The LGBTQIA+ boxing group helping people fight loneliness

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A suburban boxing group in Perth is helping members of the LGBTQIA+ community fight social isolation. It comes as research reveals two in five young Australians experience loneliness and a warning about the negative health impacts of disconnection.

Transcript

00:00At a community centre in Perth's inner west, this group is preparing for a unique battle.

00:10Despite the protective gear, they're not here for combat.

00:13Women, queer people, we're here to take up space, to get stronger.

00:18As a queer woman, Sonja felt like an outsider in some mainstream fitness classes.

00:22Now she's fighting loneliness with a pair of boxing gloves.

00:28I just feel more confident walking out into the world, both on a physical and a psychological level.

00:35This LGBTQIA plus focused class is fostering a safe space for connection.

00:40Straight study uppers, whatever you haven't done, finish up with that one.

00:42I think there's that thing too of gym and sports is really highly gendered as a space,

00:48and here is a place where I'm not checking anyone's gender ID at the door at all.

00:52This is what non-combat boxing looks like.

00:54There's no ring and it's all about community and confidence.

00:58Organisers hope to expand the program to more suburbs in the future.

01:02The classes are in addition to the boxing project, which began in 2017 as a women's empowerment program.

01:09Free monthly sessions are volunteer run and include 45 minutes of exercise,

01:14followed by 45 minutes of group discussion.

01:16Research shows queer people are four and a half times more likely to experience problematic loneliness than their heterosexual peers.

01:24We definitely know that it has an impact on our physical health in terms of cardiovascular disease and neurological sort of conditions,

01:30but also immune responses. But in terms of our mental health, it's also really scary.

01:35Sonia says the program has helped her feel less isolated.

01:38When I come to classes at the boxing project, I feel confident, I feel powerful, I feel connected.

01:47I feel like the doctor could work.

01:51I feel really nice.

01:53I feel very excited about this.

01:54I feel like you're necessarily really happy.

01:56You're so glad that you are very excited about that.

01:59I feel like I'm not going to work out so long.

02:01But you know how you do decide to do a lot more or something.

02:04I feel comfortable in a therapeutic place here tonight.

02:06I think they're very excited about what matters before.

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