Activities Archive

Thursday, 12 April, 7.00 pm
Radical Women discussion
A new feminist generation rising!
Hear young activist voices
Half a century after the uprisings of women, queers, students, Black Americans and oppressed nations shook the world, today's global explosions of protest and rebellion are again rattling the powers-that-be.
Hear young women speak as part of a new generation of feminist warriors:

* Alice Chesworth, equal rights activist for same-sex attracted and gender queer youth, member of Safe Schools Coalition Victoria and Minus18
* Tara Mitchell, transgender rights activist and member of Radical Women

Come share your activist aspirations for a world you want to be part of creating. All ages and genders welcome!

A delectable dinner, with vegetarian and vegan options, served at 6.30 pm for $8.00 donation.

Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick.
Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street. For information, contact Radical Women: 03-9388-0062 or radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Thursday, 15 March, 7.00 pm
International Women's Day Celebration
Tributes to the New Feminist Uprisings
Celebrate the inextinguishable spirit of International Women's Day, now firing up the world with struggles for freedom. Come and share a story of women-led revolt that inspires you. All genders are welcome!

Enjoy a spread of global dishes, including vegetarian, served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation.

This celebration will be held Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take Tram #19 up Sydney Rd to Stewart St or Upfield train to Anstey station. Plenty of parking available. For more information, contact Radical Women on 03-9388-0062 or radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Monday, 20 February, 7.00 pm
Help feminists fire up Occupy Melbourne
Radical Women Mobilising Meeting
Join like-minded feminist firebrands in setting RW's priorities for these ground-breaking times. Get acquainted with socialist feminist ideas, and learn how you can get involved. Discussion will include the Occupy movement, the vibrant leadership that women are bringing, and Occupy Melbourne's International Women's Day rally. Everyone is welcome!

Come early for a delicious summertime dinner, with vegetarian option, served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation.

The meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Take Tram #19 up Sydney Rd to Stewart St or Upfield train to Anstey station.
Plenty of parking available. For more information, contact Radical Women on 03-9388-0062 or radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au. To stay in touch on Facebook, "like" Radical Women Australia.

Saturday, 28 January, 10.00 am
Make 2012 the March of Feminist Feet!
Join Radical Women and Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights on a special date!
Choice will meet Free Speech to defend the Fertility Control Clinic from anti-abortion zealots and launch a longer campaign to keep abortion legal in Victoria!

Fertility Control Clinic
118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne

For information, contact Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights: cwrr.justice@hotmail.com or Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Thursday, 24 November, 7.00 pm
Special Film Showing in honour of Transgender Day of Remembrance
Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
This Emmy Award-winning documentary tells the story of the first-known collective uprising against queer and transgender oppression — a multi-racial rebellion in San Francisco's Tenderloin district, led by drag queens, that took place three years before the Stonewall Riot in New York. The revolt connected to issues of police harassment, housing rights, war resistance, and sexual liberation. Come view and discuss this enlightening film.

A refreshing dinner, with vegetarian option, will be served at 6.00 pm for an $8.00 donation.

This event will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth or Stewart St or Upfield train to Anstey Station. There's also plenty of parking. Everyone is welcome! For more information, call 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Saturday, 29 October, 6.00 pm
Refugees are welcome, racists are not!
Invitation to an intimate evening with Aboriginal leader, Ray Jackson
Ray Jackson, a Wiradjuri man, is a campaigner to stop deaths in custody and President of the Indigenous Social Justice Association in Sydney. Disgusted by the vilification of refugees by both the Gillard government and the Abbot-led opposition, Jackson says that each is "attempting to outdo the other to see who can hit a social hell first!" Jackson is visiting Melbourne to participate in an Indigenous welcome for asylum seekers at Melbourne University. Join him for an informal dinner and discussion about these issues as he mounts the case that "these racist One Nation clones do not speak in my name!"

