Advocacy: speaking out for women and children

Women's Health West is a voice for women in the Western Region. We work with government at all levels and with a wide range of services and institutions to raise the profile of women's needs around their health, safety and wellbeing.

Racial and religious discrimination, vilification and harassment project

A project to explore experiences in the west and examine the adequacy of the current law

Why?

The Western Suburbs Legal Service is aware that community members experience racism and religious discrimination and vilification and has developed this project to hear and record people’s experiences to see how the existing laws protect people. This information could help in encouraging governments to review and develop laws that make sure that all people are treated fairly. Women’s Health West are part of reference group that contributed to the development of this project and has assisted connections with women who wanted to contribute their stories to this project.

What stories were collected?

Experiences include name calling, physical attacks, being refused a service or many other kinds of harassment.

Discrimination

Treating someone unfairly or less favourably because of their race, ethnicity, nationality or religious belief or activity.

Harassment

Unwelcome behaviour that is offensive, intimidating, humiliating or embarrassing. based on race, ethnicity, nationality or religious belief

Vilification

Behaviour that could incite others to hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule of people because of their race or religion.

Western Suburbs Legal Service Report
Contains recommendations for government and other agencies. For a copy of the report, contact the WSLS office on (03) 9391 2244

Click on the link below to read more about the project in our WHW News Newsletter - Edition 1

WHW News

Submissions to the Victorian Law Reform Commission's Enquiry into Assisted Reproductive Technology and Adoption

In October 2002 the Victorian Attorney General asked the newly re-funded Victorian Law Reform Commission to conduct an enquiry into assisted reproductive technology (ART) and adoption. The Enquiry is examining a number of matters, including laws that exclude same-sex couples and single women from accessing ART and adoption, and issues related to the recognition of diverse families, the rights of children conceived via ART, and women's reproductive choices.

Find out more about the Enquiry via the Commission's website, or read the submissions Women's Health West has made at each stage of the enquiry:

response to the Commission's initial Consultation Paper in June 2004 (PDF 56KB)
response to Position Paper on access in June 2005 (PDF 82KB), and
response to Position Paper 2 on parentage in August 2005 (PDF 87KB).

Submission to the Victorian Government's Human Rights Consultation

In August 2005, Women's Health West made a submission to the Victorian Government's community consultation on whether Victoria should have a Human Rights Charter. We focussed on issues around women's human rights, in particular with regards to domestic and family violence. We support a Human Rights Charter, covering not only political and civil rights, but also social, economic and cultural rights more traditionally relegated to the arena of social policy. We support establishment of a Human Rights Commission, with the powers to hear cases, and to implement policy and practice change and community education.

You can download (PDF 115KB) a copy of our Human Rights Submission.

OUR APPROACH TO ADVOCACY

As a feminist organisation, we provide a 'gendered lens' - a way of understanding how issues from youth recreation to police procedures or maternity services impact on the diverse lives of girls and women. We do this in all our work, especially through our professional development services and our partnerships with government, health providers, schools, police, family services and others.

The analysis we offer through our advocacy work is informed by all other aspects of what we do, including our research, community development work and family violence services. Therefore we talk not about 'what women need', but about the very different needs and experiences of diverse women in our community, and how age, ethnicity, sexuality, ability and other factors influence their experiences of health, safety and wellbeing.

We offer this analysis through direct advocacy as outlined above, and through our participation in a wide range of statewide, regional and local committees, working groups and networks. This includes, for example, our active membership in the three Primary Care Partnerships in the Western Region, or participation in processes such as the 2003-2004 Family Violence Crisis Protection Framework, which will result in significant changes to the way family violence services are delivered in our region.

Our community-based advocacy work includes events like the annual Week Without Violence. The Family Violence Prevention Networks are very involved in organising a range of community events during this internationally-recognised week, to raise awareness and help prevent violence. International Women's Day celebrations also provide the opportunity for women to celebrate and for Women's Health West to raise awareness about various issues. Past International Women's Day celebrations have focussed on issues including the experiences of refugee women, solo mothers and proposed changes to custody laws, and in 2005 the achievements and needs of women with a disability, particularly in the outer West.