I had the experience during my early twenties of living in a lesbian feminist squatting community in Hackney, London. It is described here https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article/83/1/79/3862507 There was a hockey team that played on the local fields, many intense political arguments and discussions and much good food. Some of the women worked in the building trades so houses that were otherwise derelict were done up to liveable standards although ours had no bathroom so we used the local public baths with beautiful brass taps and decorative plaster. Eventually many were demolished either because of instability because of bomb damage from the 2WW or because they had no bathrooms. However the squatters went on form a housing cooperative although that was after my time. Women visited mostly from across Europe and the English speaking world to stay with us. Women who lived in the few streets worked for Spare Rib, ran the feminist bookshop and were involved in art projects. In NZ I have met with at least 1/2 dozen women from this community who lived there at various times. Anonymous aged 67

When I was a teenager I was really self-conscious about the sound of myself peeing in the bathroom. I used to try disguise the sound by putting paper in the bowl etc. Over the years though, I noticed & appreciated the confidence of older women who just.. pee’d! They would continue conversations through the stall walls & not give a moments thought to the sound of their pee - it astounded me! Once I realised this, I also realised how silly I’d been to be so anxious about something so normal that all women did. But it was only through being in this safe space, with other older women around me, that I learnt to overcome my own anxieties. Anonymous aged 35

I have so many of these! In my working professional life I was a midwife, but in my volunteer life I am a breastfeeding supporter and advocate. Getting alongside women and meeting them where they are at gives me such joy. Supporting women to know they can listen to themselves because they have all the wisdom they need right there inside them. I know I am on the right track when women approach me on the street to thank me for the help I gave them 1, 5, 10 or 15 years ago when they were struggling to breastfeed their babies and me just sitting alongside them made a real difference to their mothering and so to their entire lives. Women's spaces are special and so necessary in our lives! Anonymous aged 68

I was at school and went to the bathroom and saw that I had started my period. I went out to the playground and asked my friends if any of them had anything. My very best friend said she had just finished her period and still had her stuff in her bag. She gave me a pad and undies! And she assured me that the undies were brand new. She had just got them because her other undies had period stains. I went back to the bathroom, changed, and thanked my friend. Anonymous aged 12

I was warming up and practicing just before a big musical performance. It was a regional competition, so all the participants were from other colleges in our region and were there. Our teacher told us that it was the last call to visit the toilets before our performance so I decided to go while I could. I headed to the woman's bathroom and once inside the stall I realized that I had unexpectedly started my period. Totally unprepared for it, I shouted out from my cubicle into the void "does anyone have a pad?!" And thankfully another girl said "I do! It's in my bag outside, just wait!" She then ran out to the auditorium and a few minutes later came back and found me. I don't know who she was and I didn't recognize her school uniform. In that moment we weren't competitors. She was just a girl helping out another girl because she could. Anonymous aged 14

Fourteen years old, trying to be cool, made myself sick instead. I was on a school trip for the weekend, and inevitably a couple of ‘bad girls’ in the group brought along cigarettes with them. I must admit that being a ‘bad girl’ was one of my life’s goals, but I really wasn’t cut out for it – at least not in the ways that so-called bad girls were usually limited to expressing their ‘badness’ back then. As I got to be an older woman, I discovered some alternative bad-assery within me, much to my joy, but that’s another story. On the afore-mentioned school trip I smoked a couple of the bad girls’ cigarettes, one after the other. Big mistake. Me being the barely out of foetus-hood smoker I was, I didn’t know that this was likely to make me feel as crook as a dog, but it didn’t take long to find out. However, those girls didn’t abandon me to the possibility of spewing up on my own. They stayed with me in the girls’ communal toilets while my guts churned until I felt better, and I was glad for their solid, sympathetic, and unspoken camaraderie. It was a funny wee moment in time that I’ve not forgotten. I never smoked a cigarette again. Anonymous aged 64

