This month, the Australian Capital Territory has made medical and surgical abortions up to 16 weeks gestation free for all its residents, regardless of visa status. This is a huge step forward for reproductive justice in Australia. It makes the…
Beyond economics: valuing our migrant workforce
Workplace safety is a major health and wellbeing issue. Recent research by the Migrant Worker’s Centre in Melbourne has found that around 50 per cent of migrant workers report feeling unsafe at work, due to discrimination, bullying and verbal abuse.…
Validating women’s pain
Endometriosis affects around 190 million women and people assigned female at birth worldwide. In Australia, more than 11 per cent of women, girls and people assigned female at birth suffer from this chronic condition. Symptoms include pain, cramping, bloating, bladder…
Finishing the COVID-19 marathon strong
Many of us will feel relieved to hear that, in a press conference this month, World Health Organization Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, suggested “the end is in sight” for the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a long road and the…
Let’s talk about reproductive coercion
We wrap up Sexual and Reproductive Health Week this month on a hopeful note for change, with the recent establishment of a Senate inquiry into abortion access in Australia. The inquiry will investigate what needs to be done to ease…
Achieving equality in the workplace
Migrant and refugee women experience the workplace and the labour market differently to men, and to women who are not from migrant communities. The intersection of gender and race discrimination is particularly salient in the world of work. Some of…
Listening to migrant women who live with disabilities
As many of us now know, the way to truly understand and work toward addressing a particular issue is to listen to and centre the voices of those with lived experience; they are the ones who are most impacted. When…
Migrant women and the gender pain gap
Have you heard of the gender pain gap? Due to years of unconscious bias, sexist stereotypes of women as “dramatic” or “weak” and a lack of research into women’s health, we now see a phenomenon where women’s pain is disproportionately…
Stay at home parenting and good perinatal mental health
If you seek parenting advice from social media you would be forgiven for thinking that motherhood brings unbridled joy. Generally speaking, baby cuteness abounds, SAHMs spend their days happily posting their baby’s baths, meals, loving looks and their sleep routines.…
Why migrant workers need ‘a fairer go’
The 5.2% increase to the minimum wage that was decided this month was very happy news. It means that Australia’s lowest paid workers will have an additional $40 per week in their pockets in exchange for their labour. While $40…