Australian Feminists for Women’s Rights (AF4WR) launched the Restore Women’s Rights public campaign in February. The campaign lobbies our elected representatives to fix the problems with the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (as amended 2013).

Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act (the Act) was created in 1984 to achieve substantive equality for women and girls, as part of Australia’s treaty obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It originally prohibited sex-based discrimination and ensured the rights of women and girls to female only spaces, services and opportunities.

In 2013 that all changed. With the removal of the definition of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ the reality of sex-based protections was dismantled. Additionally, ‘gender identity’ was introduced, which is defined opaquely as ‘gender-related identity’.

The implied presumption behind this definition—and the one that has to date been applied in the courts—is that ‘gender identity’ corresponds to stereotypical views of ‘maleness’ and ‘femaleness’.  Distinctions between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are no longer clear, and the Act’s purpose of providing for sex-based protections for women has been destroyed.

The Restore Women’s Rights Australia campaign seeks commitment from the Federal Government, both now and after the May election, to review the Act with the intent of reinstating sex-based rights and protections.

‘Continuing to ignore calls for women to be heard will not resolve this problem. It’s time for our elected representatives, and our government, to commit to fixing the Sex Discrimination Act. This is a vote changing issue,’ said AF4WR co-convenor Emeritus Professor Bronwyn Winter.

For more information visit the Restore Women’s Rights Website.

Australian Feminists for Women’s Rights is a left-wing feminist organisation providing research-based advocacy on women’s sex-based rights.

Contact: Emeritus Professor Bronwyn Winter bronwyn.winter@af4wr.org.au

ENDS