When I was about 15 I was on the bus to school when a handful of individually wrapped tampons rolled down the aisle. They were the non-applicator type that we called "mice". It became clear that they had come out of the school bag of a girl sitting in the back row and we all watched in horror as they rolled backwards and forwards as the bus lurched forward. and slowed down. We held our collective breath when we went around a corner. But one by one, the mice were rescued by individual girls and at the end of the trip were handed back to the mortified girl to deal with. Anonymous aged 51

Dear School Counsellors, We represent a group of women, including parents, grandparents, educators, social workers, and other professionals, who are very concerned about the effects of social and medical gender transition on young people. A powerful and fashionable narrative is increasingly convincing our youth, particularly young girls, that it is possible to be born in the wrong body and that changing sex is both desirable and easy. We are writing to ensure New Zealand school counsellors have access to the latest research on this issue as it has largely not been published in the New Zealand media. In particular, we want to provide information and evidence that illustrates problems with puberty blockers, gender transition, and unquestioning affirmation for young people with gender dysphoria. We would also like to share some suggestions for effective counselling approaches which are alternative to ‘affirmation only.’ Puberty blockers are not simply a ‘pause time’ We are told that puberty blockers simply provide a ‘pause’ for young people who are questioning their gender identity. But these medications have serious side effects that are often glossed over and, rather than truly allowing them time to think and question, those children who are prescribed puberty blockers nearly always continue on to take cross sex hormones and consequently a lifetime of medicalisation and surgery.1 The use of puberty blockers and cross sex hormones – now the recommended treatment for gender-distressed youth – is an experimental treatment that has had no long-term studies to ensure either its safety or efficacy. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that the use of these drugs can lead to loss of bone density, impaired cognitive development and loss of sexual pleasure and fertility.2 The outcome of the current affirmation-only policy to gender dysphoria is that children and teenagers are being given powerful and experimental drugs, when counselling or psychotherapy to address their distress and unhappiness, or simply a ‘watch and wait approach’, may be more appropriate. A landmark case in point is that of Keira Bell, a 23-year-old female from the United Kingdom, who has now de-transitioned and resumed life as a woman. In 2020, she took the Tavistock Clinic (a world-renowned London clinic specialising in gender identity treatment) to court for medical malpractice. Bell is quoted as wishing “she had been challenged more” before being prescribed puberty blockers, cross sex hormones and later undergoing a double mastectomy. The United Kingdom High Court ruling received very little publicity in New Zealand, although it stated unanimously that the prescribing of puberty blockers to those under 16 should be subject to court approval. The court referred to “the long-term consequences of the clinical interventions” and the “as yet innovative and experimental treatment.” 3 Gender transition does not provide long term relief A recent study of a large cohort of people in Sweden diagnosed with gender incongruence shows that gender transition, both hormonal and surgical, does not give long term relief from gender dysphoria. In fact, in one measure, those patients who had received gender-affirming surgery were more likely to be treated for anxiety disorders than those who had not received surgery.4 Long term studies from the UK Tavistock Clinic also do not provide evidence of benefits for most patients.5 Affirmation is not the best treatment In the past, young people with gender dysphoria were treated with a policy of ‘watchful waiting’. This was because the majority of people (73-96%) are known to overcome their dysphoria and accept their sex as adults.6 Recent practice, however, is to unquestioningly affirm the child’s assertion of being transgender. This means that other possible causes of the dysphoria may be overlooked and that underlying problems such as past trauma, internalised homophobia, autism, eating disorders, and other psychological conditions may not be investigated. An Australian study, published in April 2021, shows that these other problems are over-represented in young people identified as having gender dysphoria. Children