Women’s Health Matters is an independent, non-partisan think tank that works to improve the health and wellbeing of women in the ACT and surrounding region.
We advocate on behalf of all ACT women, especially those experiencing disadvantage and vulnerability.
We seek to improve the health and wellbeing of anyone who identifies as a woman.
Women’s Health Matters is committed to reconciliation and acknowledges the First Australians whose cultures are among the oldest living cultures in human history, as the traditional custodians of this continent. We also recognise the history of dispossession experienced by the First Australians and the impact this has and continues to have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. We recognise the Ngunnawal People as the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work, and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise the strength of Aboriginal women and their continuing connection and contribution to this land, these waters, and our communities. May we walk gently and treat the earth and each other with care and respect.
Women’s Health Matters CEO, Lauren Anthes, is pleased to announce the Victim Survivor Voice pilot program has been extended thanks to further investment from the ACT Government. Today, Dr Marisa Paterson MLA, ACT Minister for Women and for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, has announced an additional $646,000 funding package to support Women’s […]
To mark International Women’s Day, the National Advocacy Group on Women on Temporary Visas Experiencing Violence (the ‘National Advocacy Group’) calls for reform to the migration system to advance Australia’s commitment to ending gendered violence in a generation. The migration system currently provides a safety net for some temporary migrants who experience domestic and family […]
The second Survey of Women’s Health in the ACT is officially open, offering all women and femme-identifying people aged 18 or older in the ACT and surrounding region the opportunity to share their health experiences. The survey comes as Women’s Health Matters welcomes the Australian Government’s announcements aiming to make reproductive and sexual health care […]
Victim Survivor Voice pilot update June 2025
/in Featured News, Uncategorized /by Sarah BiggerstaffThe Victim Survivor Voice is a peer-led pilot program open to people over the age of 18 who have lived or living experience of domestic, family, and/or sexual violence (DFSV) and live in the ACT and surrounding regions. The project’s purpose is to understand participants’ lived experiences of DFSV support services and systems in the […]
Q&A with Franchesca Isla – 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence
/in Featured News, Local Women's Stories /by Admin WHMWe caught up with Franchesca this 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. Franchesca is a mum of two girls, the creator of the blog Brave for Bully Zero, a counsellor at Toora Women and most recently the award winner for the Rising Women of Spirit awards. 1. Please tell us a bit about […]