of the groups we're trying to reach In the work is so important." - NSW, community health promotion officer
September 17, 2025 at 2:15 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Huge honour to present the Bi+ Sexual Health and HIV Study today at the conference with some of our amazing investigator team. I’ve had such a great time with this piece of work and I can’t wait for us to really start digging into the data and writing up what we find #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Bella, Steve, Heather, Ben, Daniel and Jen sitting along a panel-style table in front of an introductory slide with their names and the title of the session on it (Affiliate Organisation Session: BiSHH: Understanding sexual health and HIV needs and risks of Australian bi+ people) Bella, Heather, Jen, Ben and Steve posing for a group photo. They are all wearing conference lanyards and Heather and Steve are both wearing bisexual flag colours Heather speaking at the podium in front of her “conclusions” slide. Conclusions • Our sample of participants lived across all regions of Australia. • Bi+ people have a wide range of gender and sexual identities. • Fewer than half of participants were out to their healthcare professionals. • Bi+ people experience adverse health outcomes compared to the general Australian population: • Higher probable mental illness. • Higher levels of recent drug use including injecting drug use. • More likely to have ever experienced sexual violence and coercion.
September 16, 2025 at 8:22 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Kath’s participants identified social media as a site of risk for workplace health and safety for people doing sexual health work in the digital space - this reflects my own experience but I feel it’s gotten so much worse in just the last few years #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025 @katha.bsky.social
Findings: Our orgs want cheap reach into our PLWHIV communities for our messages and community development BUT it isn't working anymore. Reach is limited. AND social media less safe. Workshop participant We've done quite a bit of thinking about how, as an organisation, we're going to manage those group conversations [on messaging apps] - given that there's a sort of 24/7 potential for people to be engaging and talking. And how we work around moderation, and our staff's right to switch off, and all of those kind of things. Manager
September 15, 2025 at 3:13 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
The amazing @katha.bsky.social presenting on building digital capabilities in hostile social media environments. The context stuff is fascinating - this has been a deeply weird but also vitally important four year period for Kath to have been leading this research #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Why are digital capabilities important for the HIN sector? • Digital and data technologies are central to both health and social support systems and community experiences of connection, wellbeing & learning • 'Digital health' is not the same thing as 'digital public health' • Digital content moderation policies often flag HIV/SRH content as 'against community standards' • Targeted harassment and surveillance of marginalised communities is increasing - impacting health consumers and health organisations. Digital transformation policy environment National Strategies and Plans • The Digital Health Blueprint and Action Plan 2023 - 2033, Australian Department of Health and Aged Care • The Digital Health Action Plan, 2023 • National Digital Health Strategy 2023-2028, Australian Digital Health Agency • National Digital Health Strategy and Roadmap 2023 - 2028, ADHA • National Digital Health Capability Action Plan, 2023 • Australian Digital Health Capability Framework, ADHA/AIDH, 2024 Platform content moderation policies • Meta's 'community notes' fact-checking model 2025 • Meta's changes to hateful conduct policy to allow more 'free speech' 2025 International Guidance • Global Strategy on Digital health 2020-2025 - WHO, 2020 *recently extended until 2027. • Guidance on the rights-based ethical use of digital technologies in HIV and health programmes - UNDP, 2021 • UNICEF Safer Chatbots Implementation Guide - UNICEF, 2022 • The role of artificial intelligence in sexual and reproductive health and rights - WHO, 2024 • Digital transformation handbook for primary health care - WHO, 2024 e-Safety Office • Online Safety Act 2021 • Industry codes and standards (ratified 2025) • Phase 1: illegal content (eg. child exploitation material) • Phase 2: preventing young people from accessing “inappropriate' content
September 15, 2025 at 3:04 AM
heathermccormack.bsky.social
Survey participants opposed criminalisation and showed strong understanding of U=U. Only 3% agreed that police should manage HIV transmission and 4% agreed the current system is fair #HIVAIDS2025 #ASRH2025
Results from the attitudes section of the survey showing disapproval of the current model and support for a model where HIV transmission is managed by the Public Health Authorities and only intentional or deliberate transmission is criminalised
September 15, 2025 at 2:41 AM