Women on the Line

On this week’s episode we speak with human rights activist Khadija Gbla. Khadija was born in Sierra Leone and spent their youth in Gambia before coming to Australia. We talk about their experiences living at the intersections of disability, neurodivergence, queerness and Blackness, their activism in these spaces, and their hopes for young people like themselves. A note that this conversation covers difficult topics including racism, ableism, childhood abuse, Indigenous deaths in custody, and police brutality against Black and Indigenous people. If these subjects bring up anything difficult for you, you can contact 1800 RESPECT or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander listeners can also call 13 YARN.

On this episode of Women on the Line we continue our conversation with Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha– a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has been actively showing up in person for sex workers in Paju’s Yongjugol – protesting on the streets, creating signage to raise political awareness and supporting sex workers. Today we hear the final episode of a two-part series about what’s happening in Paju’s red light district and about the work Scarlet ChaCha is doing in South Korea. You can listen to the first episode of this series here. Our interview with Scarlet ChaCha members was translated by Yeonhoo. You can support Scarlet ChaCha by donating to their mutual aid request @choyeonhoo via paypal. All funds will go directly to sex workers who are impacted by the demolition. Please note there is discussion of state violence in this episode.

On this episode of Women on the Line we hear from Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha – a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has been actively showing up in person for sex workers in Paju’s Yongjugol – protesting on the streets, creating signage to raise political awareness and supporting sex workers. Today we hear the first episode of a two-part series about what’s happening in Paju’s red light district and about the work Scarlet ChaCha is doing in South Korea.Our interview with Scarlet ChaCha members was translated by Yeonhoo. You can support Scarlet ChaCha by donating to their mutual aid request @choyeonhoo via paypal. All funds will go directly to sex workers who are impacted by the demolition. Please note there is discussion of state violence in this episode.

This week on the program we speak with Danielle from Save Public Housing Collective about the Victorian State Government plan to 'retire and transform' 44 public housing towers in narrm Melbourne.While the state government is selling the scheme as an opportunity for improvement and renewal, those against the plan describe a poorly thought through strategy with zero consultation of residents, few answers on where displaced tenants will go and underlying questions around the privatisation of public housing and the motivations of accessing high value inner city real estate.Danielle speaks with us about community resistance to the plan, and the push to create viable public housing.You can find Save Public Housing Collective on twitter, Instagram, facebook or their website, and donate to their campaign fundraiser here.The song which closes this episode is "Inside My Kitchen" by Tiddas.

On this week’s episode we hear from Dacia Abela, lawyer and program manager at Naarm-based Community Legal Centre WEstjustice, about economic abuse in the context of family violence. Dacia takes us through what this looks like on a practical level, the intersections of culture and gender, how CLCs are working to help victim-survivors and raise awareness, and what can be done better to support victim-survivors across the country. This conversation covers sensitive topics dealing with family violence and violence against women. If these subjects bring up anything difficult, listeners can contact 1800 RESPECT or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

On this week’s episode we bring you an excerpt from the Teachers for Palestine Forum called ‘Why There’s No ‘Neutrality’ on Genocide’ that took place in Naarm earlier this year on January 22nd 2024. We play a speech delivered by Samah Sabawi, who is a Palestinian award-winning author, playwright and poet. This forum was organised by Teachers and School Staff for Palestine.Later in the show, we play an excerpt from a discussion with three people working in the education space on the importance of teaching about Palestine. Natalie is a doctoral candidate in education, teacher, and one of the organising members of Teachers and School Staff for Palestine; Dana is a Palestinian secondary school maths teacher; and Claire is a secondary school humanities teacher. This interview first aired on 3CR Tuesday Breakfast on 16 January 2024.

On this episode of Women on the Line we pay tribute to Cecilia Gentili. She was a mother and sister to many transwomen, migrant women, sex workers and the wider LGBTIQA+ community in New York City and globally. On 6 February 2024, she passed away leaving a burning legacy of love and sisterhood amongst the trans and queer community. We hear snippets from her funeral service held at St Patrick's Cathedral on the 15 February in NYC.

