Wednesday, 21 June 2023

Gender equality

Nina TAYLOR (Albert Park) (17:11): I would like to grieve that the opposition still have not embraced structural reforms that are needed to ensure true equality within their party. Affirmative action quotas – you see them squirm. You mention the word ‘quota’ and they shudder and they shake, ‘Oh, we can’t do that. We can’t do that because then we might have equality.’ Thankfully on this side of the chamber, and a little bit around here as well actually – it goes further, doesn’t it – we have absolutely embraced these reforms, because without structural reforms you cannot genuinely have a fair and equitable Parliament. I know myself as a member of Parliament when I go around to schools the students see parliamentarians and they see their gender. It is important that they do not only see one gender, that they see true representation when we visit those schools.

I want to thank those who have come before me in the party – I know acknowledgement was made of the late Joan Kirner – but also my male colleagues, because they are backing in these reforms wholeheartedly as well. As a collective we are united on this front, and it is truly inspiring as well. But it is important. It is about equity, it is about fairness and it is also about ensuring that current and future generations know that they all have an equal right, subject to their desires and what they want to do with their careers, to be able to pursue a career in Parliament. Part of those structural reforms, because we have gone further, is the fact that we are the first and only jurisdiction in Australia to have enshrined public sector gender equality laws requiring that new programs and services consider how they can improve and support gender equality.

I am going to go further with that thread. In 2021 we became the first state to introduce gender-responsive budgeting. We know that it is not only local, and I am really proud that our government has taken this important fiscal step but also a step in terms of ensuring equality when it comes to how our programs and services and policy are delivered. We know that gender-responsive budgeting is a way to create budgets that consider the gendered impact of investment decisions on all Victorians. It ensures that when we make decisions we do everything we can to break down structural barriers that hold women and girls back. Now, I did want to say further that gender-responsive budgeting tools have been trialled or adopted by nearly half of all OECD countries, including five of the seven largest economies in the world – Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the UK – and we are certainly part of this grouping insofar as recognising just how important it is to ensure equity right throughout the budgeting process.

I am going to move on further to some of the practical reforms that have been implemented – already spoken to to some degree in this chamber, but certainly extremely important – including the implementation of the rollout of free pads and tampons in every government school. I think all females in the chamber can recall the first time, and I certainly remember being in school – I will not go into intricate detail – and I know it was embarrassing. It felt embarrassing at that time. We were in a different era, and we were not really acknowledging that this is normal, this is part of life – you felt like you had to hide. It would have been nice back then if we had had these kinds of structures in place; it just would have made that first step much, much easier. I was fortunate enough that I was able to access these products, but just think of those Victorians who have not been able to access them purely because of, can I say, poverty, which is really, really unjust. But I am so thankful that as a government we are able to bring through what is truly an equitable reform.

We know that this $20.7 million initiative has delivered free pads and tampons to more than 1500 public schools to support the health and wellbeing of thousands of young girls around the state. We are going further with that, because in order to ensure true equity we need to of course incorporate women in schools but we need to go further. So we will install 1500 dispensing machines, with free pad and tampon machines at up to 700 public places to normalise periods and help provide cost-of-living relief. I heard a lot of discussion from the opposition about cost of living. Well, let me tell you: this is part of cost-of-living relief. These are being made available in public places where sanitary products will be available for free and will include public hospitals, courts, TAFEs, public libraries, train stations and major cultural institutions like State Library Victoria and the Melbourne Museum. I hope that goes some way to address some of the concerns that were raised by those opposite, because on this side of the house we truly understand what Victorians need and want. They certainly voted for these reforms at the last election, and we are very proud to be able to deliver them and also to reduce the stigma. I think the other problem with stigma, when it comes to periods, is that if you feel embarrassed about an issue you are probably less inclined to go and get help, particularly if you are experiencing a lot of pain or suffering in that place. The hope is not only normalising it so that people feel comfortable and do not have to feel shamed of a normal everyday part of the human body, but also that they will feel comfortable enough to go and seek help if they are experiencing pain and suffering as a result of their periods.

