PRINCIPLES
1. Women and gender diverse people should all enjoy equality with men in all spheres of society and their human rights, experience, knowledge, work and other contributions to society should be recognised and valued equally to men's.
2. We recognise that intersecting structures and systems of oppression result in additional challenges for some women and gender diverse people, for example where colonisation, sexism, racism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, ableism and capitalism interact to create additional barriers to gender equity.
3. Women should have equal representation and participation in decision making processes in all areas of political, social, cultural, intellectual and economic life.
4. All women should have the right to make informed choices about all aspects of their lives, including accessibility, their bodies, education, health, intimate and emotional relationships, parenting, sexual identity and reproduction.
5. Women should receive equal pay for work of equal value, and their unpaid caring responsibilities should be acknowledged and properly valued throughout their lifetime.
6. All women should live free of direct, indirect and systemic discrimination.
7. All women should live free from harassment, fear, violence and abuse. Where these rights are violated, women should be supported and protected by the justice system.
8. Men have specific roles to play in creating and promoting gender equality and equity, by listening to, respecting and supporting women, and by being allies to women and gender diverse people in acknowledging and challenging harmful norms of masculinity and the unjust system of patriarchy.
9. The barriers to equal representation and participation in society faced by trans, gender diverse and intersex people must be addressed.
10. Family-friendly, caring-friendly and flexible workplaces for everyone, including flexible working hours, accessibility and the possibility of working from home. This also means removing barriers for men and all partners to work flexibly and participate in care giving and household responsibilities.
AIMS
Equity for Women and Gender-Diverse People
1. A community which is fully aware of and conforms to international standards, conventions and treaties which aim at eliminating discrimination against all women.
2. Reform of electoral processes to establish targets to achieve gender balance and remove barriers to women’s participation.
3. Ongoing monitoring, research and analysis of the status of all women in society and re-establishing an independent state government office for the status of women.
4. Affordable, accessible and quality childcare and incentives for on-site childcare facilities in workplaces.
5. Eliminate barriers and obstacles to the career pathways of all women in engineering, mathematics and medicine, science and technology and trades.
6. Equal funding in support of women’s participation in all leisure, sporting, music and artistic endeavours, including by provision of equal or similar facilities and award opportunities.
7. Provide affirmative action programs to support the equal participation of all women in political, sporting, recreational, music and artistic opportunities and programs that address the particular barriers to equal representation and participation faced by trans and intersex women and gender diverse people in these fields.
Gender equity and Education (see also Education Policy)
8. Provision of life-long education opportunities that are responsive to the particular circumstances of women and gender diverse people, including age, caring and carer responsibilities, disability, language and late entry to study.
9. Provision of specific initiatives in schools, VET, and in universities, that increase the participation of women and gender-diverse people in non- traditional career options
10. Provision of centres for continuing education and training for all women, including training to facilitate promotion opportunities for part-time and temporary workers and return to work of all women who were outside the workforce for extended periods.
Gender equity and Health (see also Health Policy)
11. Enhanced community-based health and sexual health services for women and gender diverse people, including provision of accurate information on health and ability at all life stages. This includes access to legal, free and safe pregnancy termination services, including unbiased counselling.
12. Provision of free and safe pregnancy, maternity, childbirth and early childhood services and proactive information about the available choices of care, including support for home birth and midwifery services, and support for women who face additional barriers to fertility and childbirth such was women with disabilities and First Nations women.
13. To enact legislation making forced sterilisation illegal, and enforcing legislation prohibiting female circumcision.
14. The establishment and expansion of trans and gender diverse health services throughout the state to support trans and gender diverse people, given that the financial impost of trans and gender affirming health affects gender equity.
Women’s Safety
15. A whole of government approach to minimising and managing family violence.
16. To provide adequate and accessible women’s support services, including sexual assault centres, in metropolitan, regional and remote communities, and also catering for women with diverse needs.
17. To initiate a national inquiry into sexual assault, and bringing about uniform sexual assault laws.
18. Increased availability and access to free accommodation, including emergency and crisis housing, for all women at risk of sexual assault or fleeing family or gendered violence. It must be safe, secure, accessible, and culturally appropriate.
19. Long term public and social accommodation to address the growing housing crisis for older women.
20. To increase funding and support for activities related to the prevention and elimination of intimate partner violence, including providing ongoing funding for school and community education programs involving men and boys to address the issue of violence against women.
21. To promote community education and support systems for victims of non-consensual distribution of private sexual images (colloquially, revenge porn).
The Portrayal of Women
22. To provide strong, ongoing support for a culture of respectful and empowering messages and images about women.
23. To support a positive and respectful view of women in advertising and other media, including the fashion industry; advocating a portrayal of a range of women's body types as healthy and normal.
24. To ensure Victorian compulsory school curricula include the analysis of popular culture, with respect to its role and impact in creating, perpetuating or challenging gender stereotypes.
25. Work to inform and educate the community about the social and personal impacts of exploitative and harmful material, including sexually explicit material, that presents women as objects of sexual exploitation, abuse, denigration and violence.
26. To address sexism in the media and actively work to eradicate the negative portrayal of women, including sexist advertising.
27. To eradicate online sexism, abuse and gender-based hate speech.
Women and Gender Equality Policy as amended by State Council on 20th August 2022.