Melbourne Radical Women Activities

Activities Archive

Sunday, 3 April, 1.00 pm
In-person organising meeting

From global to local, feminists take on the system!

Fresh from Radical Women’s splendiferous cross-continental International Women’s Day celebration, “Still We Rise: Women Rebel against All Odds,” this organising meeting will channel inspiration into action!

Join in discussion about British transgender writer Shon Faye’s The Transgender Issue as we commemorate Transgender Day of Visibility. Share your ideas and experiences to help plan an event honouring the 1969 Stonewall “riot,” which ignited the LGBTIQ+ movement.

Also on the agenda is an evaluation of the first session of “The far right then and now: Applying the lessons of history to stop the ‘freedom” movement,’ a study circle co-hosted by RW and our sister organisation, Freedom Socialist Party. Bring your thoughts about ways to build on this study in future feminist mobilisations against the dangerous threat.

Socialise with like-minded activists over a delicious lunch (for a $10 donation). The meeting starts at 1.30 pm.
Everyone is welcome!

Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick

For more info: rw.aus@radicalwomen.org, 03-9388-0062


Saturday, 19 March, 12.00 pm
Rally to

Fight for Public Health and Workplace Safety

Federal and state governments’ pro-business, law-and-order response to the COVID pandemic has caused intolerable misery for workers and marginalised people. “Living with COVID” is making us sick. Expanded police powers are stripping away our civil liberties, such as the right to protest, while police have more license to abuse First Nations, immigrants of color and other communities.

These conditions have nurtured a far-right “freedom” movement feeding on people’s isolation, fear and righteous anger. Its intention is not to provide solutions but to pursue its anti-woman, anti-worker and anti-downtrodden agenda, bankrolled by the likes of multi-billionaire tycoon, Clive Palmer.

Radical Women and our sister organisation, Freedom Socialist Party, are part of a coalition of unionists, women, First Nations justice campaigners and leftists, which is organising this rally. Its aim is to bring together working and oppressed communities around real solutions and start a fightback.

These are the rally demands. Come join us!

1. A living income for everyone – end casualisation; paid pandemic income support for everyone
2. Free healthcare for everyone – free RAT tests, more nurses, fully fund hospitals, full access to PPE
3. Secure housing for everyone: massively expand public housing; stop the selloffs; moratorium on evictions
4. Right to organise:
•• Right to organise and strike any time
•• Repeal secondary boycott laws
5. Roll back police powers, drop the COVID fines
6. COVID health and safety for all workers in all industries, especially in frontline healthcare
7. A global solution to the pandemic – remove patents from COVID vaccines and provide free to all countries

State Library, corner of Swanston & LaTrobe Streets, Melbourne

For information, email RW.Aus@radicalwomen.org

Check the facebook event here.


Sunday, 13 March, 11.00am
International Women’s Day Celebration

Still We Rise: Women Rebel Against All Odds

An uplifting appraisal of the courageous resistance of sisters in struggle at home and abroad, punctuated by poetry and song.

Speaker Maudie Osborne filmmaker, radio presenter, and Radical Women member in Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, Melbourne.

Maya Angelou’s poem “Still I Rise” read by Merri Ann Osborne, Seattle-based actor and director of the Mahogany Project

“Women of the World,” read by the author, renowned San Francisco poet-activist Nellie Wong

Zoom event • Register in advance at tinyurl.com/IWD-22

Remote audience participation is encouraged! Be prepared with a picture of someone you want to honor or an important object signifying women's struggle, or simply be ready to raise your hands to salute humanity's unquenchable fight for freedom.

Sponsored by Radical Women Australia and U.S.
For more information: RW.Aus@radicalwomen.org


Tuesday, 8 March, 5.15 pm
Rally and march

Step out with Radical Women on International Women’s Day!

We’re told to “live with COVID,” knowing what that means for women. We’re facing a far-right movement, whose agenda we saw in the recently shelved Religious Discrimination Bill.

Women have a lot to march for! Equal pay and secure employment; an end to misogynist violence; reproductive justice for all; trans and non-binary liberation; First Nations justice; public housing; well-funded, free public health, childcare, education; climate stability and a safe environment, and so much more. We'll march in solidarity with the millions of women rising up across the world!

