Here we are – International Women’s Day 2021

I probably don’t need to point out how difficult the last twelve months have been for women in Australia, let alone the last week. I originally wanted to use this space to discuss the labour that goes into IWD: to highlight the work women do in speaking at events, talking about who they’re inspired by, and generally plastering on a happy face for March 8. But personally, I’m not sure I can produce even that level of engagement and thought this year. The last week has left me with a deep ache, and an even more profound rage.

If you need a recap on the exact events that have led to these feelings, then you can read up on the two separate sets of circumstances currently playing out in our federal government here and here. And a content note: both of those articles contains discussion surrounding rape and victim-blaming.

But if you, like much of Australia, is already across these events, then you might find it deeply ironic that we are bearing down on IWD 2021. What can we actually expect from our federal government this year, when they have already demonstrated just how little concern they have for women in this country?  

 In case you need a quick reminder just how far removed we are from any ‘equality’ in Australia:

-       The pay gap in Australia is currently 13.4% on average – the gap is projected as wider for groups such as women with a disability, LGBTQIA+ women, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.

-       The life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is on average 17-20 years lower than that of non-Indigenous Australian women;

-       Intimate partner violence causes more illness, disability and deaths than any other risk factor for women aged 25–44

-       Almost 1 in 5 women (18%) and 1 in 20 men (4.7%) have experienced sexual violence (sexual assault and/or threats) since the age of 15. 

The above is just a small selection of the structural disadvantages and oppressions that women experience – and, of course, women can experience these oppressions differently based on their race, cultural background, disability, sexuality or gender identity, or their economic incomes. But what the last week has shown us is that, collectively, our government is far from taking the concerns of women seriously.

I don’t have anything I want to celebrate for IWD 2021. But I do have a long list of things I want to (hypothetically) burn down. Expecting women to ‘celebrate’ IWD is expecting us to have a form of collective amnesia, which I’m not prepared to engage in. I don't need any man’s  tears.  I need this government, and the structural systems of power that sit in and around it, to do a better job at taking sexism, misogyny, and rape seriously. Because if we can’t get it right in our federal parliament, what hope is there for the rest of us?

To give you just one example, by simply reading this piece, you’re giving my voice more time and respect that the Prime Minister, and the accused perpetrator, both gave to one of the alleged victims of rape. Both of these men confirm not having read this same complainant’s 30-page long account of her experience. In the PM’s case, he received a briefing and then passed it on to police without having actually read the document. There is a fundamental problem when our PM cannot find the time to read a victim’s alleged account of rape, but is willing to take the alleged rapist at his word. 

Expecting women to happily attend, and participate in, IWD 2021 events takes a special sort of ignorance. Personally, I would find it a bitter pill to swallow to show up and talk about “how far we’ve come” whilst we simultaneously grapple with the fall out of two separate allegations of rape in our federal parliament. And this returns me to my initial goal for this piece:  one of women’s labour, performance, and the work involved in IWD 2021.

This year, I won’t be doing any celebrating, or smiling, or presentations. There is no emotional labour I’ll be doing to reassure people that I’m fine, and these few weeks haven’t impacted me. I will be spending IWD, and the days leading up to and following it, to continue to highlight the complete disregard for women that our federal government has.  In short, if we must have IWD this year, then I’m going to use it to raise my voice, and the voices of other women and survivors. I’d invite each and every one of you who feels the same to join me. March if you need to march, talk if you need to talk. But let’s not forget what the last few weeks has wrought for women and survivors, and ensure we can collectively hold the structural people and powers around us to account.

Article: Jessamy Gleeson