attending a gender service in New South Wales had high rates of comorbid mental health disorders (for example, 62% depression, 35% behavioural disorders, 14% autism) and also high rates of adverse childhood experiences (66% family conflict, 63% parental illness, 59% separation).7 There is a crucial role for counsellors in challenging the currently accepted pathway of lifelong medical treatment and permanent bodily harm for young people who believe changing their gender will ‘fix’ their problems. There is no question that medical transition causes harm and, while an adult may choose a medical transition, we agree with the High Court in the UK that young people are not capable of making this choice and should not be started down this path before reaching maturity. A very small number of people do experience gender dysphoria to the extent that medical intervention is warranted but the evidence shows clearly that wise counselling and guidance will allow the vast majority of young people to explore what is happening in their lives and adjust to it without the need for life-long and health impairing medication or surgery.8 Effective alternative counselling approaches Many counsellors, therapists, and medical practitioners recognise that deeper exploration of the causes of a young person’s dysphoria is an essential part of high-quality treatment. The following link offers some guiding questions and themes from Sasha Ayad, a practising counsellor in the US, for use with adolescents who present with gender dysphoria.9 Counsellors are key support people for students and have their best interests at heart. We ask that in your practice you give consideration to the results of ongoing research, some of which we have listed in this letter, and to the resulting recent changes in best practice in other countries such as Finland10 and Sweden.11 If you would like to respond to our letter or would like further information, we will be very pleased to hear from you. The media have not allowed a public debate on the issues we have raised and we are very happy to address any of your queries, challenges or concerns. Yours sincerely Margaret Curnow, Jan Thorburn and Fern Hickson #schools #dutchprotocol #pubertyblockers #education #childrensrights #medicalisation

Speak Up For Women are investing in the future of sex-based feminism. We are sponsoring one New Zealand-based woman to attend an online ‘Introduction to Feminism’ course. This course is established on second wave and gender critical feminism. The online course runs for two hours each Friday from 7am to 9am NZ time for six weeks, beginning on October 15. We envisage this will suit a woman under 30 years old who can incorporate it into her current studies or job and can commit to completing the course. The condition of the sponsorship is that the recipient write a synopsis afterwards (up to 1,000 words) of your overall experience and takeaways from the course, for both SUFW’s and our supporters’ interest. Applications close on October 3, and an applicant will be chosen by October 8. Scholarship Application * * Email * phone number * Please write a paragraph telling us about your feminism and any current activism you’re involved in, and why you think this course would benefit you: application * reCAPTCHA If you are human, leave this field blank. Submit

The government’s desire to foster social cohesion and create empathetic communities is honourable, but the proposed hate speech laws are not the way to achieve that goal. Our objections to the proposal include: The definition of hate speech is so broad and imprecise that the law will unintentionally stifle the expression of legitimate differences of opinion. The Bill risks conflating the theory of ‘gender identity’ with the realities of biological sex Hate speech definition The law would change so that a person who intentionally incites, stirs up, maintains or normalises hatred against any specific group of people based on a characteristic listed in Proposal One, would break the law if they did so by being threatening, abusive or insulting, including by inciting violence. A person cannot – and should not – be held accountable for the feelings originating in other people. If someone feels hatred, that is their responsibility, we cannot hold other people accountable for those feelings. Speak Up For Women say that transwomen are male. We do not do this out of any malice or hatred, but rather to highlight that the demands for self-identification of legal sex fundamentally erodes women’s existing rights to single-sex spaces and services. Some transphobic people may incorporate this into their self-justification for hating transgender people, but causing hatred is not our intention, our intention is to protect women and girls. But how can we prove our intent? The words ‘abusive’ and ‘insulting’ are highly subjective. We know