So come rally and march with Radical Women’s multi-issue contingent. We’ll have placards, or bring your own. Please contact RW to let us know you‘re joining us or for more info: rw.aus@radicalwomen.org

The rally assembles at 5.30 pm outside the Old Treasury Building, Spring St. We’ll meet up at 5.15 pm, corner of Spring & Collins Sts — Look for the RW placards. Bring your mask and sanitiser.


Also RSVP to We Are Union Women, the IWD March organiser: https://www.weareunion.org.au/iwd22


Saturday, 4 December, 11.00 am – 2.30 pm

Build union power to stop the far right!

Next Melbourne protest, join the contingent initiated by Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party



Organising against the far right is gearing up in Melbourne. At the first counteraction, unionists joined Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party in a tightly disciplined contingent protecting everyone’s safety. We’ll do this again at the next rally on 4 December.

A united front of all movements and communities targeted by the über-right can defeat these shadowy forces that are driving the violent anti-vax, anti-union resistance. Unions are essential for building our united power. If you think so, too, and would like to carry a placard with this message, we’ll have one for you. Or bring your own!

To join the contingent on 4 December, contact rw.aus@radicalwomen.org for details.


Friday, 3 December, 5.30 pm

Winning the vaccination race means putting the needs of people before profits

Join the petition stall in Brunswick



Radical Women will send this petition to National Cabinet and federal, state and territory governments in December. Join campaigners, who will take the petition into the community, talk with people about its very do-able solutions and collect more signatures.

The stall will be outside the Brunswick Mechanics Institute, corner of Sydney & Glenlyon Roads, Brunswick.

Check out the petition here. Please sign it and share! For more information about the petition or the stall, contact rw.aus@radicalwomen.org.


Saturday, 20 November

Protest to stop the far right in Melbourne:
Join the contingent of Radical Women & Freedom Socialist Party

Although a tiny minority, a far-right movement is organising and recruiting in Victoria and across the country as well as internationally, feeding on working people’s genuine fears and desperation. This is how fascism grows. Small as it is, this fledgling movement has to be stopped by grassroots mobilising before it’s too late.

Its next “freedom protest” in Melbourne is Saturday, 20 November. Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party will participate in an organised counter-protest, going as a tightly disciplined contingent to protect everyone’s safety. If you’d like to join us, contact rw.aus@radicalwomen.org for details.


Sunday, 7 November, 4.00 pm (AEDT) online meeting

Fire up to beat the "Religious Freedom" Bill, inspired by global fights for reproductive justice

The far right is closing in on abortion rights. In the U.S., a 1973 Supreme Court decision, which legalised abortion nationwide, could soon be overturned by the same, now conservative-stacked court. In Australia, a federal “religious freedom” bill would seriously undermine women’s reproductive choices, as well as legitimise discrimination against minority groups.

This gathering features a video from a recent forum, hosted by Radical Women U.S., where international speakers told how women in Ireland and Argentina won legal abortion and connected these inspirational examples to the fight in the United States. On October 3, a massive grassroots mobilisation, initiated by Radical Women and endorsed by union, feminist and socialist organisations, took place across the U.S. This date commemorates the death of Rosie Jimenez in 1977, the first woman to die after the government withdrew federal funding for abortions.

Join us in taking lessons and inspiration from these international warriors. Come away energised, uplifted and galvanised to action for reproductive rights in Australia.

Register here.

For more info, contact Radical Women: RW.AUS@radicalwomen.org

Hear from Radical Women organisers of Bay Area's Rally for Reproductive Justice in this brilliant video clip.

Get inspired by photos, videos and press coverage of rallies across the country — from New York City to Los Angeles — on the Radical Women U.S. facebook page.



Tuesday, 19 October, 7.00 pm (AEDT)
Planning Meeting

Winning the vaccination race means putting the needs of people before profit

Shocking daily infection rates, especially in Victoria and New South Wales, are not slowing governments’ race to re-open business. This is despite the warning by NSW scientist group, OzSage — now echoed by frontline states — that to reopen at 80% would overwhelm the intensive care units of already exhausted hospital systems. People’s safety trails behind profit in this race.

The Radical Women-initiated online petition, Winning the vaccination race means putting the needs of people before profits, had a lively launch in September. Its demands on federal, state and territory governments to start implementing real and far-reaching solutions for everyone’s health and safety are gaining traction.

Join others in working to redirect this race and put people at the front, with coordinated, global vaccination as the goal. Help work out strategies to get even more signatures from far and wide — in our workplaces and unions, communities and networks — and galvanise people around these ideas. Bring your creativity and energy!

