Campaign wins and reflections: #TeachUsConsent 15 December 2022
#MeToo, the global juggernaut that called out the extent of sexual harassment, particularly in corporate and celebrity circles, didn’t just create an awakening of the scale of these shared experiences, but also prompted a wider conversation on the importance of sexual consent and what steps are needed to eliminate sexual violence and harassment. #TeachUsConsent rode […]
When it comes to campaigning, all publicity isn’t necessarily good publicity 15 December 2022
All campaigns need a degree of publicity. It would be disingenuous to argue otherwise. Even your campaign to change your school’s dress code or recycling practices required you to profile the issue, collectivise with peers, get parents or teachers on your side and essentially, spread the word. So before we drag publicity-obsessed campaigns in general, […]
ASK MURIEL: Affirmative consent 15 December 2022
In this edition of Action Matters, we answer the question: “What’s affirmative consent?” Affirmative consent is an explicit and voluntary agreement to participate in sexual activity. Laws on affirmative consent vary across the country, but as Saxon Mullins clarified in her She Leads in Conversation discussion, the NSW “affirmative consent” model meant consent required communication […]
Advocate spotlight: Saxon Mullins 15 December 2022
Saxon Mullins is a survivor, law reform campaigner, director of Advocacy at Rape and Sexual Assault Research and Advocacy (RASARA), and an advocate for the rights of survivors to tell their stories. In 2018, following five years of legal processes, including two trials and two appeals that ultimately acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting […]
Advocacy 101: Harnessing your campaign’s ambition, lessons from the 2019-2020 bushfires 14 December 2022
Amidst the heart-breaking devastation of the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20, Comedian Celeste Barber launched a Facebook fundraising campaign that quickly reached record-breaking success, amassing $51.3 million in donations to the NSW Royal Fire Service (RFS) and Brigades Trust. But to what success? From an initial $30,000 fundraising goal to the receipt of more than $51 […]
ASK MURIEL: Staying motivated in advocacy 24 August 2022
In this edition of Action Matters, we answer the question: “How do you stay motivated as an advocate, even when you are not making headway”? Campaigns and advocacy projects can be a mixed bag. Some can last days or weeks, and others can drag on for years. Some are professional campaigning groups with substantial human […]
Advocacy 101: The connection between medical abortion in Australia and Telstra 24 August 2022
What do access to medical abortion in Australia and Telstra have in common? Not much on the face of it, but when it comes to political wheeling and dealing, they are forever united in how women’s rights can easily turn into a bargaining chip for otherwise unrelated policy decisions. Big ticket policy and reform conversations […]
Advocacy spotlight: Safe Schools 24 August 2022
Safe Schools explained In 2010, the Victorian Government established the Safe Schools anti-bullying scheme, which grew into an $8m four-year federally funded national program in 2013. Their mission was simple: to ensure schools are safe places free of discrimination for all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse, intersex, queer, asexual and questioning (LGBTIQA+) students. […]
Campaign wins and reflections: Tampon tax 24 August 2022
You may hear advocates talking about gender inequality being ‘systemic’ – but it can be hard to understand what that means in practice, and how it impacts the way we can effectively advocate. A good example of a system that reinforced and entrenched gender inequality is the historic charging of goods and services tax (GST) […]
Why we need to embrace feminist lenses on welfare and economic policy 24 August 2022
“Women” as a public policy area, has tended to slide into discrete and recognizable piles; early learning, families, health and violence prevention for example. In this edition of Action Matters we look at how women’s policy, rather than being discreet has relevancy across a suite of significant portfolios including taxation and welfare. Often this relevancy […]