International Women’s Day Luncheon
On Wednesday the 4th of March, the SRC executives went to the International Women’s Day Luncheon hosted by UN Women Australia. This year’s theme for IWD was Balance the Scales – a promise that every woman and girl, regardless of background or identity deserves to be safe, respected and free to shape her own life.
What it was:
At the luncheon, we enjoyed a refreshing meal in the International Conference Centre while hearing from four extraordinary keynote speakers and panelists. First came a panel discussion featuring Grace Tame, Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, and Jess Hill, who spoke about justice, awareness and the importance of making children and young people feel heard.
Grace Tame, 2021 Australian of the Year, spoke with courage and strength. Groomed and abused at fifteen, she was silenced by law once her abuser was convicted – until she fought to become the first female survivor publicly to tell her story. Grace reminded us that the fight for justice still continues, emphasising that awareness of predators’ tactics is vital to protect young people. Her message: there is no shame in surviving, and speaking out is powerful.
Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts, a proud Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul woman, human rights lawyer, and author of Long Yarn Short: We Are Still Here, was forcibly removed from her father at ten and spent eight years in out-of-home care, losing family, culture, and self. Returning to Country at 18, she began to heal, went on to study social work, and now serves as the inaugural Commissioner for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Young People in the ACT. Vanessa addressed us envisioning a new system, grounded in love and empowerment, not punishment and control.
Jess Hill, an award-winning journalist, author of See What You Made Me Do, shared that domestic violence is about power and control – a pattern that isolates and diminishes survivors. One in four Australian women experience violence from intimate partners, and while this reality is confronting, she emphasised that honest awareness and action can dramatically reduce domestic violence – starting today.
The luncheon finished with a keynote address from human rights lawyer and barrister Jennifer Robinson, who revealed how legal systems can be weaponised to silence survivors. Her speech exposed the need to fix a broken system – one where survivors are sued for defamation simply for telling the truth. Later, we even had an opportunity to talk to her in person and read her book about this issue, How Many More Women?.
What we gained:
What stayed with us after the conference was not just the weight of these stories, but the speakers’ refusal to give up – and the power we each have to act.
We can talk openly – about gender equality, keeping children safer, coercive control and the systems that silence people. This sparks change.
We can educate ourselves: explore UN Women Australia, read Jess Hill and Vanessa Turnbull-Robert’s books, follow the Grace Tame Foundation, and watch Jennifer Robinson’s documentary Silenced, inspired by her journey in How Many More Women?. Understanding is what makes it harder to look away.
We can support directly: on Friday the 27th of February we had a school barbeque which raised nearly $600 for the UN Women Australia Foundation, and with further donations received on the 6th of March and our own SRC funds we rounded the grand total to $1000.
Thank you all for your support, and you can learn more about International Women’s Day and women’s rights here: iwd.net.au. We look forward to your engagement with our future events!
Lucinda Man & Ethan Luu
SRC President & Vice-President
