Dear Minister Gallagher,
Re: Urgent Recognition of Women as Stakeholders in Sex-Based Protections and the SDA
We write on behalf of Women Speak Tasmania (WST) regarding the ongoing erosion of sex-based protections and rights for women and girls under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA). On 2 September during Senate Question Time, Senator Pauline Hanson raised concerns about the consequences of the 2013 amendments to the SDA, which replaced biological definitions with ‘gender identity.’ You responded by stating that sports organisations manage these matters and that stakeholders have not raised these issues with you.
We feel compelled to clarify that Women Speak Tasmania has been actively engaged in this policy area and was a signatory to previous letters from the feminist coalition advocating for sex-based protections. Despite this, our group’s name was not recognised during your response, giving the impression that the voices of Tasmanian women have been excluded. This oversight is concerning, as it reflects the broader systemic exclusion of women from meaningful consultation on matters directly affecting our rights, safety, and privacy.
Over the past decade, amendments to the SDA prioritising ‘gender identity’ over biological sex have created significant challenges for women in sport, services, and female-only spaces. The practical consequences are clear:
- Female-only spaces and services are increasingly contested or unavailable.
- The conflation of sex and gender identity erases women in data collection and policymaking.
- Legal rulings, including Tickle v Giggle, illustrate that female-only platforms may be deemed discriminatory if males identifying as female are excluded.
Women Speak Tasmania, along with our coalition partners, has repeatedly provided submissions, letters, and legal analyses documenting these issues. These efforts align with Article 7 of CEDAW, which obliges Australia to ensure women are recognised as direct and essential stakeholders in policymaking. Yet, our group and many others advocating for sex-based protections continue to be marginalised, while lobbying groups promoting self-ID are prioritised.
We call on you to:
- Restore biological definitions and robust sex-based protections in the SDA, guaranteeing access to female-only spaces, services, and sport.
- Initiate an independent review process that is genuinely inclusive of women as stakeholders.
- Mandate open consultation and temporarily halt new ‘gender identity’ policies until representative women’s voices have been fully engaged.
- Provide clear national guidance affirming that providers and sports bodies may maintain female-only provisions without fear of legal sanction.
- End the practice of combining women and gender-diverse people in policy or statistical reporting, which obscures women’s material reality.
Women Speak Tasmania reiterates that our lived experience and expertise must be brought from the margins to the centre of debate and legislative reform. We request your urgent acknowledgment of this letter and your plans to address the systemic exclusion of women in policymaking.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth Caballero (retired GP)
Director – Women Speak Tasmania