School worker gets activist award
Catherine Reidy, a 21-year-old project worker at Women鈥檚 Health In the North (WHIN) Thornbury, has been honoured with the inaugural Sally Isaac Young Woman Community Activist Award for her work to eliminate homophobia in schools across Melbourne.
Reidy, herself openly gay, has been focused on making life easier for queer students since her own school days.
鈥淚 started doing [homophobia] workshops with younger classes when I was in year 10 at Princes Hill Secondary College,鈥� she told Southern Star Observer.
鈥淲hen I finished school, I was still interested in the issue and still seeing a lot of my peers struggling with homophobia in schools.鈥�
In 2008, Reidy received funding to help develop Pridentity, a pilot anti-homophobia program which has since been embraced by school鈥檚 across Melbourne鈥檚 northern region. The program was this year delivered at Thornbury High School, Diamond Valley College and Hume Central Secondary College.
鈥淲e run workshops with all year 9 and 10 students covering the aspects of the health curriculum that don鈥檛 usually get covered,鈥� Reidy said.
鈥淲e have discussions and activities on what it might be like to find out your friend is gay and how you might help them.聽 We give [students] resources for support groups that they wouldn鈥檛 usually have access to.鈥�
While the program is an important lifeline for gay and lesbian students, it can also prove an important awakening for the heterosexual majority.
鈥淥ften, it鈥檚 the first time these students have met someone who鈥檚 openly gay and it can be a really confronting moment for them – you see the lightbulb moment when they realise we鈥檙e not weird, we鈥檙e just normal people, and it can be very profound.鈥�
The award, presented last week at Northcote Town Hall, comes with a tidy $1000 sum, however Reidy said the most heartening aspect of the honour was that it helped to get the word out about the program she鈥檚 helmed.
鈥淚n the past couple of days, I鈥檝e been getting emails from right around the country from people asking about the program and how they could replicate it.
鈥淚 think in Victoria, we lead the way when it comes to school programs, whereas other states seem to lag behind a bit.
鈥淗opefully the good work we鈥檙e doing with Pridentity can spread to other areas.鈥�
