For years now, migrant and refugee women have taken up their own fights by drawing attention to the underlying patriarchy that enables the objectification, vilification and sexual violence of women in the workplace. Before Brittany Higgins’ precedent-setting case, Dhanya Mani,…
Is Medicare the universal system it claims to be?
The cornerstone of public healthcare in Australia, the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS), celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. There is no doubt the Medicare system has advanced access to healthcare for countless Australians. However, while it continues to discriminate based…
Deeds not words: Men’s role in violence prevention
Australia’s National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children has a bold ambition: to eliminate gendered violence within a generation. It is clear that the primary prevention of gendered violence is key to the achievement of that ambition. There have been…
Whose lives are grievable?
In the 10 years since the Royal Commission into Family Violence was established, we have repeatedly heard phrases like, ‘national crisis’, ‘shockingly high rates of murder,’ and ‘the epidemic of violence against women’. The recent string of violent incidents has reignited…
Who has the right to rest, recover and heal?
As of June 30, the Victorian government’s Sick Pay Guarantee scheme will be over, ending a program which financially supported over 75,000 casual and contract workers to access necessary leave in order to rest, recover and care for others. The Australian-first initiative…
Why data is more than just numbers
Data is more than just numbers; it has the power to define who is made visible and, more importantly, who remains unseen. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the Census “is the most comprehensive snapshot of the country and…
Women’s pain is not just a health issue
For far too long, women’s pain has not received the proper attention that it deserves, with research showing that there is a clear gender gap when it comes to treating women’s pain compared to men. That’s why the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into…
What does it mean to be a ‘priority population’?
As national and state discussions around women’s pain advance, it is essential to recognise that mental health issues can be the cause and/or a contributing factor to women’s experiences of pain. More specifically, women in Australia are reporting increased levels of…
Is gender equality really the measure of progress in sport?
While there have been many efforts to separate sport from politics, the truth is, sport exists within larger social and political contexts. Over the decades, we have witnessed many examples where politics and sport intersect, from athletes’ protest of systemic discrimination…
The Invisible Olympics
While the Olympic Games are often seen as the symbol of global unity and cooperation, there is a very serious human cost to elite sport and sporting events which is less visible and discussed. For instance, transforming into an ‘attractive’…