women & feminism

Wik is Women’s Business National Feminist Conference Rejects Big Business Land Grab

Summer/Autumn 1998

The panels at the Women & Labour Conference reinforced Wik as a feminist issue. They showed how non-Indigenous rural people are hurting badly from a crisis-ridden system, which is becoming increasingly brutal. The profiteers are attempting to use small farmers to incite mass panic in Australia – a panic fuelled by misinformation.

Government Guts Equal Opportunity Law

Summer/Autumn 1994

Moira Rayner, Commissioner for Equal Opportunity in Victoria, thought her job was to let oppressed groups know about the Commission and encourage them to make complaints when they face discrimination…. Read more »

Being an Aboriginal woman

Summer/Autumn 1994

I am a 31-year-old Aboriginal woman of Ugarapul and Bundjalung tribal roots, who is strong in my culture, but contends with the aftermath of European invasion of this my sacred land, Australia.

THROUGH BLACK EYES: A Unique Approach to Family Violence

Summer/Autumn 1992

Aboriginal women have developed a unique approach to combating domestic violence. Through Black Eyes is a landmark document that, in its approach to combating violence in the home, places the focus on community-inspired, rather than state-driven, solutions.

Real Rape Law Campaign Gathers Momentum

September - December 1990

Rape is a largely unreported crime. And, given the myriad obstacles which a rape victim must endure, it is hardly surprising that many women decide not to notify the police. As a starting point, the law needs to be changed to mitigate the rape victim’s trauma from simply reporting the crime.

Andrea Dworkin, Intercourse, New York, Free Press (1988). 326 pages.

Summer/Autumn 1990

Dworkin offers no hope for women. She identifies “contextual reforms” and political programs, only to dismiss them as off-base and futile. So, she indiscriminately lumps together demands for economic equity or rape laws that work with calls for electing women to political office and athletic excellence, condemning them all for failing to “address the question of whether intercourse itself can be an expression of sexual equality.”

Defending Reproductive Freedom: An International Struggle for Women’s Rights

Summer/Autumn 1990

Abortion is about the right of women to biological and sexual self determination. It is about our right to be economically independent. Because abortion is such a fundamental issue it is one of the first targets picked out by the right wing for their agenda to shore up the institution of the nuclear family through compulsory pregnancy for able-bodied white women but forced celibacy or sterilisation or DepoProvera for Aboriginal women, disabled women and women in institutions.

First International Indigenous Women’s Conference Report Back

Summer/Autumn 1990

The conference allowed the women a platform to express their frustration and anger, but most of all, their survival. Never have I been a part of such a large group of strong, strong women. It was an absolutely inspirational event to be a part of.