Spotlight on Women’s Health Victoria
About Women’s Health Victoria
For 30 years, Women’s Health Victoria (WHV) has been driving better health outcomes for Victorian women by strengthening the women’s health sector, delivering targeted services for Victorian women, advocating for policy change, and producing essential gender-informed research. With an intersectional feminist lens, and informed by the latest research and evidence, WHV lead significant, meaningful change at a systemic, cultural and individual level. WHV’s work is driven by their five priority areas: sexual and reproductive health, prevention of violence against women, mental health, women’s equality, and women and cancer.
Featured work: In My Prime
WHV has collaborated with The University of Melbourne to develop In My Prime, a new online health and wellbeing resource for women and trans and gender diverse people over 50. The motivation for creating this website was twofold: to address both the lack of accessible, relevant and targeted health and wellbeing information for older women (cis and trans inclusive) and gender diverse people, and the lack of positive representations of older women’s bodies.
In My Prime brings together evidence-based information on a range of topics relevant to women as they reach menopause and in the years beyond this transition. The topics covered include mental health, physical activity, eating for wellbeing, sexual health, maintaining independence, brain health, and more.
To decide what health topics to include and in creating the content, the team behind In My Prime were guided by the following principles:
· Co-design of the website and its content with lived/ living experience community members
· Use of an intersectional approach
· Contextualising health advice within a social determinants of health framework
· Clinical review and approval of all health advice and information.
In recognition of the lack of powerful, positive and realistic representations of older women in our society, and the negative impact of this on body image, the website also includes an online gallery of 30 nude photographs of women over 50 by Australian photographers Ponch Hawkes and Jodie Hutchinson. The models are drawn from diverse communities around Victoria, and include people with disabilities, people from migrant backgrounds, and transgender people. They celebrate the diversity of older women’s bodies and show that strength is not defined by age.
In My Prime both highlights and addresses gender inequalities in health. Through increasing access to evidence-based knowledge and services available in Australia as well as affirming images of real older women’s bodies, it empowers women to protect their health as they age and enjoy this stage of their lives.
What’s next for this work?
In My Prime aims to include women from all backgrounds and communities, as well as non-binary, trans, intersex and gender diverse people. WHV are always working towards meaningful inclusivity, and the website will continue to develop content that addresses the specific health and wellbeing needs of diverse communities around Australia, in collaboration with community members and organisations representing them.
In March 2024 WHV will also be hosting an online, free webinar on co-designing health and wellbeing resources with lived and living participants, with members of the In My Prime Advisory Group.
In My Prime is supported by the Victorian Government, The Women’s, the NHMRC and the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health.
To find out more about In My Prime, visit: https://inmyprime.org.au/
