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Overview

The Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Forum are annual forums that allow the Government to report to the community on the progress of the Strategy. It is also an opportunity to consult with women on particular issues relating to their health and wellbeing and to provide feedback on the implementation of the WHWS.

Each year, these annual forums provide input into the Strategy, as well as framing the action plan that concentrates activities into a specific area each year. The Forum is a partnership between DHS and the Office of Women’s Policy (Department for Victorian Communities).

2004 Forum

The second Annual Victorian Women's Health and Wellbeing Forum was held this year at the Hemisphere Conference Centre, Moorabbin on Friday 26 March. The Forum, chaired by Ms Rosy Buchanan MP, was attended by Ministers Pike and Delahunty along with 175 participants. Strong support and interest was generated from the community, particularly the women's sector.

Keynote addresses were presented by three guest speakers:

• Dr Pascale Allotey, Key Centre for Women's Health, spoke about the engagement of migrant and refugee women with the health system.
• Ms Fiona Andrews from the Centre for Development and Innovation in Health presented on the indicators of gender Equity in women's health.
• Ms Voula Messimeri-Kiandis, Deputy Chairperson of the Ethnic Communities' Council of Victoria and Executive Officer of the Australian Greek Welfare Society spoke about the case for Policy differentiation in CALD Women's Health.

One of the highlights of the Forum was a powerful drama piece entitled Joy's Story which was performed by actors Annie Phelan and Danielle Carter. Commissioned by "Positive Women", an organisation that supports women with HIV/AIDS, Joy's Story was a moving performance about a young mother who contracted HIV from her partner and how she has managed to move forward despite such a tragedy. The performance set a positive tone for the day and provided a strong foundation for the presentations and discussions that followed.

Photos from the 2004 forum

2005 Forum

The third annual Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Forum, "Engaging Young Women in their Health and Wellbeing", was part of the 5th Australian Women’s Health Conference "Reflecting on Gender: Confronting the Evidence" which DHS was a major sponsor.

The forum was opened by the Hon Mary Delahunty, MP, Minister for Women’s Affairs on 19th April 2005 and attended by over 200 women. Young women chaired and lead the discussions with participants and presentations from agencies and service providers highlighted the benefits of working actively with young women in improving their health outcomes

Keynote address

The keynote address was from Dr Lorraine Greaves the Executive Director of the British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women's Health. Dr Greaves is best known for her work on three major health issues: tobacco use and addiction, violence, and gender influences on women’s health.

Dr Greaves gave a presentation on Engaging on Young Women’s Health Issues from a Canadian perspective. From her extensive experience and research, she describes the following as best practice for engaging young women in their health care:

• get creative
• ask for opinions
• involve in research
• build skills
• involve in advocacy
• develop community
• create role models, and relationships
  

A tale of personal resilience

A highlight of the forum was the extraordinary tale of personal resilience by Leang Thai, a young Cambodian woman. After her father was killed by the Khmer Rouge, she and her sister & brother in-law came to Australia by boat. They were then detained at, amongst other places, the Villawood Detention Centre.

After four years Leang and her sister and brother in-law returned to Cambodia and came back to Australia through the Special Assistance Program. She was sponsored back to Australia by an Australian immigration lawyer, and was supported to learn English.

Leang eventually moved into tertiary study where she graduated with her Arts/Law degree. She now works as a solicitor at the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office, and has recently been admitted to the Supreme Court.

Roundtables

A series of roundtables focusing on health issues identified by young women and service providers followed in the afternoon. The topics included:

• Participation & Leadership
• Access & Diversity
• Safety & Security
• Mental & Emotional Health
• Sexuality, Sexual and Reproductive Health

2006 Forum

The fourth annual Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Forum was held on 19th May 2006 at the Moonee Valley Racing Club. Officially opened by the Hon Mary Delahunty, MP and attended by over 150 women, the forum represented a milestone for DHS, as it marked the completion of the first iteration of the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy (WHWB).

The forum was organised in partnership with the Office of Women’s Policy, and provided participants with the opportunity to:

• Learn about and discuss emerging health issues and challenges that women face during different stages of their life;
• Showcase local good practice; and
• Provide input in to the next iteration of Women’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which the Department of Human Services has made a commitment to implementing.

Details and a full report of the 2006 Forum is available below.

Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Forum (42kb, pdf)

Photos from the 2006 forum

Photos from the fourth annual Victorian Women’s Health and Wellbeing Forum.

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