The Victorian Women's Health Services Network (WHSN) welcomes this year’s focus on cost of living relief for families and the additional $269 million towards the safety of women and children, in addressing gender-based violence.

WHSN Chair and Women’s Health Loddon Mallee Chief Executive Officer Tricia Currie, said the network is pleased to see that in spite of the expected budget tightening measures, the Victorian Government has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to gender and health equality, and to addressing gender-based violence.

Today marked the beginning of the 2024 Victorian Health Sector Summit where leaders from the Victorian Women’s Health Services (VWHS) joined other key stakeholders in discussing the future of health care in Victoria. With a focus on collaboration, equity, and population health outcomes, the summit showcased priorities for future reform of Victoria’s health system, which strategically align with the Women’s Health Services ways of working.

To mark International Women’s Day, the CEO’s and Chairs of all 12 Women’s Health Services across Victoria have released a statement reinforcing the importance of the global and local themes for the day.

The Victorian Women’s Health Services Network (WHSN) embraces the key themes for International Women’s Day 2024; “Count Her In: Invest In Women. Accelerate Progress” from UN Women Australia, in line with the priority themes of Internationally based UN Women campaign.

Both the global and local Australian themes highlight the imperative to fund initiatives promoting gender equality and economic justice for all women.

The Victorian Women's Health Services Network (WHSN) welcomes the ongoing leadership of the Victorian State Government in acknowledging and improving women’s experiences within the healthcare system. The release of a landmark survey, Listening to Women’s Voices, describes the ‘gender pain gap’, and coincides with the announcement of an Inquiry into Women’s Pain, reflecting what our sector has long known – that women’s health and wellbeing suffers from systemic inequalities.

In a significant stride towards addressing period poverty, the Victorian Women’s Health Services extends warm congratulations to the Victorian State Government for its ongoing commitment to providing free access to pads and tampons. The recent release of tenders to procure these essential products for women and girls is a commendable step in the right direction.

In response to the government’s announcement of the inaugural Women’s Mental Health Service, set to open on 1/12/2023, the Victorian Women’s Health Services expresses enthusiasm for this pivotal step in prioritizing gender-responsive healthcare. The sector also advocated to the Victorian Government to not forget the value of primary prevention to promote mental health.

The Victorian Women's Health Services Network (WHSN) warmly welcome the State Government's commitment to improving abortion access across Melbourne. The introduction of Eastern Health's surgical abortion service and plans to establish services at Western Health and Peninsula Health, will ensure that women can access public abortion services that are safe, timely and close to their home and social support networks. 

A landmark report has shed light on the economic value of Women's Health Services to Victoria, underscoring the critical need for sustained government funding beyond 2023-24.

Conducted by Impact Economics and Policy, the Return on Equity - Health and economic dividends from investing in Women's Health Services Report reveals the long-term economic benefits of investing in women's health, from reducing cost pressures on the healthcare system to improving workforce participation.

The Victorian Women’s Health Services Network are proud to launch Small Change, Big Impact: Women’s Health Services Network Collective Impact Report. The report captures the combined impact of the women’s health sector to advance Victorian women’s health and equality - a key part of Victoria’s public health infrastructure for four decades.

The Women’s Health Services Network congratulate the Victorian Government on the release of Our Equal State – the whole of government Strategy for the next four years of action to address gender inequality across Victoria.

The Strategy comprises 110 actions representing investment and work across five focus areas. These include culture change, health and wellbeing, safety and respect, economic equity and establishing the Victorian Public Service as a leader in advancing gender equity. The actions and focus areas are designed to address barriers to equity facing women and gender diverse people across the life course, with a focus on childhood, youth, adulthood, and older age.

The Victorian Women's Health Services Network (WHSN)-cautiously welcome last week's budget announcements, recognising that they followed through on the Government’s election commitments. WHSN Chair and Women’s Health Loddon Mallee Chief Executive Officer Tricia Currie, said the network looked forward to working with the government to ensure the funding commitments in this budget were available for all women across Victoria.

The Women’s Health Services support the Victorian State Government’s leadership and commitment to women’s health and gender equality as part of its policy and reform agenda. The Women’s Health Services welcome the Victorian Government’s election commitment to “give women’s health the focus and funding it deserves” (15 Nov 2022, Media Release The Hon. Daniel Andrews).