This week on the program we take a deep dive into Victoria’s parole system.First we hear an interview by 3CR Broadcaster Priya Kunjan with Karen Fletcher, Executive Officer of Flat Out about the impact of compounding and increasing barriers to parole on incarcerated people in Victoria.Then we hear Marisa from 3CR’s Doin Time show speaking with Sarah Schwartz, manager of the Wirraway Police and Prison Accountability Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and lecturer at Melbourne Law School about the upcoming coronial inquest into the November 2021 death in custody of Yamatji, Noongar, Wongi and Pitjantjatjara woman Heather Calgaret.The recent statement issued by Heather’s family and VALS ahead of the inquest can be found here.

On this week’s episode we talk about birth trauma, why so many women and birthing people in so-called Australia are experiencing it, and how it can be avoided. We revisit a conversation with Naarm-based birth educator Vanessa Shribman from August 2023, a few months after New South Wales began its inquiry into birth trauma, which received over 4000 submissions. The inquiry found that 1 in 3 women experiences birth trauma with some of the main reasons being high rates of medical interventions causing alternative risk, lack of consent from birthing people before initiating medical procedures, midwives being overworked and burning out, and a lack of continuity of care.Vanessa’s work aims to empower women with the knowledge they need to know their rights, trust their bodies, and advocate for themselves in a medical system that is failing them. This conversation first aired on 3CR Tuesday Breakfast on 22 August 2023.

Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji and French writer and performer Laniyuk joins us to discuss the campaign to return Lee Point to Larrakia Care, as well as the history of the Australian and US defence forces' militarised occupation of Larrakia Country. Interspersed through this conversation, you’ll also hear from several Larrakia women - Jamilah Mills, Arbei Talbot, Hayley Mcadam, Aunty Aly Mills, and Arbei Adjrun - who have lent their voices and stories to the fight, using audiovisual storytelling as a medium to convey the significance of Larrakia people’s relationship with Country as a foundation for community and cultural strength, and to ensure Larrakia futures.Sign the petition to return Lee Point to Larrakia people's care here, and watch some of the storytelling by Larrakia people about their connections to Country and what makes Lee Point so significant here on Laniyuk’s Instagram page.

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Ryan and Sangwon from Bae Collective 배 컬렉티브. This collective aims to connect and build a community of Korean queer and trans folks who are living, working or studying in Naarm (Melbourne, so-called Australia). We chat about the dreams of Bae Collective and also this lunar new year of the Wood Dragon which officially kicked off on the 10 February this year. The feature song on our episode was 'I'll remember me for you, I'll remember for me, I'll remember for you' by Yaeji.

This week on the program we hear from two of the speakers at the narrm Melbourne Invasion Day rally held on January 26.First we hear from Gunditjmara, Girai Wurrung and Djab Wurrung woman Sissy Austin.Then we hear the first part of a speech by Gunggari woman Dr Raelene Nixon, speaking about the death of her son Steven Lee Nixon-McKellar in police custody in Toowoomba in October 2021.#Justice4StevieLee

On this week’s episode we hear from Jaya Keaney, author of Making Gaybies: Queer Reproduction and Multiracial Feeling, published with Duke University Press. Jaya is a lecturer in Gender Studies at the University of Melbourne, where she researches and teaches in the areas of feminist science studies, queer studies, and queer of colour theory. We speak to Jaya about her book, the complexities and intersections of race and queerness when creating queer families, how queer couples have to 'make do' when creating families, and the future of queer family making in so-called Australia.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.

On this week’s episode we look into the prison industrial complex in so-called Australia and how private companies profit from the prison system. In particular, we focus on the high cost of phone calls and how this is impacting families and communities. Across the country, calls are free via payphones but in Victoria’s prisons they cost $7 and are limited to 12 minutes.We speak to Sarah Schwartz, Principal Managing Lawyer of the Wirraway Practice at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, and Monique Hurley, Managing Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, about the layers of privatisation and profit in the prison system, the exploitation of incarcerated people, and the importance of investing in the community.