I grew up after the 'sexual revolution' of the 60s and while a few things might have changed regarding more opportunities for women to explore their sexuality, explore new ideas, speak out, earn a living and study - I still grew up in an environment that had not removed itself from it's underlying opinions that women were to be undervalued, under-represented, undermined and disrespected.
This environment of misogyny and disrespect has been around for so long it is almost an unconscious reaction by not only men, but of whole societies that have accepted what has been - not only for decades but for centuries. Carried down from generation to generation where women have often been viewed as nothing more than property to barter or to use as is seen fit & have been seen as the 'inferior' sex both physically and mentally.
This kind of conditioning has ingrained itself as an accepted norm. At least up until the last century when women began to question the reality of what is and have aspired to challenge and change their circumstances. In 1903, after Federation, women won the right to both vote and stand in the 1903 Commonwealth election - although through the work of suffrage societies in each state, women had achieved the right to vote in South Australia and Western Australia years beforehand. During World War II, thanks to the shortage of men, many women were able to enter the workforce in traditionally male positions. After the war had ended, some women found it very difficult to return to the roles and duties of the housewife. They had had a taste of freedom from the 'norm' and they liked it.
In the 1960s the arrival of The Pill allowed women to explore a new opportunity. Initially this was prescribed for married women - but feminists came out in support of it. It gave women new freedoms. It allowed women to move into the workforce en masse without the fear of pregnancy precluding them from earning a living. It also gave them power. Power over their bodies and their futures. But as their power grew there was pushback - from 'morality experts', men, religious groups and sadly, society itself. Shaming women for their choices, their values and their supposed promiscuity. Interestingly, there was never any blame directed at men - who were indeed the other half of the equation. We were back to the old adage: Virtue and goodness were strongly valued by society. While men were seen as sowing their wild oats and were not pressured to be accountable or responsible, women were seen as irresponsible and loose without morals.
The environment I grew up in seemed to be a world apart from the struggles of the 60s, but the undertone of promiscuity-equals-loose-morals was always there. My school days, by my standards, were a disaster. I went to a public school, co-ed. My mother refused to put me in a private school because of the abuse she suffered at the hands of the nuns. She thought she was saving me from her own nightmare but in reality she was not. As a young girl with braces and glasses, my life became unbearable. I was dogged mercilessly by my peers, particularly males, because of my appearance. The boys were cruel and they worked in packs, egging each other on. My appearance, on reflection, may have perhaps saved me from further experiences with those same boys who were involved in quite a few scandals involving a number of girls who had been 'knocked up' as it was jokingly referred to at the time - and sent away for the duration of the school year - some never to return. The boys remained unpunished and were free to continue their studies with no repercussions. While I didn't think much of it at the time as I was busy with my own struggles - it strikes me now as how normal this outwardly appeared. How accepted it was. I will never know whether those young girls were coerced, forced or went into this sexual adventure with their eyes wide open. Judging by my treatment at the hands of these budding misogynists - and the dismissive nature of the entire school community regarding the outcome - I would imagine that regardless of what these boys had done, it would have been a 'he said, she said' scenario - despite what any of those girls had gone through. The shame was on the girls publicly. In the boys’ circles, they were applauded for their audacity, virility and their sexual prowess.
I doubt this situation, or attitude was limited to just one school. I doubt that it was just 'a public school thing'. Even now in 2021 - the stories coming out of 'privileged' private schools are an indication that society has not become more engaged, enlightened or even sympathetic to equality for all and women's rights. Misogyny remains endemic in our schools. It has festered for decades - the issues at the heart of sexism remain unchallenged. This is both a consequence and a cause of an unhealthy society. A consequence because some children are conditioned by their parents who themselves had been conditioned to accept misogyny as normal behaviour before and as a part of the school system. A cause because if this is not corrected at a place of learning in their most formative years, it will continue on unabated, affecting them into their adult life.
We are seeing evidence of this all around us. Only brought to light now by the courageous actions of a few women, Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins among others - who have empowered more of us to come forward and purge the pain that has remained hidden - often for decades.
I was one of those many women who marched in the #March4Justice rallies around the country on 15 March 2021. I felt it was my moment to come out of the darkness and step into the light - as did many others. I was proud to walk beside and photograph so many participants, some who told their stories, some who listened, some who wept and some who supported us all. The turnout for the marches across the country - considering they had been organised at short notice - was massive. The depth of feeling immense. The impact was felt across the country and watched around the world.
I wasn't sure what I expected from our federal government and of Scott Morrison. At the very least I expected him to acknowledge those who had come from all over the country to march at Canberra. I also expected him to put in an appearance - like so many prime ministers before him at rallies and protest marches. I noted that other ministers had come out to walk and talk with many people, including here in Brisbane where Annastacia Palaszczuk and some of her ministers stood beside us to listen to the speeches.
Instead, what we got from Morrison was wilful ignorance and deflection as he used parliament to hide from the protesters. I suspect this cowardly act was in part because the marches had been spawned by his government's actions and he did not want to be on the receiving end in public. Apart from saying that it was "right and good that people were able to congregate in peaceful protests" - he then added, digging himself into a hole.. "Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets." The only thing I, and many others, took away from that is that we were lucky that, as protesters, the government was not entertaining the idea of shooting us. The last time I checked, we lived in a democracy. So why was this an appropriate comparison in Morrison's eyes?
