In the last couple of days I have been fortunate enough to meet with a diverse range of energetic and inspiring women who are all working towards making Australia a more fair and equal place.  

Yesterday I met with Women with Disabilities Australia and heard about some of the barriers for women with a disability in accessing simple health checks, such as surgery beds that can not be adjusted for pap smears. The issue of access to safe housing in the event of domestic violence was also brought to my attention, with reports that women with a disability have been turned from women’s refuges because of physical access barriers and lack of capacity. I was very concerned to hear that there is a shortage of data relating to women with a disability. This has significant impacts on how we can monitor progress in this area. 

Today I co-hosted a Women’s Roundtable with the Office of Women (NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet) at Parliament House. It was encouraging to hear about the great work that is happening out there, whether it is an advocacy group for women with a disability, a rape crisis service, an immigrant women’s organisation or lesbian health organisation. These diverse organisations are a huge resource for me in my role as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner in our collective pursuit of gender equality.  

The issues raised at the roundtable echoed the concerns of people I heard from in South Australia. Violence against women and sexual harassment resonated as strong themes that need an educational focus to change attitudes and behaviours. There is a real need for a nationally consistent response. I also heard concerns raised around women’s access to reproductive health services and in particular, the difficulty of accessing safe and affordable pregnancy termination services.  I also heard some great ideas for solutions.

The organisations at the roundtable were very supportive of having national indicators so that we can measure how we are travelling in terms of gender equality. Another brilliant idea was for a project to look into the value of paid work to assist us in making some progress in the area of pay equity.  

Well, half a day in NSW has given me plenty to think about.

Thanks to all the wonderful people who have given their time and considered input to the Listening Tour so far.  

Liz