Ray will speak after a relaxed buffet dinner. This occasion, hosted by Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party, will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans will be catered for. $15 waged, $10 concession or $20 solidarity price. Drinks available from the Solidarity Salon bar.

Please book to assist with catering. Email freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au or call 03-9388-0062. Leaflet is available here.

Thursday, 27 October, 7.00 pm
How abortion rights were won in Victoria
& how we'll keep them!
Celebrate three years since Victoria decriminalised abortion, and recapture the fight that achieved this historic victory. In "It's about choice," a video produced by Women's Health Victoria, pro-choice advocates recall events from inside Parliament. Debbie Brennan, longtime reproductive rights campaigner and Melbourne Radical Women Organiser, will highlight the relentless campaigning of grassroots feminists in the streets, their workplaces, campuses and communities. Come with your memories and ideas about how we can defend this victory from a concerted rightwing push to recriminalise abortion.

A springtime dinner, with vegetarian option, will be served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation. Everyone is welcome!

This meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick Take the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth or Stewart St or Upfield train to Anstey Station. There's also plenty of parking. For more information, call 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Saturday, 8 October, 12.00 noon
Hit the Streets for Abortion Rights!
Keep abortion legal in Victoria!
Abortion rights in Victoria are under threat. The Right to Life is organising a "March for the Babies" on October 8, wanting to recriminalise abortion. This anti-choice mobilisation aims to bolster reactionary efforts to establish the "rights" of the foetus and wind back Victoria's 2008 reform, which decriminalised abortion. Pro-choicers will rally to make our message loud and clear: "We won't go back! Full reproductive rights for all women now!"

Parliament House, Spring Street, Melbourne

Initiated by Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights, and endorsed by Radical Women. To endorse or support the rally, contact CWRR on 03-9388-0062 or cwrr.justice@hotmail.com. For more information, click here for the rally leaflet. Please help circulate it.

Want to help out? Your talents and ideas are needed!
Rally planning meetings are 6.30 pm:
Thursday, 15 September
Thursday, 29 September
Tuesday, 4 October
Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Take the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth or Stewart St or Upfield train to Anstey Station.
There's also plenty of parking.

Saturday, 17 September, 1.00 - 5.00 pm
Media Skills Workshop for Activists
Are you a social justice campaigner who wants to get your message across more effectively? Need to pitch a media release for full impact? Don't want to get tripped up by a shock jock? Then this workshop is for you!

Media savvy campaigners, Marisa Sposaro and Alison Thorne, will show you the ropes through this interactive training session, designed for both novices and veterans.

This workshop is co-hosted by Radical Women and Indigenous Social Justice Association - Melbourne and will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

Workshop fee: $20 full waged, $10 concession and for Radical Women and ISJA members.

Click here for more information. To register or find out more, email alison.thorne@ozemail,com,au or call 9388-0062.

Thursday, 25 August, 7.00 pm
The right to a roof over our heads!
A feminist take on the public housing crisis
Public housing is being dismantled and privatised, mostly by stealth. And it is happening at breathtaking speed. Ever-growing numbers of people are in desperate straits and the rights of tenants stripped back.

Come hear guest speakers Fiona Ross, facilitator of the Princes Hill Public Housing Association, and Jeremy Dixon, public tenant representative on the Northwest Regional Tenants Council.

Bring your ideas about how working people - whether renting, homeless or paying off a mortgage - and our communities can coalesce as a force capable of making secure, affordable and comfortable housing a right for everyone. All are welcome!

This Radical Women discussion will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

A delightful dinner, with vegetarian option, will be served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation. For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Wednesday, 27 July, 7.00 pm
Princess, dominatrix, forever young:
The new feminine mystique
Woman as submissive housewife or killing machine, made-over body beautiful or drug-dependent victim — the feminine mystique, named by feminist Betty Friedan 40 years ago, still lives. This meeting will discuss Radical Women's column, written by Adrienne Weller and published in the Freedom Socialist newspaper (click here for the article). Come and share thoughts and experiences, and bring your ideas about how to re-ignite the feminist movement of the 1970s and take it to its liberating conclusion. All genders are welcome welcome!