that some transwomen take offence at hearing that some people consider transwomen to be male. Maya Forstater’s case in the UK established that believing that ‘sex matters and is immutable’ is a protected belief. Gender critical feminists such as those our group represent must remain free to state their belief in sex, without fear of being prosecuted for hate speech. Already, before a hate speech law has been enacted, the hyperbolic concept of ‘hate speech’ is being used by our political opponents to de-platform and silence us, as we go about lawfully advocating for women’s rights. Example 1: Numerous city councils cancelled our venue bookings after a handful of activists coordinated a campaign to target the venues accusing us of ‘hate speech’ and being a ‘hate group’. We had to go to the High Court to enforce our right to freedom of expression and assembly. The judge found that ‘SUFW cannot rationally be described as a “hate group” Not many groups and individuals will have the ability to go to court to determine if they are a hate group, and these accusations are lobbied around liberally on various topics by political opponents. This is already an issue in New Zealand and this Bill exacerbates it. Example 2: Our billboard of the dictionary definition of woman – adult human female – was taken down from a Wellington building in July after barely 24 hours following complaints to the media owner and the Advertising Standards Authority that it was ‘hateful’ and a ‘dog whistle’. The Authority has not yet publicised its judgement, but if a dictionary definition is deemed by it to be ‘hateful’, freedom of speech in is in extremely dire straits and the Bill is doing nothing to help. Proposal Five: Change the civil provision so that it makes “incitement to discriminate” against the law. It is in women’s interest to make the providers of female-only services aware that they have the lawful right, under the Human Rights Act 1993, to discriminate against males. This right is specifically granted in sections of the act as follows: a)Section 27 allows for discrimination on the basis of sex, where sex is a “genuine occupational qualification”; where “reasonable standards of privacy” need to be upheld; or where the job involves counselling about intimate matters (for example sex or violence)). b)Section 43 allows for the maintenance of “separate facilities for each sex” on the grounds of “public decency or public safety.” c)Section 49 provides an exception in relation to participation in sport where the “strength, stamina or physique” of competitors is relevant. d)Sections 55 and 58 provide exceptions in relation to sex‐specific accommodation and schools. We are concerned that this lawful discrimination conflicts with the wording on the prohibition on discrimination in this Bill. This law is likely to have a chilling effect, where thousands of women who would otherwise take courage from Maya Forstater’s case and would speak up in defence of women’s rights will self-censor. This will give the mistaken impression to the government and wider society that women are not concerned about the loss of their sex-based rights. ‘Gender identity’ vs biological sex Proposal Six: Add to the grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act to clarify that trans, gender diverse, and intersex people are protected from discrimination. Differences of Sexual Development (intersex) are diagnosable sex-specific medical conditions. Individuals with intersex conditions should be included and protected under sex in the act. ‘Trans’ and ‘gender diverse’ are personally held identities and should not be conflated with sex. A male with a trans identity (a “transwoman”) remains male. Nothing in this Bill should conflate the separate concepts of ‘gender identity’ with biological sex or undermine existing rights to single sex spaces and services. We are concerned that some of the most violent hateful rhetoric is misogynistic in nature, directed exclusively at women and girls because they are female- for example women being threatened with violent rape and called ‘breeders’. Transwomen suffer abuse often from the same source – males – but for very different reasons. They are abused because they are trans, not because they are women. It is import that these two issues are understood separately to most effectively address both. Conclusion: Hating what some people say does not mean the speakers are hateful or motivated by hate. Instead of improving social cohesion, these proposals will do the opposite. They will stifle genuine debate on important issues and will restrict the right to challenge others’ thinking that is essential to democracy. Suppressing opinions that may offend others but do not cause significant harm will create less understanding and more divisions. We urge the government to trust in the principles of democracy and forgo this Bill.

