The 2025 Victorian Women's Health Services Network Conference, held on February 13 at Melbourne Town Hall, marked a defining moment in our collective mission to advance gender equality and transform women's health outcomes across Victoria. This gathering of sector leaders, practitioners, and advocates demonstrated both the urgency of our work and the extraordinary resilience of our sector in driving systemic change.

The Victorian Women's Health Service Network (WHSN) is calling for state-wide expansion of a proven program that prevents violence against women with disabilities. With compelling evidence of success and a clear path forward, we are advocating for investment in the 2025-26 Victorian state budget to scale up the Margins to Mainstream (M2M) program across Victoria.

The Victorian Women's Health Services Network, representing women's health organisations across the state, express deep concern and despair over the Federal Government's decision to not continue crucial grant funding for Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) for the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program.

This outcome will have a devastating impact on the vital work WDV does to support and advocate for women and non-binary people with disabilities in Victoria and will significantly hinder progress towards achieving intersectional equity in the State.

The Women’s Health Services across Victoria, committed to ending violence against women, welcome the announcement of a Federal Inquiry and Expert Panel Rapid Review which we understand from reports, will investigate “how to best prevent violence against women”. We express our hope and readiness to contribute to this critical endeavour, aimed at identifying and implementing the most effective strategies to prevent violence against women.

Right now – at this moment, in Victoria – there is a community hurting because women are being killed by those who say that they care for women.

The pain faced by so many in the community of Ballarat is beyond compare, especially for the family and friends of Hannah McGuire, Rebecca Young and Samantha Murphy.

And as those of us who work to stop the perpetration of violence against women know, it is not just this community. It is all communities across Victoria. And it is not just now, but so often and for so long.

GenWest exists to create safer and healthier lives for individuals and communities in Melbourne's west. We deliver programs that improve health and wellbeing and promote gender equity among communities. GenWest provides services that help victim-survivors of family violence. We also partner with other organisations to advocate for equal rights and the prevention of family violence.

We work across seven local government areas in Melbourne’s west, Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Melton, Moonee Valley and Wyndham.

Since the commencement of our work over 30 years ago the Victorian Women’s Health Services have striven to address the barriers to intersectional inequity that prevent women from having the power and freedom to make choices and be emancipated to achieve their full potential.

Yes, in 2024 there is still work to be done.

The Victorian Women’s Health services welcome and celebrate the United Nations themes for 2024 International Women’s Day.

These themes draw attention to the ongoing need for women’s economic inclusion and the need to finance and fund the work of gender equality.

Women’s Health Grampians (WHG) is the lead organisation for women’s sexual and reproductive health promotion, prevention of violence against women, and gender equality in the Grampians Region. The region is made up of 11 Local Government Areas and operates on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri, Wadawurrung, Dja Dja Warrung, Wotjobaluk, Jaadwa, Jadawadjali, Wergeia and Jupagalk people.

Women’s Health Loddon Mallee (WHLM) are lead advocates for women's health in the Loddon Mallee, addressing gender inequities through an intersectional feminist framework. WHLM have a strategic focus on gender equity, sexual and reproductive health, primary prevention of violence against women, mental health and wellbeing, and women in a changing society.

The Loddon Mallee Region of Victoria includes the local government areas of Buloke, Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Loddon, Macedon Ranges, Mildura, Mount Alexander and Swan Hill.

Women’s Health In the North (WHIN) is the women’s health promotion and advocacy organisation for the northern metropolitan region of Melbourne (NMR). The region covers the Hume, Whittlesea, Nillumbik, Merri-bek, Darebin, Banyule and Yarra local government areas.

Mission: WHIN works to eliminate gender inequalities and improve the health, safety and wellbeing of women and gender-diverse people.

Values: Feminist. Ethical. Inclusive. Courageous. Collaborative.

Vision: Women and gender-diverse people in the north have voice, choice and power in all aspects of their health, safety and wellbeing.

Gippsland Women’s Health (GWH) are the lead organisation for gender equality, women's sexual and reproductive health promotion, prevention of violence against women, and family violence system leadership in Gippsland.

GWH achieve their core work through community education and training (capacity building), strategic partnerships, advocacy, and awareness-raising campaigns and initiatives. The GWH team is based throughout Gippsland, and they work to promote the services of local health organisations to ensure equal access for all women.

Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) is a national community-based organisation that is led by and for women from migrant and refugee communities to advance the health and wellbeing of these communities. MCWH increases migrant and refugee women’s opportunities for health and wellbeing in Australia through bilingual health education, advocacy and leadership. MCWH also delivers training and capacity-building for workers and workforces and coordinates a multilingual health information library.

Women’s Health East (WHE) is the regional women’s health promotion organisation for Melbourne’s eastern region. The region covers 7 Local Government Areas – Yarra Ranges, Knox, Maroondah, Manningham, Monash, Whitehorse and Boroondara. Melbourne’s east is a diverse and populous area that stretches from inner city suburbs out to semi-rural townships in the Yarra Ranges. Women’s Health East operates on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people.

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.

Women’s Health & Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW) was incorporated in 2011 and is the regional women’s health service for the Barwon South West (BSW) region. WHWBSW works to reduce health inequities across three priority areas, including gender equality, violence against women, and sexual and reproductive health.

Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) is the regional women’s health service for the Southern Metropolitan Region. WHISE is a not-for-profit organisation that focuses on empowering women. WHISE works to improve the health and wellbeing of women in their region by providing health information and education to governments, organisations, education providers, and community groups.

Women’s Health Goulburn North East (WHGNE) is a feminist organisation, leading change towards women’s empowerment, women’s health, the prevention of violence against women and ultimately, gender equality, in rural and regional Victoria.

Our sector is passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of all women and gender-diverse people in Victoria. Not all women and gender-diverse people experience the same health issues in the same ways.