I remember once I was driving back from regional Victoria and I had to pull over to the side of the road because I was in such excruciating pain, and I literally had to vomit on the side of the road from period pain. Thankfully that was not a common occurrence for me – because that would have been just really, really awful – but I have to say it did make me think about women who experience this kind and level of pain month after month after month and just think, ‘Well, that’s my lot, I’m a woman and I’ve just got to cop it and maybe just take a couple of Disprin or other things and lie down’ and then just give up perhaps hours and hours, maybe days, of useful time and energy that might otherwise be able to be used in something that they actually want to do.

This also leads me to the point of our government actually rejuvenating, or I have to say we are really boosting the focus on women’s health and changing the focus, because once it was considered a niche issue. We know, in the same way that we are seeking to normalise periods so that people no longer have stigma around this, we are also seeking to normalise all aspects of women’s health, right from the age when young women commence their periods up to menopause and beyond. Thinking of my late grandmother, she would often experience a lot of pain and sometimes would have to use all sorts of methods to try and disguise the pain. It is just a shame because now in this era we are really searching for and investing – our government is investing – in proper research, really catering for and targeted at specific women’s issues that are very prevalent, and we might have minimised the suffering of women of another era. I think even some women unfortunately may have been misdiagnosed as having potentially mental health or other issues when in fact it may have been symptoms that were related to menopause. So it is really important that we are having a far more nuanced examination of the practical aspects of the human body and being really honest about what it is or is not, because on the one hand we are breaking down the barriers when it comes to mental health and the stigma so that people actually get the help they need. Of course following the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System we are rolling out huge amount of reforms in that regard. It also makes sense, and I think it is consistent with our Labor values, that we are breaking down the very significant barriers that there have been to ensuring that women’s health issues are not seen as just whingeing or boredom but are actually real medical issues that deserve to be addressed in an appropriate way.

In particular, thinking of even relatives and many friends who have suffered incredibly with endometriosis, I am relieved that we are providing $64.8 million towards 10,800 additional laparoscopic surgeries over four years for endometriosis and associated conditions to help improve access to diagnosis and treatment. I am sure there is probably hardly a person in this chamber and across this state that does not know someone either in their family or otherwise who has suffered from this terrible condition. Thankfully I have not had it, but I have known plenty a friend and cousin and otherwise who has endured unending suffering because of it. Often, I am afraid to say, there have been circumstances where I have had friends say they go year after year to the doctor and complain about this issue, only to be told that it was not anything to worry about or that they should just endure. Thankfully, though, I think in this new era – and I would like to see it as a new era when it comes to the way we address women’s health issues – we no longer have to have those kinds of situations occur, which embed a feeling that it is actually demeaning at the end of the day. There is nothing worse than somebody not actually believing you when you have a legitimate medical issue.

So I am truly relieved, and I am inspired as well. I am excited because I am thinking, ‘Imagine what is going to be discovered with this incredible investment in women’s health research.’ Women and girls make up half the population, and it is staggering when you think we have got to this point in time and we are only now just investing in this space. But on the positive, thank goodness the investment is being made, that we have had the courage as a government to go forth –

A member interjected.

Nina TAYLOR: Yes, and I think we can draw that back to the fact that we have great representation across cabinet and caucus of women and, again, male colleagues who are backing us in and supporting us, acting as a proper and positive collective in this regard – all recognising just how important these reforms are. Whilst we know women share many health concerns with men, growing evidence shows that men and women can differ significantly in our susceptibility to common diseases, symptoms and responses to treatment. For instance, despite having a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, women have higher mortality and worse prognoses, which I find deeply concerning. But if it is acknowledged, that is half the battle. Our next step of course is getting that research underway and making sure that we get much better outcomes for women across the state.

What is more, women are not meaningfully included in clinical trials. This has caused a gendered gap in women’s involvement in medical research, meaning we know less about disease in women, resulting in poorer health outcomes. I remember when I used to work in pharmaceuticals that actually even with some of the medications, sometimes women who were pregnant were not allowed necessarily to participate in certain trials. I get that there are certain parameters and safety matters as such, but I know that sometimes some women got pregnant in the trial, and after the fact thankfully they were able to see that the medications were okay. So I can see where there are complications in that space – all the more reason to have the research in place and all the more reason to ensure that it is equitable and that we drive much better outcomes for our state.