Leichhardt Women's Community Health Centre has been running the Women Partners Service since 2000. Women Partners provides support and counselling for women whose male partner is having sex with men or has come out as gay or bisexual. This support may include supporting you whilst you are processing "Is my husband gay?", exploring what this means to you as a wife or partner, and helping you plan for your future.
Whilst the service is funded for residents of New South Wales, Australia, people from around the world have reached out to us for support and resources not found elsewhere.
Women Partners provides support for women to engage in comprehensive Sexual Health screening which is an important step after discovering your partner is sleeping with men.
Women Partners service also provides consultation and professional development for counsellors, Social Workers, GPs, and other health professionals via webinars hosted in our Professional Development portal.
Women Partners offers safe, non-judgmental support with individual counselling and support groups to all women, upon learning their partner has been sexually engaging with men. We offer a safe space for women to share their stories and perspectives whilst managing unexpected changes in their relationship.
Women Partners recognizes each woman’s path and circumstances are as unique as the individual relationships they are in. Some choose to stay with their partner in a mixed orientation relationship, while others will separate or divorce. We see a mix of women who have children and those who do not. Many women have been in their relationship for only a few years, others, decades. The experience is not exclusive to any one cultural, racial or religious demographic of people or geographic area.
Our client feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with 96% of women reporting increased self-esteem and ability to make decisions.
I have completely unloaded onto the counsellor and she wasn’t shocked. I’ve been able to understand what’s happened to my husband and work out what it means for me and the children. It’s been a life saver, literally.
The counsellor really understands. No one else seems to ‘get it’ and I’ve felt very alone – until I came here.
He’s my best friend and a wonderful father. He wants to stay for now as long as he can explore his feelings for men. I’m finding all that really hard. The counsellor’s been the only person I can really say it all aloud to…
We have a genuine care for the wellbeing of all parties involved in challenging situations or experiences.
We aim to provide inclusive, cross-cultural and comprehensive support to all women partners.
We are a safe and non-judgmental space for women to share their stories and perspectives whilst managing unexpected changes in their relationship.
We understand the sensitive nature of the experiences and information shared to us, that's why we stand by a strict confidential policy.
