Case study 1: Putting women’s health and equality on the state agenda

We gather evidence and speak up for women's concerns, making sure they're always part of the state's plans. This includes contributing a gender perspective to laws, policies and programs to help improve women’s lives.

Key impacts

1. We helped shape Victoria’s current public health approach. In the past, women’s health policy largely focussed on direct services such as breast and cervical screenings. We helped broaden this focus by showing that when women are proactively supported to live safe, healthy and equal lives, they have better health outcomes and reduces demand on the health system.

2. We have undertaken decades of research based on women’s voices and experiences. This helps identify new and emerging issues, and the most effective legislative, policy and program solutions.

3. We helped lay the groundwork for state’s Royal Commission into family violence. Our contributions ensured the nation-leading recommendations included a distinct focus on preventing violence from occurring in the first place, alongside response and recovery services.

4. We have championed sexual and reproductive health as a key part the health system. Sexual and reproductive health has long been over-looked from health planning. We have increased attention to sexual and reproductive health in local, state and national health plans, providing evidence about what communities need and how to improve services.

5. We lead advocacy for a gendered lens on mental health. We provide government and other institutions with research and policy advice to ensure women’s mental health needs are part of the conversation.

6. We contribute world-leading research into the gendered impacts of climate change, emergency and disaster situations. We support women to be part of local and regional planning and response work. This reduces the risk that women will be disproportionately impacted by climate change, emergency and disasters.

The result

Because of this, Victoria is now a leader in making positive changes for women's health and equality in Australia. All three levels of government look to our sector for reliable research and advice. We support other organisations to create to real change for women and gender-diverse people, from government departments and councils to schools, TAFEs and universities, health and community organisations, through to the private sector. As national, state and local commitment to improve women’s safety and equality grows, we are a key player helping deliver real change.

What this looks like – examples of our work

Women’s Mental Health Alliance

Women’s Health Victoria lead the 45-member Women’s Mental Health Alliance who are working to ensure that women’s voices and experiences are represented across implementation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s mental health system recommendations.

Victorian Women’s Health Services’ Sexual and Reproductive Health Community of Practice

The women’s health sector convenes a sexual and reproductive health community of practice that brings together women’s health sector experts and key partners from across the state. Activities include information-sharing, professional development and joint advocacy and initiatives such as the development of the state’s first framework for improving sexual and reproductive health: A theory of change in sexual and reproductive health for Victorian women.

Gender Equality Act Peer Network

Across the state, every women’s health service is working to support Defined Entities to meet their obligations under the Gender Equality Act. For instance, Women’s Health Goulburn North East and Gippsland Women’s Health have established the ‘Gender Equality Act Peer Network’ to support Defined Entities from every LGA in their regions, including local government, hospitals and tertiary education providers.

“From the 1980s to current times, women’s health services have identified and actioned issues that, at the time, were invisible or of low status: ageism and older women’s health is now a national conversation; women’s mental health is a priority; LBQ women’s health vulnerabilities are part of funded mainstream programs; the health impacts of sexual violence and family violence experienced disproportionately by marginalised women has been the focus government inquiries.”

— Dr Philomena Horsley, medical anthropologist and feminist activist (Healthsharing Women’s Health Resource Service, 1992–1996)

“Women’s health services are incredibly valuable prevention contributors. In fact, they are indispensable to Victoria’s prevention system for they are like no other stakeholder in their understanding and prioritisation of violence against women, their leadership and practices for preventing it, and their reach into every part of the state … I know for a fact that Victoria’s prevention system and infrastructure are the envy of other jurisdictions in the country; and that no other jurisdiction has anything like Victoria’s women’s health services sector.”

— Dr Wei Leng Kwok, independent consultant in gender equality and primary prevention of violence against women