The Wellington Region PPTA is spreading misinformation about Speak Up For Women in an email to teachers. In the email the Interim Regional Chair of the Wellington Region PPTA refers to our event at the Michael Fowler Centre on July 15th as “a transphobic event”. She also gets our name wrong, calling us Stand Up For Women. This is perhaps indicative of her depth of understanding of us. She has no evidence of transphobia from Speak Up For Women, as we support trans rights. Transexuals have been attending our meetings across the country and some have spoken in support of our campaign, most recently at our Auckland event. We are not looking to roll back the existing law, we want an open public discussion about the problems with the proposed new sex self-identification laws. Here are some examples of the sort of work women involved in Speak Up For Women have done. All are welcome at our public talk. We encouraged PPTA delegates and any other concerned teachers to join us in the room. Be informed and ask us questions, rather than railing against imaginary foes from outside. Wellington 15 July (Thursday) Location: Lion Harbourview Lounge, Michael Fowler Centre Event time: 6-7pm Dunedin Date 24 July (Saturday) Location: Conference Room 2, Dunedin Centre, 1 Harrop Street Event time: 2 – 3pm Hamilton 1 August (Sunday) Location: Lecture Theatre, Waikato Museum, 1 Grantham St Event time: 2:30 – 3:30pm

Some of the women involved with SUFW talk about their work over the years: I’ve been part of policy initiatives for decriminalising abortion, pay equity, increasing the minimum wage. Increasing numbers of female MPs. Action on Smoking and Health executive member, working on Maori and Pasifika outcomes especially. Smokefree Coalition. I’ve been involved in the fight for abortion rights, a union organiser for low paid women in hospitality, a union delegate for nurses for decades, an International Women’s Day activist, Paid Parental Leave campaigner, an anti-war campaigner particularly in Afghanistan and Iraq. Campaigned in support of Latin American liberation struggles. Volunteered for Corso and One World Books. Writing and publishing left-wing journals. Third generation fighting for women. British grandmother was a suffragette. Mother involved in supporting Family Planning. I protested for abortion rights, against nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1970s and 1980s. Protested every day a match was played throughout the 1981 Springbok Tour. I was in the first year of a  professional university course when there were equal women and men doing the course. Union delegate and supported lower paid union members who were women. My FB profile has support for nurses banner on it for the past month! Working hard on local community issues. Volunteer for women’s refuge crisis line. Biggest eye-opener ever. Fought for gay and lesbian rights, rape crisis counsellor, women’s refuge volunteer, women’s helpline counsellor, advocate for disabled and chronically ill women, worked with vulnerable female teens, nursed female vulnerable intellectually disabled from aged 17. Some of this I did suffering poor health myself. I also care for a male disabled family member. Volunteer for a women’s refuge and also Community worker for a Women’s Refuge. Currently doing my third year in a Bachelor of Counselling degree and on voluntary placement at a Women’s Prison. Worked helping to set up the first Christchurch night shelter for single women…back in the late 80s or early 90s, I think. It was in Vincent Place, long gone now. In the late 70s was part of a group in Gisborne called SOS (Save Our Sisters) where we raised money to pay for airfares, accommodation, toiletries, luggage etc and organised flights and accommodation to send women to Australia to have abortions. Back then it was still illegal and we kept everything very confidential. I remember vividly the distress of these women and their relief and gratitude. I’ve been a self-defence teacher of women and girls for the past 25 years. Abortion rights, anti-racist Springbok tour protests, lesbian and gay rights groups, Feminist Teachers group, pay equity, freedom for imprisoned writers, support for inclusion of children with special needs in schools, refugee support, take back the night women’s safety protests, fighting against gender stereotypes in literature and schools. My grandmother lobbied and wrote letters to MPs supporting abortion rights, the DPB and the need for women’s refuges in the 60s and 70s. Marched for abortion in the 70s went to the United Women’s Convention (and wore the badge) and sung ”I am Woman” at more feminist wine and cheeses than you can shake a stick at.  