Shows / The AAWAA Women’s Advocate
The AAWAA Women’s Advocate
AAWAA is a national peak advocacy body and independent media outlet. The AAWAA Women's Advocate works for the protection and advancement of Australian women and girls in areas where we are vulnerable on the basis of our sex.
This podcast provides general information and opinion only and does not constitute legal advice. Listeners should seek independent, professional legal advice before acting on any matters discussed. The hosts and AAWAA accept no liability for decisions made based on this…
Episodes
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateBeyond 'yes' and 'no': Structural inequality and the law of rape
In this episode, Emma is joined by Lucy and Liv to discuss their formal submission to the statutory review of sexual consent laws. In 2021, NSW introduced…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateEvidence required: Why Australia must assess impact on women
Emma and Liv expose why consultation alone cannot satisfy Australia's obligations under CEDAW. Governments across Australia are treating consultation as…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateInstitutional capture? The ABC, advocacy, and accountability
In this episode of the Women's Advocate, Emma and Megan discuss the ABC’s relationship with ACON, the LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation behind the Australian…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateCampaigning against the UN expert on women: DFAT's gender back-channels revealed
We unpack revelations from a Freedom of Information release showing how the Australian Government works behind the scenes to push back against independent UN…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateForced alignment: Defending our feminist tradition
Emma and Liv push back against the mischaracterisation of women's rights organisations advocating for sex-based protections as 'right-wing', 'reactionary', or…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateFOI evidence of systematic exclusion: Stakeholders versus submissions
Emma and Megan unpack shocking FOI evidence showing systematic exclusion of women's groups from policies affecting our sex-based protections and rights. Whilst…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateFrom sex self-ID to women's sex-based protection: NT leads the way
In this episode, Emma and Martine explore the Northern Territory’s landmark decision to ban all male prisoners from women’s jails—an “on my watch” promise from…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateInquiring into uncertainty: The AHRC's unused powers
Emma and Megan examine how forty years after the Sex Discrimination Act was passed to implement CEDAW, confusion over sex-based protections is leaving women's…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Janet Fraser — roots, backlash, and the renaissance ahead
Emma and Sue unpack Janet Fraser’s journey from second‑wave roots and lesbian organising in the ’90s to founding Joyous Birth after a traumatic hospital…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateWomen shut out: Inside WA’s surrogacy overhaul
Emma hosts Amber and Martine to unpack Western Australia’s surrogacy ‘reform’: how an industry‑led process sidelined women’s voices, abolished ex‑ante…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateWhere there is no consultation: WA surrogacy, NSW ‘equality’, and QLD’s sex self-ID problem
Emma hosts Amber and Lucy for a ground-level look at how exclusion of women from consultation is producing bad law across Australia. From WA’s industry‑driven…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateDemanding accountability: Why we questioned the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the National Press Club
Emma and Megan discuss AAWAA's direct questioning of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the National Press Club about her powers, obligations, and the…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateTasmania’s crossroads: Ending prostitution to protect women and girls
Emma and Luci examine the Women’s Action Alliance Tasmania’s call on the Tasmanian Government for the abolition of prostitution and urgent law reform. They…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLosing our rights? Monitoring the AHRC’s turn away from women
Emma and Amber put the Australian Human Rights Commission under the spotlight, questioning its shift away from meaningful, sexed-based protections for women…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: The builder, Feminist matriarch Merike Johnson
In this episode, Emma and Sue explore the life of Merike Johnson—a refugee, scientist and feminist trailblazer—tracing her journey from a post-war German camp…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateScotland’s abolition bill: How Australia must go further
Emma and Luci examine Scotland’s pioneering Prostitution (Offences and Support) Bill and what it means for the rights, safety, and dignity of women and girls…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateNot at the stakeholder table: The ongoing exclusion of women in policy
In this episode, Emma and Amber examine the government’s claims about “engaging stakeholders” and reveal how those of us most affected—women and girls—are…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateHidden in plain sight: Australia’s failure to protect women’s rights
Emma and Megan take listeners inside our coalition’s major submission to the Universal Periodic Review, exposing how the Australian government is erasing…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateFalse equivalence: The wrongs of treating surrogacy as fertility support
Emma and Lucy look at the dangers of merging Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ARTs) with surrogacy under a single legislative umbrella. They unpack the…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateFrom crisis to care: Putting women and girls at the heart of NSW’s Mental Health Strategy
Emma and Lucy examine the urgent issues shaping mental health and wellbeing for women and girls across New South Wales. They explore why current policies too…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Justice and resistance, Isla MacGregor’s activist legacy
Emma and Sue highlight Isla MacGregor, a front-line campaigner since the early 1990s, whose work with Whistleblowers Australia and activism against corruption…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateBad law, silenced voices: WA’s ART & Surrogacy Bill
Amber and Martine join Emma to expose the deep flaws in Western Australia’s Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Bill 2025. Amber outlines how the…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateBlueprint for female toilets: The ongoing struggle for women-only facilities
