Tag: local action

Local Action: Accuracy over approval, Dr Megan Blake, barrister

AAWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’, interviews with women getting it done across Australia. Today, Emma interviews Dr Megan Blake, barrister for the Lesbian Action Group and President of the newly established charity YAEL Women’s Defence Guild about her views on the fight for women’s sex-based protections and rights in Australia.  Throughout her career Megan … Continue reading Local Action: Accuracy over approval, Dr Megan Blake, barrister →

CEDAW and the Netherlands: how ‘sex work’ language weakens protection

When the CEDAW Committee examined the Netherlands this year for its seventh periodic review, many of us hoped its findings would finally confront the reality that so‑called ‘regulated prostitution’ has not delivered safety or equality for women and girls. And the advance unedited concluding observations from the report do recognise serious harms in the Dutch … Continue reading CEDAW and the Netherlands: how ‘sex work’ language weakens protection →

We are the line: AAWAA’s year of consolidation and strategic advocacy

This year, AAWAA moved from building foundations to stepping into our national power. We took what we learned in 2024 – that women would respond to clear, sex-based language; that politicians would engage with us; that governments are vulnerable to scrutiny on women's rights – and we scaled it up. We built something durable. And … Continue reading We are the line: AAWAA’s year of consolidation and strategic advocacy →

Local Action with Janet Fraser

AAWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’, interviews with women getting it done across Australia. In this edition of Local Action we talk Janet Fraser. Janet is a mother, author, poet, and historian. Janet has been the National Convenor of the Australian homebirth network, Joyous Birth since 2004. She is a Spinifex author, the writer of … Continue reading Local Action with Janet Fraser →

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s institutional drift on women’s rights

The Australian Human Rights Commission was established to promote and protect human rights for all Australians, with the Sex Discrimination Commissioner having a specific mandate to address sex discrimination and promote gender equality under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA). However, the Commission's current apparent approach to sex-based rights has created widespread legal uncertainty for … Continue reading The Australian Human Rights Commission’s institutional drift on women’s rights →

Introducing the AAWAA Women’s Advocate podcast: voices for women’s protections and rights

We are proud to launch The Women’s Advocate, a new podcast from the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Advocacy Alliances (AAWAA), a space designed to explore beneath the surface of policy, advocacy, and daily life for women and girls in Australia. Our aim is to create a record—nuanced, searching, and unafraid—of what is happening to women’s … Continue reading Introducing the AAWAA Women’s Advocate podcast: voices for women’s protections and rights →

Announcing our name change: AAWAA’s strategic focus on advocacy

When women come together, our voices, so often dismissed or sidelined in public debate, become more difficult to ignore. Today, we are proud to announce a step that strengthens our collective voice: our national peak body is now the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Advocacy Alliances (AAWAA). Why ‘Advocacy’ and why now? This change is more … Continue reading Announcing our name change: AAWAA’s strategic focus on advocacy →

Local Action: Stassja Frei, Holding the line

AAWAA brings to you Local Action — interviews with women Getting It Done across Australia. In this edition of Local Action, we talk to Stassja Frei. Stassja holds a special place in my heart as the quintessential TERF, and she’s certainly one of the first Australian TERFs to pop her gorgeous head over the parapet. … Continue reading Local Action: Stassja Frei, Holding the line →

Local Action: Jasmine Sussex, Breastfeeding is womens’ work

AAWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ - interviews with women getting it done across Australia. In Local Action we talk to Mother of three and volunteer breastfeeding counsellor Jasmine Sussex. Jasmine has been attacked for holding the most reasonable and normal belief in the world – That only women can be mothers and only mothers … Continue reading Local Action: Jasmine Sussex, Breastfeeding is womens’ work →

Local Action: Carole Ann, The fight for lesbian rights

AAWAA presents ‘Local Action’—interviews with women making a difference across Australia. In this edition, we speak with Carole Ann. She and the women of the Lesbian Action Group are steadfast in their belief that men cannot be lesbians. After gender ideology eroded lesbian-only spaces in the 1990s—demanding that men be included in lesbian events—many women … Continue reading Local Action: Carole Ann, The fight for lesbian rights →

Local Action: Susan Hawthorne

AAWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ - interviews with women getting it done across Australia. In Local Action we talk to Susan Hawthorne. Susan Hawthorne, a legendary Australian feminist, is an award-winning writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Susan Hawthorne, with her partner Renate Klein, founded Spinifex Press, a leading independent radical feminist publisher in … Continue reading Local Action: Susan Hawthorne →

Local Action: Speakers’ Corner in Brisbane, 21 July 2024

AAWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’, a monthly report on the brave feminist actions by women across Australia. Local Action this week is on the Speakers’ Corner. Sue Clarke and Leah Whiston are the founders of Woman Up Queensland. They facilitate the monthly Speakers Corners in Brisbane. I sat down to discuss the Local Action … Continue reading Local Action: Speakers’ Corner in Brisbane, 21 July 2024 →

Local Action: Mel Days, ‘Staying You’

QWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ a monthly report on the brave feminist actions by women across Australia. Local Action this week is with Mel Day. Mel Day is a teacher who also works in the fields of sociology and counselling. In 2018-2020 she underwent treatment for aggressive stage 3 breast cancer. Mel discovered that … Continue reading Local Action: Mel Days, ‘Staying You’ →

Local Action: Feminist Matriarch Merike Johnson

QWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ a monthly instalment on the brave feminist actions by women across Queensland. In Local Action this week I talk to Merike a survivor and refugee to Australia who went on to become a an Environmental Scientist (hydrogeochemistry) with the NSW Department of Mines when women in science were rare. … Continue reading Local Action: Feminist Matriarch Merike Johnson →

Local Action: Nina Lee, nature-loving, bilingual musician and poet

QWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ a monthly report on the brave feminist actions by women across Queensland. Today we are talking with Nina Lee. Nina, a nature loving, bilingual, hippy musician and poet, lives in a commune in Northern NSW, and is an honorary Queenslander. I sit down with Nina today to to talk … Continue reading Local Action: Nina Lee, nature-loving, bilingual musician and poet →

Local Action: Edie Wyatt, writer and fighter for women’s rights

QWAA brings to you ‘Local Action’ a monthly report on the brave feminist actions by women across Queensland. In Local Action this time we sit down with journalist, top tier TERF and podcaster Edie Wyatt and we discuss culture, the state, and the state we have found ourselves in. Talking with Edie is the intellectual … Continue reading Local Action: Edie Wyatt, writer and fighter for women’s rights →