About the Rainbow Ready roadmap
The Rainbow Ready roadmap is a set of resources for Victorian rural and regional communities to build lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQA+) inclusion. The roadmap supports the Victorian Government’s Pride in our future: Victoria’s LGBTIQA+ strategy 2022-32 by enabling the creation of safe, strong and sustainable communities.
Developed through extensive consultation with LGBTIQA+ communities, including through the LGBTIQA+ Rural and Regional Roadshow, the roadmap aims to address challenges faced by LGBTIQA+ people in rural and regional Victoria.
When compared to the broader population, LGBTIQA+ people living in rural and regional Victoria:
- experience higher rates of family violence
- are more likely to have a diagnosis of anxiety or depression
- are more likely to rate their health status as fair or poor1.
Through tailored guides and practical tools, the roadmap empowers LGBTIQA+ rural and regional communities to drive local change, celebrate and support LGBTIQA+ people.
As a final step, the roadmap supports communities in obtaining Rainbow Ready status: a public display that a setting is welcoming, safe and inclusive of LGBTIQA+ people.
How to use the Rainbow Ready roadmap
- Read the Rainbow Ready roadmap user guide and select your chosen setting guide
- Assess the current state of your setting using your chosen setting guide and the measurement and evaluation tool
- Plan your Rainbow Ready activities using the action plan tool
- Deliver your Rainbow Ready activities
- Evaluate your Rainbow Ready activities using the measurement and evaluation tool
- You can use the Rainbow Ready checklist tool to measure your own progress at any time during, or at the end of your work
- Share your Rainbow Ready roadmap work so that others can learn from your stories of success and lessons learned.
Rainbow Ready roadmap User Guide
About the Rainbow Ready roadmap and how to use the resources.
Setting guides
Five tailored setting guides support users of the Rainbow Ready roadmap in understanding what needs to be done to support LGBTIQA+ inclusion in their unique operating context. Select the guide that best matches your setting.
Rainbow Ready roadmap - Community groups
A guide for community groups to become more LGBTIQA+ inclusive and sustainable. Community groups may include social, support, youth and sporting groups.
Rainbow Ready roadmap - Health and community services
A guide for health and community services to become more LGBTIQA+ inclusive. Health and community services include hospitals, aged care, disability services, mental health services and more.
Rainbow Ready roadmap - Local government
A guide for local governments to become more LGBTIQA+ inclusive, and deliver on their commitment to drive LGBTIQA+ inclusion through Victoria’s whole-of-government LGBTIQA+ strategy.
Rainbow Ready roadmap - Businesses and other services
A guide for businesses and other services to become more LGBTIQA+ inclusive. Businesses and other services include retail, banking, church, transport, legal trade and more.
Rainbow Ready roadmap - Learning environments
A guide for learning environments to become more LGBTIQA+ inclusive. Learning environments include TAFE colleges, universities and schools.
Tools
Three practical tools support users of the Rainbow Ready roadmap in assessing their progress towards LGBTIQA+ inclusion, planning inclusive activities and demonstrating Rainbow Ready status.
Measurement and evaluation tool
A tool to assess where your community, town, region, service or group is at with LGBTIQA+ inclusion, and to identify areas for improvement. This tool is also used at the end of a Rainbow Ready project, to measure progress, highlight achievements and areas for further improvement.
Action plan tool
A template for planning your Rainbow Ready Roadmap project, and to identify actions, people involved, and desired outcomes.
Rainbow Ready checklist
A checklist to demonstrate that you are Rainbow Ready for yourself, both along the journey and when you have done your Rainbow Ready roadmap projects based on the indicators under your setting guide.
Where to next?
Finished a Rainbow Ready project and have a good news story to share? We want to hear how you’re driving LGBTIQA+ inclusion in your local community. To share your story, simply email the Equality Unit.
It’s one of the main purposes of this project, as LGBTIQA+ people across the state told us they would like to see how inclusion work was done. We want you to share your stories so that others can apply the lessons in their own town, community or organisation.
Rainbow Tick Accreditation
The Rainbow Ready roadmap is also a great starting point for larger health and human service organisations who may be considering undertaking Rainbow Tick accreditation.
The Rainbow Tick is considered the gold standard framework for health and human services organisations to show that they are safe, inclusive and affirming services and employers for the LGBTIQA+ community.
The Rainbow Ready roadmap’s four core principles of LGBTIQA+ inclusion have been developed to align with Rainbow Tick’s accreditation standards, meaning activities you undertake using the roadmap can also be used to support Rainbow Tick accreditation. We encourage well-resourced health and human service organisations to explore undertaking Rainbow Tick accreditation.
Find out more about the Rainbow Tick.
Updated