Warning: This article deals with the topic of domestic violence and could be triggering for some readers.
If you believe that Australia has peaked in 2023 then, mate, you need to improve your standards. This is because there are a whack of issues that prevent men, women, and enbies from being actually equal across this country.
Don’t believe me? Think I’m a buckwild liar? Well then, let’s jump into the issues that are preventing gender equality in Australia from being the norm.
The Gender Pay Gap Still Exists
In 2023, for each dollar a dude makes, a woman will only make 87 cents. This means that the current gap between what men and women earn is a whopping 13.3%.
If this stat doesn’t mean that gender equality in Australia has been achieved yet, then I am truly bamboozled.
What’s more, this gap is somehow a record low and still very similar to our pre-pandemic stats. In 2020, the gender pay gap was at 13.4%, and then the COVID pandemic hit. COVID made it so professional opportunities for women withered up as their domestic workloads unfairly increased.
“This is actually returning us to where we were effectively three years ago,” said the Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Mary Wooldridge. “Everyone’s got work to do on this front.”
“Today’s gender pay gap also doesn’t include the wages of part-time or casual workers, many of whom are lower paid and also women.”
Domestic Violence is Rampant in Australia
Across all of Australia, women are being murdered at a brutal and vicious rate. On average, one woman is murdered by her former or current partner every ten days.
Additionally, sometimes heinous anomalies happen in data. For instance, in January and February of 2023, 20 women were murdered in a ten-day period.
As the activist Tarang Chawla said at the time, “Two more Australian women killed in the last 24 hours. That’s two more Australian men who have killed women. Ten women killed in 20 days, yet silence from many. Where are the vigils in their name? Where is the urgent action to reform and stop these senseless deaths?”
In 2015, Tarang Chawla’s sister, Nikita Chawla, was killed by her husband. Nikita was a brilliant dancer, excellent choreographer, and died at 23.
Nikita didn’t get to experience gender equality in Australia. And neither will so many others if we can’t stop our men from hurting and killing woman on the daily.
Related: The Hardships Impacting 2023 Women — The UN Spills
Related: Climate Change Is Happening and Women Are Stepping Up to Try and Solve It
Period Poverty Might Be on the Rise
Period poverty is the problem of being unable to afford menstrual care products. And concerningly, the 2023 cost of living crisis could force a lot of people into such a space. This is because if you can barely afford to pay your rent or buy some food, how could you afford this additional expense?
Also, the cost of living crisis is making it so fewer people are donating their time and resources to a charity named Share the Dignity. This organisation provides menstrual care products to homeless folks, those escaping domestic violence, and anyone who might be in period poverty.
“We are desperately seeking more volunteers,” said Simone Ispanovity, a Share the Dignity helper. “They can contact and apply through the Share the Dignity website to help with collecting products, sorting, and delivering them to a charity.”
“Volunteers can offer as little as an hour of their time to regular shifts… It is very rewarding and gives you a sense of accomplishment knowing you are giving back to the community.”
If you want to learn more about Share the Dignity and how they fight for gender equality in Australia, then here’s a handy link to their website.
If this article brings up any issues for you or anyone you know, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
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