Tuesday, 30 April 2024

Women’s health

Tim RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (13:16): Recently we welcomed the Premier and Minister for Health to the Mordialloc electorate for a women’s pain inquiry forum. This was a really important opportunity to bring together women from a diverse range of backgrounds, professions, ages and walks of life united in one common goal, and that is the lack of attention around women’s health and women’s pain more generally. Our government conducted a women’s health survey, revealing four out of 10 women live with chronic pain, with one in three women experiencing pain so severe it affects their ability to work.

What was really powerful was the lived experiences and stories shared by these women. We witnessed their bravery, their vulnerability and their resilience in living with daily pain and how it has a profound impact on their lives. To have that forum attended as well by the Premier and Minister for Health was a really important opportunity to show how important and serious this policy area is, the work that is being done by the inquiry and the journey that we are all on as Victorians to improve the lives and outcomes of women experiencing pain. Whether it is physical, emotional or mental health and wellbeing, we heard that pain has a reference point that is individual to the circumstances of those people living in our community. Submissions are open. Online submissions can be made to 31 July 2024 through Engage Victoria. Already thousands of women and girls have stepped forward to share their lived experience. We want to hear that, and we want to platform that and create a better society for all.