Celebrating women means fighting when it matters

EACH year, for the past nine years, Senator Sarah Henderson has hosted an International Women’s Day luncheon at the magnificent Clyde Park Winery near Bannockburn.

The event brings the community together to celebrate women, strengthen connections between new and old friends, and raise funds to support women and children fleeing family violence.

Guest speakers with a deep connection to the region have inspired and entertained – from TV presenters Rebecca Maddern and Catriona Rowntree to Feed Me Bellarine co-founder Lana Purcell and political analyst Peta Credlin.

Championing women means recognising strength – not just the visible achievements, but the quiet endurance, moral courage and determination which have shaped the nation.

It means honouring the women who have built businesses, raised families, served their communities and who have insisted that equality under the law is not negotiable.

Women’s rights in Australia were hard won. From securing the vote to advancing equal pay, anti-discrimination protections and protections against violence, progress has always required resolve.

None of it was inevitable. Each reform was achieved because women spoke up, often in the face of resistance, demanded to be heard.

“It is extraordinary to me, for instance, that prior to 1980, women were banned from participating in active patrols at Australian surf clubs,” Sarah said. “So, that meant that while boys were embraced in junior surf programs such as nippers, girls were left sitting on the sand.

“Wow, how bad is that. There are so many stories like this.”

In this same year, the Fraser Government signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women which paved the way for the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1984.

“This legislation is now in the spotlight following the Federal Court’s controversial decision in Tickle v Giggle,” Sarah said.

When entrepreneur Sall Grover established an app called Giggle to provide a female-only online space, she never expected to be caught up in a four-and-a-half-year dispute fighting for women to be recognised under the Sex Discrimination Act.

“It all started when Roxanne Tickle – a biological man who identifies as a trans woman – joined and was then excluded from Giggle,” Sarah said.

“The court ruled in Roxanne Tickle’s favour, effectively finding that the rights of women to single sex spaces did not supersede the protections afforded to those claiming discrimination because of gender identity.

“This clash of rights at the expense of women is now under appeal.

“Women have long relied on the law’s acknowledgment that, in specific circumstances, sex matters.”

Whether in refuges for victims of domestic violence, sporting competitions, our prison system, or private spaces such as change rooms, Sarah said, the concept of sex-based protections has been central to women’s safety, fairness and dignity.

Celebrating women must include defending those protections.

“I am delighted that Sall Grover is our special guest at this year’s IWD event,” Sarah said.

“Sall has taken on this fight with determination, courage, and a resolve that the rights of women matter, in all circumstances.”