Women are equal members of the community and must be treated as such. However, women are subjected to systemic disadvantage and oppression. Women have the right to make informed choices about all aspects of their lives.
Women have the right to live their lives free of violence, harassment, prejudice, exploitation and discrimination.
Social, economic and other structures and systems which disadvantage and exclude women must be immediately changed.
Aims
The Greens (WA) want:
- an end to the systemic disadvantage of women on the basis of them being women and of the roles traditionally expected of them
- women to live their lives free from violence and experiences of exploitation, coercion, abuse, disempowerment, harassment and discrimination
- there to be access to sufficient financial, material and other resources needed to enable women to not just survive but thrive
- women to have equal respect, responsibilities, opportunities and outcomes in all levels of society and leadership
- equal representation of women in public life
- the work for caring for children, older people, disabled people and other dependents to not be assumed as women’s work, and to be rewarded to prevent economic and social disadvantage to all carers
- women to have access to affordable, appropriate, safe and confidential health and wellbeing services, including abortion, contraceptive, reproductive health services
Measures
The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:
Legislating and Social Services
- ensure all legislation, initiatives and policy measures aimed at women support and improve the status of women, with consideration of intersecting contexts, such as First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, disabled, LGBTQIA+ and class
- resource government social services and ensure they support and improve the status of women
- remove barriers and strengthen support mechanisms so that women can take on leadership roles equally with men in our political, legal, cultural, social and economic institutions
- shape welfare, housing, health care, child-care, employment, further education, legal aid, superannuation or other programs to meet the needs of women and counter their systemic disadvantage
Education
- provide feminist education and promotion for all people to end the systemic disadvantage of women
- include awareness, parenting and relationship skills programs in school curricula that are guided by feminist principles that question traditional gender roles and reflect on their value
- undertake public education campaigns that counter the sexualisation of women without stigmatising sex workers and inhibiting their work (see also The Greens (WA) Sex Work policy)
Violence
- ensure that all women are able to live their lives free from violence and eliminate all forms of violence against women, including sexual violence (See also The Greens (WA) Family & Domestic Violence policy)
- put measures in place to ensure the safety of women in public spaces
- provide and maintain funding and income supports for women subjected to violence and abuse to enable them to leave dangerous situations without becoming homeless or living in poverty
- provide and maintain funding for adequate support services, including legal assistance for women subjected to violence
- provide the appropriate level of funding for social and community housing to ensure women and children subjected to violence have meaningful and timely options (see also The Greens (WA) Housing and Homelessness policy)
- provide the appropriate level of funding for refuges for women subjected to violence
- ensure that transgender women are not discriminated against in accessing refuges (see also The Greens (WA) LGBTQIA+ policy)
- ensure that there are secure and accessible refuges for all women and children subjected to violence, with specific consideration for overlooked demographics such as women with teenage children
- improve police and judicial responses to sexual and physical violence experienced by women and children
- resource a process to review factors contributing to violent deaths and fund improved systemic responses and services aimed at reducing or eliminating violence against women, including the resourcing of effective rehabilitation programs for perpetrators of violence against women
Employment
- strengthen and enforce penalties for sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination in the workplace (see also The Greens (WA) Workplace Relations policy)
- enact pay equity legislation with sanctions to ensure that all organisations with 25 employees or more undertake publicly accessible pay equity audits and implement strategies to reduce pay inequities
- monitor organisations to ensure that pay equity audits are undertaken and assist organisations to achieve pay equity
- provide free, safe, evidence based financial and budgeting education and counselling to women in need, and ensure such services are well promoted, safe and responsive to intersectional needs
- provide scholarships, training, mentoring programs and other forms of support for women to enter ‘non-traditional’ employment
Reproduction
- ensure all women have access to free and safe contraception and contraceptive advice, including affordable, safe and legal termination of pregnancy
- ensure all women have access to free, safe and diverse options for pregnancy and childbirth, including home birth and birth assisted by trained midwives
- ensure that all health workers in obstetrics and gynaecology are trained to provide culturally-safe practice
- ensure that traditional birthing practices are accessible to those who use them
Caring & Domestic Work
- undertake public education campaigns that counter the gendered expectation of caring work as women’s work
- promote greater valuing and recognition of the importance of child-bearing and child rearing
- ensure access to high quality, publicly-funded child care
- provide intensive support services for vulnerable and at risk families
- ensure public spaces are accessible and meet the needs of parents with children and other dependents
- promote a balance between paid work and domestic and caring work in the lives of people
- provide allowances which enable parents and carers of children to stay at home with their children if they so choose
- develop minimum standards requiring employers to make workplaces more friendly to parents with children, including by provision of lactation breaks, paid leave for parents with sick children and flexible work practices
- enable people with family responsibilities to be able to work without conflict between their paid employment and caring and other family responsibilities, as well as be free from workplace discrimination and employer prejudice
(See also the Australian Greens Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women policy)
Women policy ratified by The Greens (WA) in 2024