1st Edition

The Feminist Legislation Project Rewriting Laws for Gender-Based Justice

Edited By Becky Batagol, Kate Seear, Heli Askola, Jamie Walvisch Copyright 2025
392 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

392 Pages 1 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

In this book, leading law academics along with lawyers, activists and others demonstrate what legislation could look like if its concern was to create justice for women. Each chapter contains a short piece of legislation – proposed in order to address a contemporary legal problem from a feminist perspective. These range across criminal law (sexual offences, Indigenous women’s experiences of... Read more

Part I: The Australian Feminist Legislation Project

1. Introducing the Australian Feminist Legislation Project

Kate Seear, Becky Batagol, Jamie Walvisch and Heli Askola 

2. Feminist Statutory Drafting

Becky Batagol, James Dalmau, Heli Askola, Kate Seear and Jamie Walvisch 

Part II: Constitutions, Institutions and Rights

3. Re-writing and Re-imagining Rights: Enshrining Gender Equality in Australia’s Constitution

Kcasey McLoughlin and Yee-Fui Ng

3A. Commentary on Re-writing and Re-imagining Rights

Margaret Thornton 

4. The Disenfranchisement of Aboriginal Women: Commonwealth Legislative Disability and Incarceration Disqualifications

Dani Linder

4A. Commentary on The Disenfranchisement of Aboriginal Women

Krystal Lockwood 

5. Re-charting the Victorian Charter of Human Rights: Advancing Equality in Human Rights Legislation

Tania Penovic and Julie Debeljak

5A. Commentary on Re-charting the Victorian Charter of Human Rights: Advancing Equality

Kate Eastman AM SC 

6. Re-charting the Victorian Charter of Human Rights: Advancing Enforcement in Human Rights Legislation

Julie Debeljak and Tania Penovic

6A. Commentary on Re-charting the Victorian Charter of Human Rights: Advancing Enforcement

The Hon Pamela Tate AM KC 

Part III: Bodies, Sex and Agency

7. Implementing Affirmative Consent in Sexual Offences: A Model Law for Queensland

Jonathan Crowe, Asher Flynn and Bri Lee

7A. Commentary on Implementing Affirmative Consent in Sexual Offences

Saxon Mullins and Rachael Burgin 

8. Compensation in the Context of Surrogacy: A Feminist Perspective on the Insistence on Altruism

Ronli Sifris

8A. Commentary on Compensation in the Context of Surrogacy

Stephen Page 

9. Reconsidering the Role of the Victim in Criminal Injuries Compensation

Kate Seear, Jamie Walvisch and Liza J Miller

9A. Commentary on Reconsidering the Role of the Victim in Criminal Injuries Compensation

Jenny Morgan 

10. Let Us Pee: Building Regulations for All Gender Toilets

Sean Mulcahy

10A. Commentary on Let Us Pee

Nicole Kalms and Laura McVey 

Part IV: Caring, Dependents and In/dependence

11. Assessing Parenting Payment Applications by Parents’ Individual Circumstances, Not Their Relationship Status

Olivia Rundle

11A. Commentary on Assessing Parenting Payment Applications by Parents’ Individual Circumstances, Not Their Relationship Status

Lyndal Sleep 

12. Gender and its Relevance to Sentence

Natalia Antolak-Saper

12A. Commentary on Gender and its Relevance to Sentence

Arlie Loughnan 

Part V: Diversity, Dignity and Autonomy

13. Navigating Cultural and Religious Needs in Family Dispute Resolution

Amira Aftab

13A. Commentary on Navigating Cultural and Religious Needs in Family Dispute Resolution

Balawyn Jones 

14. Family Violence and Migration Law: Protecting Immigrant Women’s Legal Status

Heli Askola

14A. Commentary on Family Violence and Migration Law

Susan Kneebone 

15. Aged Care, Housing Rights, and the Right to Housing: Residents in Aged Care Have Been Patient(s) Too Long

Charlotte Steer

15A. Commentary on Aged Care, Housing Rights, and the Right to Housing

Nola Ries and Jessie Hohmann 

Part VI: Work, Exploitation and Power

16. Women and Flexible Work

Marilyn Pittard

16A. Commentary on Women and Flexible Work

Alexandra Heron 

17. Increasing Female Participation in Construction: Legislating for Gender Equity

Rebecca Dickson and Paula Gerber

17A. Commentary on Increasing Female Participation in Construction

Valerie Francis 

18. ‘Members of Parliament: Hear the Women, Count the Women, and Ensure Corporate Accountability’: Proposing a Gender-Responsive Reform of the Australian ‘Modern Slavery’ Act 

Ramona Vijeyarasa

18A. Commentary on ‘Members of Parliament: Hear the Women, Count the Women, and Make Corporations Accountable’

Jennifer Burn AM

Biography

Becky Batagol is Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash University, Australia.

Kate Seear is Professor at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Australia.

Heli Askola is Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash University, Australia.

Jamie Walvisch is Senior Lecturer in the Law School at the University of Western Australia, Australia.