Leading the pursuit of gender equity in health.
View and compare Victorian sex-disaggregated data, observe trends and download fact sheets.
WHV Women’s Health Atlas
View our range of training and professional development workshops for individuals and workplaces.
WHV Training Hub
Ever wondered if your vagina is normal? This award-winning resource provides information about labia and a photo gallery to show how different they can be.
WHV Labia Library
A resource for women as we age, bringing together evidence-based and relevant health and wellbeing information with a celebration of our bodies.
In My PrimeThis report looks at mental health reform in Victoria, illustrating what gender-responsive mental health care looks like in practice and highlights promising practices that can inform system-wide reform.
This paper frames the structural, cultural, and service issues that inhibit good mental health and wellbeing and gender responsive mental health care for women and girls.
Drawing on mostly Australian research, data and women’s lived experience of mental ill-health and the mental health system, this paper discusses the determinants of women’s mental health and illness and their experiences accessing care. With a focus on the Victorian mental health system, it highlights how the ‘building blocks’ of policy settings, funding, workforce, and research and data collection can both contribute to and reduce gender inequality.
With the investment and impetus in Victoria following the release of both Safe and Strong, Victoria’s gender equality strategy, and Free from Violence, Victoria’s prevention strategy, there is significant need to expand the gender equity and PVAW (Prevention of Violence Against Women) workforces and ensure these workforces are appropriately skilled and qualified.
To meet this gap the Victorian Government, through the Department of Education and Training, funded Women’s Health Victoria (WHV) in conjunction with a group of thought leaders to develop an accredited Course in Gender Equity.
Women’s Health Victoria recognises the support of the Gender Equity Training Project consortia members – RMIT University, ACEVic, Women with Disabilities Victoria, Monash University, Knox City Council, Coonara Community House, Yarrawonga Neighbourhood House, and the external participants who contributed to the formal consultation process in the development of the Course in Gender Equity and this research.
Refer to Women’s Health Victoria’s website for further details
This issues paper found that the continued use of gender stereotypes and increasing reliance on images that sexualise and objectify women in advertisements undermines efforts to promote gender equality in Australia. Gender-stereotyped portrayals limit the aspirations, expectations, interests and participation of women and men in our society. These portrayals are associated with a range of negative health and wellbeing outcomes and are highly problematic for the prevention of family violence and other forms of violence against women.
The studies cited in this paper demonstrate that there is a clear business case for change. Brands, businesses and creative agencies can benefit from portraying both women and men proportionately, respectfully and realistically.
Motherhood is commonly viewed by contemporary society as a time of great joy, when €˜good mothers’ effortlessly bond with their newborns and adapt to their new role with ease. However, for many women and their partners, pregnancy, birth and early parenting do not meet these expectations.
The perinatal period marks an enormous transition and upheaval in women’s lives, challenging body image, relationships, intimacy and mental health. Research shows that when a woman’s prenatal expectations regarding her pregnancy, delivery, infant, support network, and sense of self as a mother are compromised, she is more likely to experience lower levels of self-esteem and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress.
The mismatch between expectations of pregnancy and early motherhood and the reality of many women’s experiences can act as a barrier to help seeking and compound feelings of stress, failure and isolation. Motherhood expectations vary depending on women’s support networks, access to financial resources, family of origin and experiences of being parented, and cultural beliefs. They intersect with other social expectations and forms of discrimination such as ableism, racism, ageism and homophobia.
Structural factors such as the cost of childcare, inadequate income support, unequal pay and limited access to flexible work arrangements mean that in practice, women’s €˜choices’ about how to balance family and work are constrained.
Mothers need more realistic, holistic and supportive responses from society, health professionals, their families and themselves. Developing and sharing more realistic expectations around early motherhood experiences, and striving to transform gender norms and structures so that women and their partners share the load more equally, can support improved outcomes for mothers and a more gender equal world for their children to grow up in.
Download the Word version: Great expectations: how gendered expectations shape early mothering experiences
The Labia Library is an online resource developed by Women’s Health Victoria (WHV) in response to increasing demand for female genital cosmetic surgery, also known as labiaplasty. In order to gain an understanding of the effectiveness of the resource in improving women’s health literacy, WHV undertook a thematic analysis of 2979 free text responses to a user survey that was active on the site between 2013 and 2015. The vast majority of survey respondents indicated a positive perception of the resource, often experiencing a significant reduction in anxiety, and reassurance of normality associated with genital appearance.
Adolescence is associated with physical change, friendships, first intimate relationships, and pressure to lay a strong foundation for a healthy and productive adulthood. However, research clearly shows that girls and boys are subjected to different expectations and pressures during adolescence and that between the ages of 10 and 20, young women’s experiences and health outcomes can differ significantly from those of their male peers.
Growing up unequal takes a comprehensive look at how sex and gender expectations impact health outcomes for young women, ultimately finding that the most effective way to reduce the risk of poor physical, emotional and mental health outcomes for women is to create a more equal society for girls to grow up in.
Download the Word version: Growing up unequal: how sex and gender impact young women’s health and wellbeing
Gender itself is a key structural determinant of women’s health and inequality, playing out in women’s roles in relation to food, in psychosocial health and the socio-economic factors that impact on access to nutritious food.
Controversy exists in public health and health promotion about the approach and key messages that should be adopted in relation to food-related behaviours and body size to promote €˜health’ and prevent illness for women. This paper outlines various perspectives in this discourse and highlights principles and recommendations for designing health promotion programs and managing the risks of public health messages.
Women’s Health Victoria acknowledges and pays our respects to the Traditional Owners of the land that our offices are situated on, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation.
As a statewide organisation, we also acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and water across Victoria. We pay our respects to them, their cultures and their Elders past and present.
Women’s Health Victoria’s focus is women (cis and trans inclusive) and gender-diverse people. We address feminist health issues and are committed to supporting all people impacted by gender inequity who can benefit from our work. As a proud intersectional feminist organisation, Women’s Health Victoria is working towards meaningful inclusivity, guided by and supporting people who identify as women, trans, intersex and gender diverse.