Read the petition here.

Register for the organising get-together here.

For more information, contact Radical Women: RW.AUS@radicalwomen.org


Tuesday, 28 September, 7.00 pm
Invitation to Radical Women’s Online Petition Launch

Winning the vaccination race means putting the needs of people before profits

The race to vaccinate has finally begun. But only after the Delta variant bolted. With infections and deaths rising, federal and state governments are using inadequate vaccination targets to justify the reopening of business — and pitting vaccinated against unvaccinated to achieve this. The New South Wales scientist group, OzSage, is warning that to reopen at 80% would overwhelm the state’s intensive care units. People’s safety trails behind profit in this race.

This online petition, initiated by Radical Women, demands federal, state and territory governments to start implementing real and far-reaching solutions for everyone’s health and safety.

Come and be part of its launch! Join others ready to redirect this race and put people at the front, with coordinated, global vaccination as the goal. Help work out strategies to get signatures far and wide — in our workplaces and unions, communities and networks — and galvanise people around these ideas. Bring your creativity and energy!

Read the petition here.

Register for the launch here.

For more information, contact Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au


Alternate Wednesdays, 2 June – 11 August 2021
6-session revolutionary feminist study circle

Patriarchy: Where it came from and how to smash it

A MeToo movement has re-erupted in Australia, and a women’s uprising is sweeping the globe. Radical Women is hosting this online study circle to explore both the crisis underpinning these exciting events and the opportunity for building a united and powerful feminist offensive. We’ll delve into critical questions, like: How did society, once egalitarian under women’s leadership, get so warped? What does it take to turn our rage into a revolution, bringing in a new world that frees everyone?

Join from anywhere in Australia by registering via the session links on facebook. All genders welcome!

Email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or phone 03-9388-0062 for a study guide or more information.


Tuesday, 29 June, 7.00 pm AEST
Online Stonewall celebration

Feminism, transgender liberation and the Stonewall rebellion

Veteran LGBTIQA+ liberationist Alison Thorne will discuss the shared roots of oppression between cis and trans women and all queers at this special Stonewall celebration. Thorne is a trade unionist and founding member of the Melbourne chapter of Radical Women. She’s been arguing for decades that feminism must be inclusive of transgender sisters.

Radical Women and Rainbow Atheists will co-host this discussion, paying tribute to the leadership of trans women of colour and working-class non-binary folks in the 1969 Stonewall riots. Declaring “Enough!” to police harassment, these protests laid fertile ground for a radical liberation movement set on dismantling compulsory heterosexuality, busting the gender binary and winning liberation for all.

Register here to receive a zoom link:

Email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or phone 03-9388-0062 for more information.

All genders welcome!

Tuesday, 11 May, 7.00 – 8.30 pm
Workers Organising to Win! (WOW!) online meeting

For a union & unemployed fightback:
Lessons from the 1930s Depression

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As the line between working and being jobless disintegrates, workers’ sense of common cause is growing, with low-paid women and immigrants in the lead. In this worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, we can learn from unemployed workers’ organising alongside unionists in the 1930s. An international demand from the Depression, revived by WOW!, was for a shorter working week with no reduction in pay (“Thirty hours’ work for forty hours’ pay”). This measure would not only reduce unemployment, but would be a lifesaver to women suffering a triple workday due to mounting family duties during COVID.

This meeting will discuss the 1930s unemployed movement in Australia. We’ll explore demands for today, which can bring together workers of all genders — both in and out of work — as a fighting force against the profiteers.

To join in this online discussion, register here.

Check out WOW!’s demands here.

WOW! is a campaign initiated by Radical Women. For more info, email WOW! womenworkers.wow@gmail.com


Sunday, 2 May, 1.30
March on May Day

A Woman’s Place is in the Revolution!

Working women have been hit especially hard by capitalism and its pandemic. So on May Day, we've got something to say! Celebrate this international workers' day by marching behind the United Workers Union banner, "A Woman's Place is in the Revolution!" Radical Women will be there with other unionists from across the movement. Come along and be part of this powerful May Day statement!

Assemble outside Victorian Trades Hall
Corner of Victoria & Lygon Streets, Carlton

For more info, contact Radical Women
Email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or Ph 03-9388-0062


27 April, 7:00pm
In-person Radical Women meeting

To end violence against women,
pinpoint its source and destroy it!

