International Women's Day

To mark IWD, Hershey, the chocolate company, recently released a video featuring a trans woman calling for a future where every woman can live as their honest, ...

[In Victoria](https://www.bdm.vic.gov.au/change-a-record-of-sex/adult-born-in-victoria), a person wanting to change the sex on their birth certificate so that it aligns with their gender identity, need only provide a statutory declaration stating that their sex is the one nominated in the application and a supporting statement from a person who has known them for 12 months. She is the author and editor of numerous books, journal articles and edited including most recently, the 3-volume research series Worldwide Perspectives on Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals, (2020) and the 2-volume collection Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia (2021) (with Melissa Castan). Let’s use this IWD to amplify the voices of the many women whose stories and experiences rarely get told, and let’s use the other 364 days of the year to work towards taking concrete action to achieve equality for ALL women. This is in stark contrast with Western Australia, where a [Gender Reassignment Board](https://grb.justice.wa.gov.au/) assesses every individual application, and New South Wales, where a person can only change their birth certificate if they have undergone a [“sex affirmation procedure,”](https://www.nsw.gov.au/family-and-relationships/name-changes-and-corrections/change-of-sex) in other words, surgery. Let’s talk honestly and openly about the barriers to equality that marginalised women face, including racism, ableism and laws, policies, and attitudes that exclude transwomen from leading lives of dignity and equality. In 2023, IWD continues to be a platform to advocate for women’s rights, and it is more important than ever to remember that this day is for, and about, ALL women, not just [cisgender](https://lgbtqia.ucdavis.edu/educated/glossary) women. But scratch the surface and Australia still has a long way to go before it can claim to respect the dignity and equality of transgender persons. Rather, IWD is an opportunity to focus on ending discrimination for all women, which requires a focus on working class women; marginalised women; women of different races and religions, women with disabilities, First Nations women, and women with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and sex characteristics. While we are not seeing the wave of anti-trans laws that are sweeping across America, Australia has not yet embraced equal rights for trans people. The ad provoked an immediate anti-trans campaign on social media, using the hashtag [#BoycottHersheys](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BoycottHersheys&src=typeahead_click). Trans activists united with the feminist/women’s movement to successfully campaign for the legalisation of abortion in that country. Efforts to exclude transwomen from International Women’s Day run contrary to its very essence, which is to unite women and fight for equal rights.

Today (8 March) across South Yorkshire, we not only have women on duty serving and protecting their communities, but we have representatives at numerous events ...

“I had explored nursing and teaching but felt they weren’t for me. We need to ensure this continues.” “Historically policing was a male-dominated environment, but that isn’t the case anymore.