Set up and facilitated women’s consciousness-raising groups in the 70s, directed a feminist play at university, did the Women’s Studies course at university, worked with women with eating disorders on two separate occasions. Re other protest actions, marched against Vietnam war, Springbok tour, billeted striking miners in Thatcher’s England, march against TPP. Sure there was other marches/picketing, but can’t remember Also did a major uni assignment on the women at Arohata Prison. Long term speaker-up for girls and women, even back when I was a tomboy/gender-bender who didn’t like them. Have worked in a variety of paid policy/research/secretarial roles: government’s Committee on Women (CoW), its successor the Advisory Committee on Women’s Affairs (ACWA), and then the office of Ann Hercus, first Minister of Women’s Affairs. Fifty to 60 hour weeks, dealing with every women-related topic under the sun, on a miserly salary with no paid overtime. (And all too often, being treated like s***.) Then a series of HR roles – policy issues like achieving pay equity through job evaluation, creating a family-friendly workplace via flexible working hours, etc. Flexible working hours are also a godsend for people with disabilities, because – quite simply – it takes us longer to make ready for work in the morning. Most of my voluntary work was in the disability sector – aiming to get government to recognise that sight loss is as much a health issue as a disability issue, particularly for Maori/Pasifika people who are at higher risk of diabetes and therefore diabetic retinopathy. Pakeha women are at greatest risk of age-related macula degeneration, making them vulnerable to “slips, trips, and falls” – not to mention the social isolation that sight loss can cause. Abortion rights, women’s feminist organisations, homelessness and housing, refugees, LGBT Queer Groups, domestic violence, university tuition fees impact on women, opposed BDMRR bill. Bastion Point occupation age 7; Springbok tour age 11; Nuclear-free Pacific age 12; Raver and right to party age 20; occupy age 30; End the war on terror age 32-current; free trade opposition age 30-40; abusive marriage to AGP age 35-48; mother age 35; corporate agitator from within age 35-current; liberal sex-positive feminist age 15-48; radical feminist age 47-current. Been fighting for justice since ages ago. Animal rights since childhood – anti live export & anti-vivisection. Nuclear-free protests against US warship visits & anti-Springbok tour protests as a teenager; feminist teenager – Reclaim the Night, Women Against Pornography, I was also in a young women’s feminist group – I recall there was a women’s space in upper Willis St & there was a weekend-long gathering at Vic Uni, think it was in 82. Latin America Committee too in the 80s. Hikoi in the early 80s against pollution on the coast. Leafleted & attended rallies for homosexual law reform. Marched against the Gulf Wars, have picketed a lot of embassies & consulates in my time for various causes; lately marched for climate action; have collected for various charities – City Mission & Downtown Community Ministry. Attended rallies & made submissions for abortion law reform. Wrote to newspapers on various matters as a young person, had a letter in the paper in the 90s complaining about anti-abortion protesters hassling female passers-by. I have also intervened twice in domestic violence incidents in the street. I was with Latin America Committee in the early 80s. Making Radio Access programmes. We got infiltrated by a chap from the SIS. Or so his mother said he was when she blew his cover. I had my own suspicions about him after he told me I had nice legs. A few of us had gone out of our way to be nice to him because he was a newcomer who didn’t seem to know anyone. Lifetime feminist, 5+ years mentoring at-risk youth, animal rights activist, support person for multiple domestic violence victims. I was also in governance for Stopping Violence Services for 5 years. Take Back the Night Marches (90s), Stop the Tour (85 March) and various environmental and anti racism marches. Te Reo teacher and for the last 5 years supporting kaumātua navigate health and social services. Just a few marches here and there – CND and anti-apartheid back in London in the ’80s and against the Iraq war in 2003. I think, like many, I took the freedom I had as a young woman for granted, growing up in the ’70s and ’80s – motherhood, maturity and Mumsnet (and now SUFW!) have opened my eyes and supercharged my feminism. I am quietly spreading the word, one chat at a time – most people are definitely behind us (but many are too afraid to speak up). CND against nuclear weapons. Gay lesbian organising. Lesbian organising in London with MRG – (Minorities Research Group) Lesbian and gay organising in Europe and the US. Lesbian and feminist organising in NZ Working on Homosexual Law Reform NZ 1982- 1986. Working on Human Rights Act 1982- 1988. Consistently supporting abortion rights. Teaching Women’s Studies teaching and encouraging students to be involved in political movements to advance women’s rights. Trained women and girls in fight skills for 5 years, supported women recovering from addiction for 10 years, (ongoing), stood up for stopping unpaid overtime at my all female job, supported women friends with mentally ill Teenage girls (ongoing) supported friends whose relationships had ended because of their male partner’s porn addiction. Encouraged women friends to start and maintain fitness and self care journeys. Written to MPs re BDMRR and trans medical malpractice of distressed children. Supported women with mental health issues (ongoing). Dancing for hours at the Reclaim The Streets marches in London. I did march against the Iraq war in London too. I am currently a union