First Nations women locked up and killed; trans women murdered; queer women demonised; birthing women abused; immigrant women assaulted; women stalked and raped; no woman considered a person in her own right. This Radical Women gathering will explore the cause of such thoroughly misogynist violence. When we know the source, we can organise a movement to eradicate it. All genders are welcome!

The meeting starts at 7.00 pm with dinner available at 6.30 pm for a $10 donation.

Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick
Upfield line to Anstey Station, #19 tram to Stewart St, or plenty of free parking available.

Join the facebook event here.

For more info, contact Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or 03-9388-0062.


Tuesday, 30 March, 7.00 pm (AEST)
Workers Organising to Win! (WOW!) online meeting

It’s time for a grassroots fightback

First it was childcare, then JobSeeker and now aged care. COVID has exposed how this economy serves only the corporate rich — the rest of us be damned.

Coming out of brainstorms by working women on what to do, WOW! anticipated these “revelations” with demands for organising in our diverse workplaces and communities.

This WOW! meeting will discuss how to apply the demands to these unfolding crises and direct them toward unifying, grassroots action. Bring your thoughts and experience to this discussion, and let’s start building a fightback.

Register here.

WOW! is a campaign initiated by Radical Women. For more info about WOW! or this meeting, go to www.facebook.com/workersorganisingtowin or email womenworkers.wow@gmail.com


Sunday, 28 March 28, 2:00 pm

Rally for Justice and a Fair Go for Refugees

Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party are among many community endorsers of the annual Palm Sunday refugee rights rally. If you’d like to march with us, please get in touch.

This year, the Rally for Justice and a Fair Go for Refugees is demanding:
• Permanent visas and family reunion for all refugees
• Fair and timely assessment of all claims for refugee status
• Safety net income for all those who are waiting for a permanent visa, if they cannot find enough work to support themselves
• Releasing ALL refugees from detention
• Bringing 260 people still held on Nauru and in PNG here, or allowing New Zealand to resettle them.

We support these demands and also advocate that the movement address the issues that lead people to flee their homes — imperialist rivalry, national oppression, climate change, war and global inequality. All are exacerbated by sexism, racism and homophobia. We call for open borders: Capital can move freely round the globe. People must have this right, too!

Location: State Library, corner of Swanston Street and Latrobe Street, Melbourne.

Email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au to join the contingent.

(Photo is from the 2014 Palm Sunday Walk for Justice for Refugees, Freedom Socialist Organiser archives)


Sunday, March 14, 11am
Online International Women's Day Celebration

Women Rise Up Globally Against Femicide

This international celebration of the socialist-inspired day to honour working women will bring together feminists of different nations and regions to discuss the massive cross-border upsurge in defence of women’s lives and address how to stop the epidemic of violence against women.

Speakers:
Amelia Kirk-Harkin, Australia, union activist, tradeswoman and artist, Melbourne Radical Women
Eréndira Munguía, Mexico, college mathematics professor, Partido Obrero Socialista (Socialist Workers Party)
Earth-Feather Sovereign, Confederated Colville Tribes, founder of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Washington
Charlotte Strauss Swanson, U.S. Radical Women, doctoral researcher in psychology, gender, social justice at University of Tennessee

Register in advance at http://bit.ly/IWD-RW

Sponsored by: Radical Women Australia and U.S.

For more information:
Radical Women Melbourne 03-9388-0062 mailto:radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1238776999856840



Tuesday, 19 January, 7.00 – 8.00 pm AEST
Inaugural Meeting

Workers Organising to Win! (WOW!)

During Victoria's lockdown, women working in hard-hit industries came together to brainstorm what to do. These informal zoom gatherings resulted in a statement — “Women workers’ answer to COVID: Capitalism caused the crisis, workers can solve it!” — with winning demands that put control into workers’ hands.

Now, as COVID red zones proliferate, more infectious strains appear and governments put profit's health above people's lives, it’s time to organise!

Come to WOW!’s first meeting, and let’s start strategising for taking these demands into our unions, workplaces and communities. Bring your ideas, skills and know-how. All genders are welcome!

Register for the online inaugural meeting here. WOW! Meeting

Check out the statement with demands

For more info, contact womenworkers.wow@gmail.com





2020 Activities
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2015 Activities
2014 Activities
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