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Women’s Health East’s submission to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Women’s Pain

Women’s Health East’s submission to the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Women’s Pain offers a unique perspective shaped by our long-standing relationships with diverse communities in the region. Our submission draws on years of expertise leading partnerships, regional strategies, and intersectional primary prevention projects in Melbourne’s east that address the underlying drivers of women’s health inequities.

Our recommendations centre the voices and experiences of women in Melbourne’s east who experience intersecting discrimination and inequality. They reflect the insights we have gained through conversations with Hakha Chin speaking women, Mandarin speaking women and women with disabilities.

We heard firsthand the experiences of these women as they navigate the healthcare system in Victoria. Experiences of delayed diagnosis and care; of having pain minimised or normalised; and of failing to be heard.

Women’s Health East’s key recommendations are:

  1. Implement the inquiry’s findings and health systems reform based on the lived experiences of Victorian women from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences of pain
  2. Develop and monitor standards of care for women’s pain diagnosis, treatment, and models of care
  3. Require health services to implement consumer advisory groups and feedback mechanisms relevant to women’s pain
  4. Improve access to and quality assurance systems relating to interpreters
  5. Increase investment in long-term place based primary prevention for women who experience marginalisation, discrimination and disadvantage
  6. Reduce the cost of services and expand women’s access to alternative medicines and allied health services to mitigate the impacts of women’s pain
  7. Strengthened requirements for Gender Impact Assessments

Read our full submission to the Women’s Pain Inquiry

Women’s Health East has also contributed to a comprehensive submission into this inquiry by the Victorian Women’s Health Services Network. This submission calls for systemic changes to address the gender pain gap, recognising the complexities of physical, mental, and emotional pain, including trauma and family violence.

Read the Victorian Women’s Health Services’ recommendations to the Women’s Pain Inquiry

Learn more about the Victorian Government’s Inquiry into Women’s Pain