Women Speak Tasmania

Category: Blog

  • Get the Men Out: Protest by Women Prisoners

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    I was talking with this bloke about men-who-say-they’re-women (hereinafter MWSTWs) being housed in women’s prisons and he said to me: ‘It may well be that women prisoners don’t normally see it as a big problem and can deal with it just as other bullies, or male guards. They turn their backs on them or bash…

  • Minister Gallagher Must Listen to Women as Stakeholders in Women’s Rights

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    During Senate Question Time, Senator Pauline Hanson pressed the Minister for Women, Katy Gallagher, on the impact of amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA). Senator Hanson highlighted how the 2013 Gillard Government’s changes—replacing biological definitions with gender identity—have created a legal minefield, eroding protections for women in sport, services, and female-only spaces. Minister Gallagher’s…

  • When Sex Lost Its Meaning: How the 2013 Amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act Weakened Women’s Rights

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    In 1984, Australia passed the Sex Discrimination Act, a landmark piece of legislation that recognised the reality of sex and sought to protect women against discrimination on the basis of being female. It acknowledged pregnancy, family responsibilities, and the need for single-sex provisions in areas such as sport and women’s services. But nearly thirty years…

  • Speaking Truth About the Impacts of Sex Self-ID: A Rebuttal to 2018 Claims

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    In 2018, several Tasmanian women’s organisations publicly criticised Women Speak Tasmania (WST) for warning that proposed amendments to the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage Amendments) Bill 2018—which introduced sex self-identification into Tasmanian law—would erode women’s rights and compromise safeguarding. At the time, these organisations dismissed our concerns as “ideological” and “discriminatory,” insisting that recognising gender…

  • Melbourne Women Forced to Use Secret Symbols for Safety

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    In 2025, Melbourne has become a battleground for women daring to speak about sex-based rights. Twice this year, women gathered peacefully on the steps of Parliament House — once on 26 April and again on 16 August for the Women Will Speak rally. Both times, women gathered peacefully to talk about the erosion of their…

  • Landmark Australian Court Decisions Challenge Gender-Affirming Care for Children

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    A significant Family Court ruling during 2025 has placed Australia’s medical approach to childhood gender distress under new scrutiny. The case of Re Devin has raised serious questions about expert evidence, the role of advocacy in clinical practice, and whether vulnerable children are being placed on irreversible medical pathways too quickly. For Women Speak Tasmania,…

  • When Sex Becomes Gender: How Tasmania’s Law Rewrites Women’s Rights

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    In 2019, the Tasmanian Parliament passed the Justice and Related Legislation (Marriage and Gender Amendments) Act. At first glance, the law looks like a technical update—modernising language, expanding anti-discrimination protections, and creating new processes for recording gender. But beneath the surface, it redefines the way the law understands sex and gender—with profound consequences for women…

  • A Victory for Common Sense: Women Speak Tasmania Welcomes ChatGPT’s Reference to Our Science-Based Content

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    In an era defined by rapid information exchange—and, regrettably, by the swift spread of misinformation—Women Speak Tasmania is proud to celebrate a significant milestone: the fact that leading artificial intelligences, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, are now drawing on our evidence-based, level-headed analysis to enrich their responses. This development represents not only a recognition of our commitment…

  • The For Women Scotland Supreme Court Victory: A Landmark for Sex-Based Rights in the UK

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    In a unanimous decision on 16 April 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16 that the terms “sex”, “man”, and “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex, meaning sex as recorded at birth. The Court held that these terms are not…

  • Lawfare Against Cr Louise Elliot Enabled by Bureaucrats 

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    Elected representatives should be able to discuss matters of public policy — particularly contentious issues involving women’s rights, child safeguarding, and legislation — without facing prolonged legal processes for expressing political opinions. Regardless of where one stands on debates surrounding gender identity, the use of anti-discrimination complaints against elected officials raises important questions about freedom…