What Is Feminism?
Feminism recognises the ongoing inequity between the rights, opportunity, and treatment of women in society today. It is believing that women and girls should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and boys. And it is seeking to improve these imbalances in our personal, social, and political actions.
Raising our children: to teach equality, kindness, respect, and safety.
Advocating and addressing issues: safety, equal rights, equal respect, equal opportunities, respect for diversity, and ending inequality, injustice, white privilege, and racism.
Demanding: An end to practices that are harmful to women and children – female genital mutilation, sex trafficking, child marriage, forced marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, and racist inequality.
Ending men’s violence against women and girls: This can include providing direct support and advocating for women who have experienced rape, abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and oppression. Increasing community awareness and campaigning through activities like: Reclaim the Night, social media. And supporting organisations such as ‘Destroy the Joint’ and DVNSW.
Addressing racism and the effects of colonisation and Intergenerational Trauma – recognising that colonisation, injustice, and inequality continue to impact the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia. And working to model genuine and meaningful relationships, address internal and external racism and privilege, and supporting Aboriginal rights and services.
Challenging sexist attitudes and actions: in advertising and media. Supporting Reproductive rights – promoting the need for access to sexual health centres, contraception, legal and safe abortion, pre and postnatal care, health care and education.
Promoting women in leadership roles: supporting more women into leadership positions. In business. In politics. Film making. In the media. In the stories we write, share, and publish.
Fighting for equal pay: In 2021 the National gender pay gap between men and women is now 14.20%. Women and children are also overrepresented in unemployment, welfare and in poverty rates.
As a Feminist based service, The Women’s Cottage is here for all women in support of you rights, equality, access, and safety. We believe reaching out for help when needed is act of bravery and an expression of Feminism too.
WHAT DO FEMINISTS DO?
Advocate for – safety, equal rights, equal respect, equal opportunities, respect for diversity, and ending inequality, injustice, white privilege, and racism.
Feminists may do this in their personal lives:
by embracing feminist principles and by raising their children to hold feminist values by standing up for their beliefs.
Some feminists become activists advocating for:
An end to practices that are harmful to women and children – female genital mutilation, sex trafficking, child marriage, forced marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse and racist inequality.
Ending men’s violence against women:
This can include providing direct support and advocating for women who have experienced abuse. Increasing community awareness and campaigning through activities like: Reclaim the Night, social media. And supporting organisations such as ‘Destroy the Joint’ and DVNSW.
You can support these issues too by expressing your concerns to your local members and signing petitions that call for support for women who are victims violence and abuse and seek to improve funding for available services. This can include emergency help lines, well-trained police, women’s refuges, domestic violence services, public awareness campaigns, self-defence training, rape crisis centres and the like.
Addressing racism, colonisation and Intergenerational Trauma:
Recognising that colonisation, injustice and inequality continue to impact the lives of Aboriginal people in Australia. And working to model genuine and meaningful relationships, address internal and external racism and privilege, and supporting Aboriginal rights and services.
Challenging sexist attitudes:
With others and in advertising and media.
Supporting Reproductive rights – promoting the need for access to sexual health centres, contraception, legal and safe abortion, pre and postnatal care, health education.
Promoting women in leadership roles:
supporting more women in leadership positions, from business to politicians; more women at the helm in media and film making; more female protagonists in the stories we tell in film and books etc.
Fighting for equal pay:
Working to address inequality at all levels. In 2019 women currently earn 86% of what men do and this situation is getter worse not better as time goes on.
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