This Radical Women meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

A warming winter dinner, with vegetarian option, will be served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation. For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Saturday, 23 July, 10.00 am
Stand up for abortion rights & honour murdered security guard Steve Rogers:
Rally to defend the Fertility Control Clinic
Ten years ago, Steve Rogers was killed at work, defending the Fertility Control Clinic. On July 16, 2001 an anti-abortion terrorist stormed the clinic's waiting room. A terrifying confrontation ended in Rogers' death. The clinic remains the target of an ultra-right movement intent on re-criminalising abortion in Victoria and stripping back women's reproductive choices. On the fourth Saturday of every month, reproductive justice activists defend the clinic and its neighbourhood from a contingent of anti-choice crusaders.

Activists also have to defend the right to free speech against interference from the Melbourne City Council. The Council has enforced local laws that impede free speech and protest rights, and it threatens to continue this practice if pro-choicers persist with public demonstrations of support for the clinic.

Join the July defence to honour the memory of Steve Rogers and say "Never Again!" Come rally for full reproductive rights for all women, and join in building a movement that will secure real choices for women.

Exercise our right to free speech! Bring placards, banners and union flags!

Rally at the Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne (between Powlett & Simpson Streets).

Click here for more information. Contact Campaign for Women's Reproductive Rights: 03-9388-0062 or cwrr.justice@hotmail.com

Sunday, 26 June, 6:30 PM
Celebrate the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots:
Queer Youth Speak Out!
Enjoy the Melbourne premier screening of Gramercy Stories. This documentary, directed by Joyce Chopra, looks inside a unique residence in Manhattan, which is a safe home for 25 gay and transgender teenagers who have experienced violence at home or on the streets. Told from their candid, unique and witty perspective, the film follows these courageous youth as they strive to remake their lives.

The film will be followed by a lively panel discussion, featuring:
• Ygender (a group for Trans, Genderqueer and Gender Questioning young people and friends), who will present a voxpop addressing the issues for young people between the gender binary and what can be done about it.
• Daniel Witthaus, from Beyond "That's So Gay," who will share the findings from his National Challenging Homophobia Tour

Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick.
6:30 pm hearty winter dinner • 7:30 pm movie and panel
Dinner $10/$8 • Door $5/$2

This event is jointly hosted by Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party and will benefit the Socialist Feminist Fund Drive in support of the Freedom Socialist newspaper and to purchase a new photocopier for Solidarity Salon.

For more information call 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Saturday, 28 - Sunday, 29 May, North Melbourne Town Hall
Come to the Feminist Futures Conference with Radical Women
Want to work with grassroots socialist feminists at this exciting national gathering? Radical Women will be there, exchanging ideas about what can come out of the conference and holding a workshop about how we can win reproductive justice. RW member, Marisa Sposaro, will be a panel speaker about the frontline role of women with disability in the feminist movement.

Learn more and get involved by participating in Radical Women's Pre-conference Working Bee on Thursday, 26 May, from 6.30 pm at Solidarity Salon (snacks available for a $5.00 donation). Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street. Solidarity Salon has disability access. Or talk to us about working together: phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Wednesday, 4 May, 7.00 pm
Sex Work: Criminalise or Organise?
A Revolutionary Feminist View
In 1999, Sweden's criminalisation of payment for sex put more heat into the longstanding sex work debate within the feminist movement. Some argue that prostitution constitutes violence against women and should be outlawed. Some embrace the Swedish example, which punishes the client, not the sex worker. Socialist feminists believe that — until the economic system and sexual relations are revolutionised — the industry must be thoroughly legalised, allowing its overwhelmingly female, queer and trans workforce to unionise for decent wages and safe conditions and take their place in the working class movement.

Bring your ideas about where feminists should stand. Everyone is welcome!

