International Women’s Day Lunch 2026
On Wednesday 4 March a small group of Year 11 and 12 students from leadership groups had the incredible opportunity to attend the 2026 UN Women International Women’s Day lunch at the International Convention Centre. The event was attended by more than 1000 people, and it was absolutely incredible to be in a room with so many influential women.
We heard from Grace Tame, an Australian activist and 2021 Australian of the Year, speak about her experience as a sexual assault survivor and the importance of recognising sexual abuse against children and acting on it to create change. Another amazing speaker was Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a commissioner for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children & young people, who spoke about the need for institutionalised change within our out-of-home care system and the devastation that a broken system can create for individuals and families. These speakers made the important observation that the only way to build a better future is to change the systems that deny women the rights they deserve. Both of these women told powerful stories and reminded us that everyone can use their voice to speak up and create change, even if their voices are suppressed by those in power and the society around us. Hearing these speakers reminded us that International Women’s Day is not just a day to celebrate women, but a symbol of resistance for women’s struggles and the ongoing struggle that we face, not just within Australia, but around the world.
The final speaker of the afternoon was Jennifer Robinson, an inspirational human rights lawyer and barrister. Her inspiring speech explored how the legal system acts against women who experience domestic violence and abuse and how the current media impacts cases. Jennifer was one of Amber Heard’s lawyers in her first trial and in her speech she explained how during Amber’s US trial bots and AI were used to create a flood of opinions about Amber which downplayed the very serious matter of domestic violence that was being examined. Amber’s loss was truly devastating for Jennifer as she felt that it was disempowering to women less known than Amber and she thought about the many young women who may feel spiritless in these kinds of situations. Jennifer went on to talk about her book ‘How Many More Women?’, which is actually being turned into a documentary that is coming out later this year, it discusses the wide variety of cases that have frustrated her about the legal system’s treatment of women and her hopes of supporting the change that will come from speaking out. The overall message of Jennifer’s speech was truly inspiring and it encouraged me to persist in my education so that I too can be as impactful as her.
The whole experience was truly an incredible opportunity. I hope that everyone in the room went home with the same message ringing in their heads that speaking out is the most important and impactful thing you can do to gain change for women globally, people won’t listen unless we speak out. This day was super inspiring and educational and we are both truly grateful to the school for taking us to this event and we thank everyone that put the work into getting this opportunity for us and making it happen.
By Ellinor and Polly from Year 11 SRC