Emma and Suzi break down the ongoing debate over ‘all-gender’ toilet facilities in the National Construction Code, revealing how small policy changes can…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateSafeguarding our status: What women need from anti-discrimination law reform
Emma chats with Lucy to unpack the NSW Women’s Action Alliance submission to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act review. They discuss why legal clarity about…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateA National Apology for women and girls in prostitution: Truth, reform, justice, and restoration
Emma and Amber call on the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women to provide a National Apology for all women and girls harmed, criminalised, and…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateGuidelines or law? Why government policy doesn’t trump the Sex Discrimination Act
Emma and Suzi unpack the NSW Law Reform Commission's current review of the Anti-Discrimination Act, with a special focus on government guidelines for sex and…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateFemale association on trial: Who belongs in women's spaces in Tickle v Giggle
In this episode, Emma and Martine take you deep into the heart of a significant legal battle — the Tickle v Giggle case — exploring who counts as a woman and…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateWhere’s the line? Balancing hate speech, women’s rights, and free speech in NSW
Emma and Lucy unpack the NSW Women’s Action Alliance’s latest submission on hate speech law reform. They explore why the incitement to violence threshold is so…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Reclaiming lesbian space, The Carole Ann episode
Emma and Sue talk about how Carole Ann and the Lesbian Action Group have been a driving force in defending lesbian-only spaces in the face of mounting…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateTriple A for women: The path to the abolition of prostitution in Australia
Emma is joined by Luci and Amber to explore why Australia’s approach to prostitution urgently needs to change — and what we can learn from bold reforms in…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateHolding Australia to account: Providing evidence to the United Nations
Emma and Luci explain how the CSW communications process lets women’s groups present evidence of systemic violations—like the silencing of advocacy and loss of…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateUnintended chaos: The legal fallout of two missing words
Emma and Lucy unpack the renewed debate about what Australia’s parliament really intended when it removed the definitions of “woman” and “man” from the Sex…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateRevolutionising gender care: A call for comprehensive change
Emma and Amber break down the Queensland Government’s review of hormone therapies for children and teens with gender dysphoria. Drawing on new evidence and the…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Everyday resistance every day, Nerissa Scott’s story
Emma and Sue discuss Nerissa Scott’s activism, which began in childhood and flows through protests, petitions, and solidarity actions across Brisbane. This…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateWomen's rights in Australia: A step backward?
Emma and Meg unpack our feminist coalition’s latest submission to the UN, explaining how gaps in law and policy are undermining sex-based rights and…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateHow AAWAA works: Principles, structure, and advocacy in action
Emma and Amber take listeners behind the scenes of AAWAA, explaining what the coalition does, how it is structured, and the guiding principles that drive its…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Betty McLellan’s feminist ethic
A tribute to Dr Betty McLellan, this episode with Emma and Sue traces her impact as a therapist, philosopher and writer. Listeners hear how her call for…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateThe secrets of strategic advocacy, AAWAA’s 2025 election campaign: Part 3, What real engagement looks like—Impact, insights, and lessons learned
Emma and Martine break down what our election campaign actually achieved: response rates by party and state, the quality of candidate engagement, and key…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateThe secrets of strategic advocacy, AAWAA’s 2025 election campaign. Part 2, The big push: From preparation to real-rime political action
Emma and Martine take you inside the real-world challenge of engaging 700+ election candidates across Australia. Explore how minor parties and regional…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateThe secrets of strategic advocacy, AAWAA’s 2025 election campaign. Part 1, Foundations: How national grassroots advocacy takes shape
Emma and Martine reveal what it really takes to build a national women's rights campaign from the ground up. From manually compiling contact details for 820…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateUnveiling the hidden rules of women's sports rights
Emma and Amber expose how local clubs are left confused about protecting female-only competition. They break down the “permanent exemption” in Australia’s Sex…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateLocal Action: Advocating for biological reality, Stassja Frei
Emma and Sue introduce you to Stassja Frei, a researcher and organiser whose early work with the Coalition for Biological Reality and her thoughtful commentary…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateNavigating gender law: UK vs Australia unpacked
Emma and Amber break down the sharp legal differences between how the UK and Australia define ‘woman’ and manage single-sex spaces. They explain the impact of…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateClarity in controversy: The UK ruling on ‘woman' explained
Emma and Amber break down the UK Supreme Court’s landmark decision defining ‘woman’ as biological sex under the Equality Act—and why the ruling quickly became…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateThe hidden crisis of women's retirement security
Emma and Lucy explore why the age pension in Australia isn’t working for most older women. Join them as they reveal how outdated rules, gaps in super, and…
The AAWAA Women’s AdvocateA new voice for women’s advocacy in Australia: The AAWAA Women’s Advocate
Emma and Amber introduce the Affiliation of Australian Women’s Advocacy Alliances’ new podcast. They discuss the vision behind the series, its focus on honest…