This Radical Women meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

A delicious dinner, with vegetarian option, will be served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation. For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Sunday, 13 March, 7pm
International Women's Day Celebration
100 Years of International Women's Day
& Solidarity Salon's first 10 Years
In 1911, marches and meetings for women's rights in cities, towns and villages across Europe launched International Women's Day for women's liberation. On this day in 2001, Solidarity Salon opened its doors as an organising place for revolutionary feminism in the heart of multicultural working class Brunswick.

Come celebrate this double anniversary with Radical Women! Bring what you want to share — a story, poem, artwork, song, picketline chant — to pay tribute to a feminist freedom fighter or fight that has inspired you, past, present or future.

Special guest Penelope Swales, social justice singer songwriter.

Doors open 6.00 pm, Program starts 7.00 pm

Entry is $12.00 full, $8.00 concession, $20.00 solidarity. Includes a beautiful buffet of international dishes.

Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick.
Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street.
Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

Hosted by Radical Women. For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Tuesday, 8 March, 5:30 pm
Join Radical Women at an
International Women's Day Rally and March for Equal Pay
Women earn on average 18% less than men, and the gender pay gap is getting worse! This International Women's Day, take to the streets to demand action on pay justice.

Tuesday, 8 March, 5:30 pm
Rally at the State Library (corner of Swanston and Latrobe Streets)
Followed by a lively march ending at Parliament House!

Organised by Pay Justice Action: a grassroots initiative of the Freedom Socialist Party.
Endorsed by: Anarchist Black Cross, Anarchist Media Institute, Melbourne Feminism Discussion Group, Melbourne Feminist Collective/Feminist Futures Conference, Out of the Pan – 3CR, Radical Women, Southern Peninsular Feminist Women's Group, Tuesday Hometime – 3CR (list in progress)
For more information or to endorse, call 9388-0062 or email: freedom.socialist.party@ozemail.com.au

Thursday, 24 February, 7.00 pm
Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Right to Decide!
Women with disability demand reproductive justice!
The deeper the global economy sinks, the more aggressively it coerces women back into the home to breed and care for its labour force and shoulder the social costs of the crisis. Yet this system denies women with disability the right to be mothers. Reproductive choice is a key battle for all women.

Come hear Marisa Sposaro, longtime disability rights activist and fighter for reproductive freedom. Hear about resistance against paternalistic practices, from sterilisation to the taking of children, and how women with disability are at the front of every woman's fight to control her body and shape her own life.

This Radical Women meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street. Solidarity Salon has disability access.

Enjoy a summertime dinner, with vegetarian option, served at 6.30 pm for an $8.00 donation. The meeting is free. Everyone is welcome! For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Tuesday, 18 January, 6.30 pm
Campaign Meeting:
Defend free speech & the right to protest!
Public pressure is having an impact to stop the Melbourne City Council from harassing Fertility Control Clinic defenders in East Melbourne. The council informed Radical Women that the Notice to Comply against the banner, "Free abortion on demand Now!," does not incur a fine. But the compliance notice still stands, and the council will continue using local laws against reproductive justice defenders exercising their rights to free speech and protest. Meanwhile, anti-abortion fanatics hound and stalk women outside the clinic every day.

This meeting is for all pro-choicers and free speech defenders wanting to mobilise pressure on Melbourne City Council to withdraw the Notice to Comply, end its punitive actions, and uphold the right to protest. All talents and energy are welcome!

The campaign meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Saturday, 15 January, 1.00 pm
Revolutionary Feminist Organising Meeting
Start this New Year rebelliously. Collaborate with other fiery feminists on front-burner struggles for 2011. Learn about current campaigns, from defending abortion rights and free speech to going all out for equal pay. Experience how socialist feminists strategise. Bring your ideas and be a part of it.

This Radical Women meeting will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick. Take the Upfield train to Anstey station or the #19 North Coburg tram to Blyth Street. Plenty of parking off Staley Street.

Share snacks available for a modest donation. The meeting is free. Everyone is welcome! For more information, phone 03-9388-0062 or email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.