High Court dismisses appeal in ‘largest women’s health class action in Australia’s history’ – Lawyers Weekly

Rebecca JancauskasThe High Court of Australia has preserved the judgment of the Federal Court, which two years ago ruled in favour of thousands of women whose “lives were destroyed” by faulty pelvic mesh implants.

Speaking following today’s dismissal, Ms Jancauskas said: “Unfortunately for these women, there is no such thing as complete closure until these group members receive their individual compensation, which may take years as Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson intend to challenge and review each group member’s claim for compensation.”

“There are over 11,000 Australian women who are now entitled to bring individual claims for compensation and they may be fighting Johnson & Johnson for their compensation for many years to come.”

Former federal senator Derryn Hinch, who championed a 2018 Senate Inquiry into the number of women in Australia who have had transvaginal mesh implants and related matters, said that these proceedings have been “such an arduous and physically crippling journey for so many women for so long”.

“The latest court decision is welcomed and so justified,” he proclaimed.

“The transvaginal mesh public hearings were the most significant achievement when I was in the Senate. It was, and tragically still is, the biggest medical scandal in Australia since Thalidomide.”

Source: High Court dismisses appeal in ‘largest women’s health class action in Australia’s history’ – Lawyers Weekly

Sandra Peniamina’s killer successfully argued he was ‘provoked.’

The attack started when Arona Peniamina accused her of being unfaithful. A punch to the face gradually escalated, and it was all witnessed by the couple’s then 10-year-old son.

But after that first punch, Sandra picked up a knife. And it’s that act of defence that’s allowed her husband to slash his prison sentence to just 16 years on retrial.

Initially convicted in 2018 of murder and ordered to serve the rest of his life behind bars, the 41-year-old had his murder conviction tossed out on appeal.

In a 2021 retrial, he was able to prove that he was ‘provoked.’

She swore at him.

She refused to speak about the alleged affair she’d been having.

He was left with a cut on his hand while trying to disarm her of the knife she’d picked up to defend herself.

He proceeded to carry out a sustained attack of violence. Sandra was wounded at least 29 times before she finally died, and that was even after she had a knife tip lodged in her skull from one of his swipes.

When he finally crushed her skull with a concrete bollard, she was cowering behind a car outside their home just north of Brisbane.

According to a court of law, Peniamina is guilty of manslaughter not murder all because of an ancient defence that many other states in Australia have abolished.

Professor Douglas is of the opinion that provocation is an outdated defence that doesn’t fit with our modern life, primarily because it blames the victim in part.

As Professor Douglas explains, the defence still exists in Queensland because of an unwillingness by the Queensland parliament to remove the mandatory penalty of life in prison for murder. Due to the constraints of that mandatory sentence, it was decided that the defence was needed for those who genuinely deserve relief from mandatory life imprisonment.

Source: Sandra Peniamina’s killer successfully argued he was ‘provoked.’

Morning after pill shaming: Women share their stories.

Emergency contraception may be easier to access than ever before – however, the surrounding stigma is still thriving.

It could be the fact that a pharmacist can still refuse to distribute the pill on ‘moral ground’ – referring you to another supplier. It seems outrageous, but the fact is that religious beliefs can still interfere with a women’s reproductive rights.

One woman writes: “The last time I got it several years back they took a photocopy of my license. The pharmacist was awful, suggesting it [must be] “for a friend” and being disparaging of my age. My male partner has purchased another for me since with zero paperwork and a pat on the back for being a good guy.”

To supply this medicine, Australian pharmacists are required to know who it is for, why they need to take it, how long it has been post-intercourse, details about if they have had previous unprotected intercourse this month, and details about the patient’s menstrual cycle.

However, as can be inferred from numerous women’s experiences, some of the questions asked are undeniably prying and seemingly off-topic in reference to the safety, effectiveness, and side effects of the medicine – such as probing into the customer’s relationship status and their reasons for wanting the pill.

Source: Morning after pill shaming: Women share their stories.

Now I’m hopeful we can talk about teens and gender

A new position statement by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists wouldn’t ordinarily impact my professional life very much, but I am hopeful that the recent one addressing issues relating to gender non-conforming people will make a difference for healthcare workers beyond the realm of psychiatry.