While Morrison was dodging, deflecting, weaving and avoiding media questions regarding the march or any action his government may have been considering - he hadn't been idle. His media team had been busy with Nicolle Flint - pushing the issue of her unfortunate and undeniable bullying and harassment to the forefront of media interest - even engaging the help of a favoured reporter to ask Morrison a question on Flint at 9:55 am. Morrison's answer to that question was published online 36 minutes beforehand at 9:19am. I can't help but wonder if that question might not have been pre-arranged. Either that or Morrison has employed a psychic along with that useless empathy consultant. There is no doubt Flint's issue is very real - but it's attempted deflection to Labor and GetUp was not backed up with any evidence. While I support a bipartisan agreement to stamp out misogyny, abuse and sexual abuse in government - I do not support the government deflecting to avoid an issue by trying to construct another issue in a partisan way.
What the government does at this point is important to the rest of us. Those who have suffered abuse, those who are suffering abuse and those who continue to perpetrate it. Right now, Morrison is demonstrating that he is a misogynist. He continues to protect ministers who have perpetrated sexism, abuse and alleged rape. He is sending a message to the country that this is okay. We will continue the way we have always continued. We will not be changing just because over 100,000 people marched and they want change.
I'm one of the tens of thousands of women and men across the country who want change. I've been in situations in my life that, as a female, have had less-than-favourable outcomes. There is no easy way to describe domestic violence without reliving it again. The feeling of helplessness and fear remain with me. I am triggered by certain types of men - so I try to avoid them. I was fortunate to have had the courage to leave and take my baby son with me - but it doesn't stop the anger and the sense of injustice that he had essentially gotten away with it.
When women don't come forward, men get away with it. We are set up from the very beginning by a society that merely accepts it and a system that is not equipped to deal with it. The statistics for rape, sexual violence and physical violence against women in this country are frightening:
- An Aboriginal woman is 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence than a white woman.
- On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner.
- Almost 10 women a day are hospitalised for assault injuries perpetrated by a spouse or domestic partner.
- One in three women 15 years or over have experienced physical violence in the last five years.
- One in four women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
- One in five women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.
- Domestic and family violence is the leading preventable cause of death, disability and illness in women aged 15 to 44 years
Apart from those dreadful statistics, women are discriminated against in many other ways:
- The average women's full-time wage is approximately 18% less than that of her male counterpart.
- The average woman's superannuation payouts are less than that of men.
- One in two women report workplace discrimination as a result of their pregnancy, parental leave or on return to work.
- Older women are discriminated against. Jobless women who are over 50 are more than 18% less likely to find work than at age 25 to 35. At over 62 they are 50% less likely to be rehired.
Women are behind the eight ball. We always have been. We have been fighting for our rights in this country for over a century. Generations of misogynists and the attitude of some is that if they were to give women more rights than what they have - it would somehow affect their masculinity and power. This attitude was never more evident than it was on International Women's Day this year when Morrison, speaking at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy in Western Australia, remarked "We want to see women rise, but we don't want to see women rise only on the basis of others doing worse". I can only assume that 'others' in this instance - means men.
1. Morrison doesn't help women - he is busy playing politics with women's lives and doing nothing to help. There is implied evidence that he knew about Brittany Higgins' alleged rape before the 2019 election and did nothing. At the time he was also dealing with two other alleged sexual assaults that had surfaced from 2015. He chose winning government over integrity. At the very minimum - his staff chose winning government over helping a traumatised young woman before the 2019 election.
2. Morrison doesn't help women. Abolishing the family court is a direct attack on women and will do nothing to ensure the safety of families, children and victims of domestic violence. The effectiveness of a system that was the only real avenue that existed for these people has been eroded.
3. Morrison doesn't help women. Introducing tougher measures for Jobseeker, including tougher mutual obligations will do nothing to help people into employment but will increase the pressure on families to survive. A big chunk of these vulnerable people are comprised of women - some in age categories that are becoming increasingly vulnerable to homelessness.
Morrison doesn't help anybody but himself and his ministers. But he gives his thinly disguised misogyny away via his body language. While being interviewed by a female reporter recently who asked him a question he didn't like - he automatically reverted to a superior, defensive stance. Chin jutting and raised, looking down on reporter, fists clenched, barely concealed contempt, raised voice - "I am the prime minister" - before turning his back and walking off.
People are watching what this government does. They are watching Morrison. The message he is giving them at the moment is that he doesn't care. He is above them because he is the prime minister - the most important title of his limited career. Nothing else matters but to protect his position and remain in power. It doesn't matter to him that over 51% of the voting public are women. He doesn't see the ramifications of his government, his ministers and his staff's actions over the last few months. While Morrison slaps bandaids over open wounds, they won't heal. This issue is not going to go away, no matter how much he would like it to. If he chooses to do nothing - he should be prepared for the consequences.
I do hope that women in this country are prepared to accept no less than what they deserve. What WE deserve. We have earned the right, through our struggles over the years - to be heard, to be allowed to vote, to be treated equally, to not be discriminated against, to not have to live in fear, to be proud of who we are and to have hope for our future.
Enough is enough.
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