delegate representing my female dominated health profession and working on pay equity. Avid feminist from a young age. Involved in the Women’s Group at University, strongly involved in the political left (which I saw as more pro-women due to the support of pay equity, abortion rights etc). Involved in anti-rape culture protests and climate action. Every women’s march in Wellington in the 1970s. A strand of my undergrad degree was in women’s studies. Anything I got into after that as an educator I looked for what was happening for women in the area and tried to comment/help. Marched at  Stop the Tour. Many Reclaim the Night marches in Wgtn. 1982/3 employed by YWCA to assist Elizabeth Sewell organise the first conference for Women and Children against Rape and Sexual Violence . Lobbied govt to change legislation criminalising rape within marriage. Assisted in establishing the first Sue Lytollis Women’s Self Defence training programme. 1984/5 assisted Independent Women’s Refuge Collective establish their first office in Wellington under Rosemary Ash. Throughout 1980s worked for Wellington Women’s Refuge. 1990’s Alexander Rape Crisis. Throughout 2000s Te Whare Pounamu Women’s Refuge Crisis Intervention team. 30 year involvement with Women’s Refuge. Contract with Dept. of Justice to develop prison programmes for Women who abuse, mid 1990s. Many conferences on family violence. Ran a programme Standing Tall and Talking Straight for Women who abuse in Dunedin in 1990s. Social Worker, Counsellor and community activist for women endeavouring to regain contact with children removed by CYP’s (a number of office sit-ins). Worked alongside my partner running Tane Tautoko Tane, working as a joint family therapist for Maori whanau – Dunedin. Ran various hui and training in non-violence throughout the smaller communities in Te Wai Pounamu. And generally, whatever I can do whenever I see violence or injustice against women and children, especially at grassroots level. I have worked within the union movement as industrial officer (range of women-centred issues including negotiating wages and conditions), Labour Inspector (recovering unpaid wages and holiday pay etc), Labour Department pay equity project, Reclaim the Night, homosexual law reform, nuclear-free, police officer (domestic violence etc)…the list goes on . One of the group to start: Beneficiaries Union 1979, Porirua Women’s refuge some after. Ngati Maniapoto – Waikato – N Apakura – tribal based political commentator. Mana wahine activist. I wrote my doctorate on justice for battered women who kill their abusers while tutoring in gender politics and feminism in a male-dominated (sexist) department. As an active member of the NZ Labour Party for decades I campaigned for 50/50 male/female Labour list representation top to bottom and to keep religion out of politics. My feet have also marched many miles for women and my heart has always beat to a feminist rhythm. My political/feminist activity is mostly historical – been pretty quiet in the last decade or so. But earlier on: abortion law reform, homosexual law reform and gay marriage, facilitated women’s consciousness-raising groups. I have been a very active letter-writer through the years and should add that I’ve raised three children (2 boys, 1 girl – now mature adults) to be aware of and support feminist issues. I remember reading the Narnia books to them and editing out or altering the sexism…….. long pause…… and the kids were well on to what I was doing. Good conversations with them around that! I have been involved with campaigning for abortion rights and used to do voluntary work in the 1980s for the Council for the Single Mother and her Child (CSMC) in Ponsonby when solo mothers on benefits were persecuted by the police and were spied on in case they had a man living in the house to help pay expenses. Distraught women would ring up the centre and ask for help. The government owes them an apology. Have also supported pay equity through the teachers’ union (the PPTA) University Feminists in the 198Os ( battles to keep woman’s space on campus), women against pornography-also 1980’s, Tamaki Makaurau Lesbian Newsletter – founding member 1989-2019. Three decades developing and teaching feminist education courses in a university, particularly in teacher education. I introduced NZ’s first courses on women and education and education and sexuality. Supervised many theses relating to women and education. Involved with feminist teachers groups. Over 100 publications, most centred on women and education. Served on Indecent Publications Tribunal for seven years – concerned with regulation of pornography that caused harm to women and girls. Served as a COD and in senior management were very involved in the promotion and support of women. I’ve volunteered as a counsellor for three years, working with a number of women (and men), most of whom had experienced sexual abuse. Volunteered for the Salvation Army for a number of years, helping many people with requests for food, shelter, and support. Co-facilitated an art therapy group for women for two years. Currently co-facilitate a support group for family members of those suffering from addictions as well as working as a therapist. #activism