In acknowledging there are “multiple perspectives and views” about the appropriate clinical approach towards children and teenagers seeking treatment for gender issues, the college offers a chance that Australian health professionals can have an evidence-based and client-centred conversation about the best way to treat and support young people experiencing symptoms of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

It also provides some hope that Australia can contain a pattern seen elsewhere in the world where health professionals and educators have either been disciplined or lost their jobs for expressing deeply held concerns that the dominant gender-affirming approach causes harm to some young people who report symptoms of gender dysphoria.

It’s an issue I have some first-hand experience with. Earlier this year I was the subject of a formal complaint – my first in 45 years of working as a clinical psychologist. The complaint was brought by a group of people from the transgender community who objected to views I expressed in a podcast for the Australian Psychological Society.

As for the complaint against me, the APS took the view that dissenting views to any policy should be heard. The podcast was edited in parts but remains available. In a recent legal decision in Britain, the right of people to express beliefs critical of the theories behind the gender-affirmative approach has been affirmed and anyone with those views is now protected from accusations of discrimination. We need this legal right in Australia.

Source: Now I’m hopeful we can talk about teens and gender

Australia’s Prison Dilemma – Research paper – prison-dilemma.pdf

Imprisonment rates have been rising and crime rates falling
Australia’s imprisonment rate measured as prisoners per 100 000 adults is at its highest in a century (figure 1.2). The imprisonment rate has more than doubled in Australia since the mid1980s and at its peak

Imprisonment growth has been higher among women in several jurisdictions, particularly since 2010. Nonetheless, men still make up the bulk of the prison population.

A study of Aboriginal mothers incarcerated in Western Australia found that women who reported using violence were more likely to have experienced it themselves. Of those mothers who reported using violence, 91 per cent had experienced family
violence compared to 77 per cent of those mothers who did not report using violence (Wilson et al. 2017).

Women in prison are more likely to have a history of mental illness than men in 2018, 65 per cent of females compared with 35 per cent of males reported a previous diagnosis of mental illness (PC 2020, p. 1016)

Moreover, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison have a higher incidence of mental ill health than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men or non-Indigenous women.

Another feature of Australia’s imprisonment trends is that imprisonment rates are increasing faster for some demographic groups. While women comprise only 7.7 per cent of the national prison population, female imprisonment rates have increased faster than male imprisonment rates nationally and in several
jurisdictions (figure 2.7). This faster growth in female imprisonment has been common across Western countries including New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

There is some evidence from New South Wales that much of this increase has been driven by more women presenting to courts as repeat offenders.

There is little evidence that women are committing more serious crimes or spending longer in prison (Ooi 2018).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have experienced the fastest growth in imprisonment rates. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s imprisonment rates have increased by 115 per cent between 2000 and 2020 compared with an increase of 65 per cent for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. (ABS 2020b; SCRGSP 2020b). The underlying structural, relational and personal circumstances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women put them at greater risk of imprisonment (SCRGSP 2020b).

Imprisonment rates have increased steadily over the past two decades in all Australian jurisdictions from different base levels. This growth has been more pronounced for women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

And the rate of suicide has been measured to be between five times higher in men, and twelve times higher in women incarcerated in Australian prisons compared to the general population (Kariminia et al. 2007).

Source: Australia’s Prison Dilemma – Research paper – prison-dilemma.pdf

RANZCP issues official position on how to treat trans kids

Australia’s governing body for psychiatrists has moved away from endorsing a “gender-affirmative approach” to treat the growing number of young people identifying as transgender, in its first specific policy on gender dysphoria.

The position statement, titled “Recognising and addressing the mental health needs of people experiencing gender dysphoria/gender incongruence”, says care should be patient-centred and non-judgmental. However, it also acknowledges “multiple perspectives and views” about whether a gender-affirmative approach is appropriate for children and teenagers and highlights the lack of research on the long-term outcomes.

The document defines a “gender-affirmative approach” as one that accepts rather than questions a child’s statements about their gender identity, potentially easing access to medical treatment such as puberty blockers and hormones with parental permission.

