Women's Forum Australia

Women's Forum Australia (WFA) is a conservative think tank established in 2005 with the aim of influencing research and policy-related work to affect the social, economic, health of Australian women.[1] It has also been described as focusing on "anti-trans campaigning" and having "links to far-right politics", with members campaigning against abortion access, transgender rights, and promoting conspiracy theories around Wi-Fi.[2][3]

Activities

The group has been active in combatting negative stereotyping of women.[4] The group has advocated legislative changes to advance adoption as an alternative to abortion.[5] The group has been characterised as "pro-life",[6] and has similarly been involved in matters relating to IVF[7] The group was involved in the effort to ban the distribution of RapeLay, a video game that featured sexual violence.[8]

In 2007, the group released a magazine Faking it, dealing with the sexualisation of women and girls facilitated by the fashion and beauty industries.[9]

In 2013, chair of WFA Louise Brosnan withdrew her children from school over concerns about the presence of wi-fi at the school. Another board member, Dr Marie-Therese Gibson resigned as principal of Tangara School for Girls, claiming health dangers of wi-fi.[3]

In 2023, WFA led a campaign against Big W's stocking of Welcome to Sex, a sex education book aimed at adolescents. In response to abuse of staff members, Big W removed the book from its physical stores while continuing to sell it on their website.[2]

People

The journalist, Melinda Tankard Reist was a founding director of the group.[10]

References

  1. ^ "About". Women's Forum Australia. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  2. ^ a b Kelly, Cait; Taylor, Josh (2023-07-19). "Big W removes sex education book from shelves after staff members abused". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  3. ^ a b Connelly, Claire (29 July 2023). "The anti-trans group that defeated Big W". The Saturday Paper. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
  4. ^ Smith, T. (2008). 'Tart noir': erotica or pornography?. AQ-Australian Quarterly, 80(4), 33-37.
  5. ^ Pike, G. K. (2014, November). Adoption Rethink: Women's Forum Australia Research. Women's Forum Australia.
  6. ^ Moriarty, K. (2017). Lament of a pro-life feminist. Eureka Street, 27(5), 64-66.
  7. ^ Klein, R. (2008, May). From test-tube women to bodies without women. In Women's Studies International Forum (Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 157-175). Pergamon.
  8. ^ Tankard Reist, Melinda, 2009. Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls, p27.
  9. ^ Phoenix, A. (2011). Review of recent literature for the Bailey Review of commercialisation and sexualisation of childhood.
  10. ^ Pollnitz, R. (2006). Defiant birth: women who resist medical eugenics. Lutheran Theological Journal, 40(3), 160.
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