With all eyes on the bumpy vaccine roll-out to stop COVID-19 in its tracks, you might have thought there was no capacity or energy to fight any other battles.
But that was before claims of sexual violence and misconduct rocked Canberra, hot on the heels of an impassioned speech by Australian of the Year Grace Tame, a remarkable survivor of sexual abuse at the hands of her maths teacher.
Collectively they have put new focus on the inconvenient truth of sexual violence against women, some of which has been dismissed in the past as the harmless antics of men behaving badly.
Women appear to have had enough, with more coming forward to report current or historic sexual abuse. As we reveal in our cover story, that means GPs need to be prepared for patients walking through their doors asking for help.
There is plenty more to read in our bumper Women’s Health edition.
Collectively they have put new focus on the inconvenient truth of sexual violence against women, some of which has been dismissed in the past as the harmless antics of men behaving badly.
Hear from those who have endured unrelenting gynaecological pain (and come out the other side), as well as women accessing surrogacy services who face discrimination because they are not considered “real mums”.
And read about the social phenomenon known as ‘eggsurance’ where young women pay the equivalent of a Netflix subscription to freeze their eggs. It’s done in the hope it will kick the fertility can down the road a few years until they are ready to have a family.
Interestingly, only one in 10 of them end up using their eggs, but I guess that’s the nature of insurance – it’s there ‘just in case.’