This is the college’s first position statement specifically on gender dysphoria but it partly replaces a 2016 position statement on the mental health needs of LGBTQI people, which more strongly endorsed gender affirmation for young people. The previous position statement pointed to international guidelines endorsing puberty blockers for eligible adolescents and said evidence suggested good outcomes from this approach.

Source: RANZCP issues official position on how to treat trans kids

Women’s Cooee – Listen to Women – Cut the Bias

We are women.

We are feminists. We are left of centre. We are Australian. We believe in biological reality.

We believe our ABC should balance its coverage of gender issues.

A woman is an adult human female. Human beings are not clownfish.

What do we want ABC to do?

We support ‘our’ ABC as a publicly funded broadcaster and we support adequate funding for the ABC.

HOWEVER, as women, we are profoundly disappointed in the ABC’s coverage of issues around gender identity ideology, an ideology that harms women and children by

  • threatening the survival of women-only service provisions, including prisons, refugees, and victim support and health care services
  • justifying the intrusion of men and boys into single-sex spaces aimed at guaranteeing the safety, privacy, and dignity of women and girls
  • erasing the category of women’s sport
  • reassigning the ‘gender’ of children who do not conform to sex-role stereotypes or wh are diagnosed with gender dysphoria, with subsequent medical interventions that carry a high risk of long-term adverse physical and psychological consequences
  • being based on the erroneous notion that humans can change sex: Human beings, unlike some other species such as clownfish, cannot change sex!

We call on the ABC to present accurate information about women and cover issues around transgenderism with impartiality, responsibility, independence, and integrity. 

Source: Women’s Cooee – Listen to Women – Cut the Bias

Transgender sport safety and fairness concerns raised by female volleyball players

 

Female community sporting groups are raising concerns about the issue of transgender athletes playing in women’s’ competitions, saying officials need to begin addressing the issue and lay out clear guidelines.
In Sydney, female volleyballers are concerned about playing against biological males who identify as women, on both safety and fairness grounds.
Leading women in sport are calling for transgender players to compete in mixed competitions and not against women-only teams.
Save Women’s Sport Australasia co-founder Katherine Deves said the Queensland case showed a “prioritisation of men and boys”, not inclusion.
“Not only are we being asked to make sacrifices for men who self-declare a special identity, we are now being asked to sacrifice our own competitions to boys and men who simply want to play in our sports codes,” Ms Deves said.
“The right of little girls, teenage girls and young women to play sport, to play safely and fairly, is simply collateral damage to those who promote policies favouring gender identity over sex.
“The evidence unequivocally demonstrates men retain a significant performance advantage even if they have a ‘female gender identity’ and artificially reduce their testosterone levels.
“It is simply not possible to accommodate inclusion, safety and fair competition principles equally. Women and girls are being asked to sacrifice their right to fair competition and safety in order for men and boys to be included.”

Source: https://amp.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/transgender-sport-safety-a…

Covid, compassion, conscience and civil disagreement | The Spectator Australia

Frost shared that she hadn’t received a Covid vaccine, alluding to health reasons, saying that there are many different reasons people aren’t getting vaccinated. However, she said the “segregation” between those who are vaccinated and those who aren’t and the “harsh judgement” directed at the latter had caused her to feel “less of a human” and “too scared to talk”, making it “a really hard time to be in society right now”. 

You’d think with our culture’s current focus on the importance of mental health, empowering women, individual autonomy, and values like tolerance, acceptance and inclusivity, a raw and vulnerable Frost would have been shown support and extended the very compassion, kindness and empathy she was pleading for. Instead, the same people who preach mental health awareness, feminism, ‘my body, my choice’, and ‘progressive values’, jumped on her like a virtual pack of wolves. Why? Because she dared to share a view that was different. 

Unfortunately, women tearing down other women is an ugly phenomenon that continues to persist despite feminist notions of equality, freedom, empowerment and the so-called “sisterhood”. 

A friend of mine publicly posted her decision not to get vaccinated on social media.  She had people swarm her business accounts telling her they wished she would die from Covid or to kill herself (this friend had been suicidal in the past). She is not alone in the vicious sentiments she received.

Source: Covid, compassion, conscience and civil disagreement | The Spectator Australia