First nations
OWN NSW wants to harness the power of our strong and large community to support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by walking together with them in the spirit of true reconciliation.
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Our Own Stories
“Our OWN Stories” was set up as a ten-week workshop program at Bankstown Arts Centre with 15 older women from refugee and migrant backgrounds. These women were offered the opportunity to express themselves and tell their stories through art.
Where’s Lyn?
In the lead up to 2023 International Women’s Day, we’re calling on everyone to to ask the question, “Where’s Lyn?” because the voices of older women are being ignored in the design of policies, especially the policies which impact them the most.
olderwomencount
The #OlderWomenCount campaign run in partnership with CELEBRATE AGEING highlights the achievements and contributions of older women, raises awareness of the inequalities they experience and promotes strategies for inclusion.
Peeling prawns, by Melanie
From the voices of older women: “Whenever I think about sexual assault I think about my mother and aunties, their hands in shreds as they peeled prawns while the men sat around drinking beer. My cousin’s husband sexually abused me since the age of 11…”
Hope for new life, by Theresa
From the voices of older women: “The older women is a windswept tree. All the leaves are gone and the branches are silhouetted against the sky. So much has been lost.”
Rising from the ashes, by Bee
From the voices of older women: “You know how when you are homeless, you feel so lonely? I was living in my car. I’m 67 and very fortunate because I am now in social housing. It’s all women here so I feel safe.”
Not the Venus, by Dom
From the voices of older women: “The so-called Venus of Willendorf statues have been explained as fertility symbols, stone-age pornography, female goddesses. Several archaeologists have measured their bodily dimensions and claim these statues represent post-menopausal women.”
The Fog, by Angela
From the voices of older women: “Through the fog we recognise there is a human form; but we don’t really care to know too much. We understand she may have suffered. We understand she has loved and created; but we don’t really care. The sharpness is gone. Through the fog we can’t really see her – we could if we tried. But we don’t.”
The Phoenix, by Kiran
From the voices of older women: “We are conditioned to be compliant with our social and cultural expectations. So, it’s up to me as a woman to make my marriage work in spite of the fact that I might be married to an absolute dickhead.”
The cost, by Patricia
From the voices of older women: “The cost of reporting is very high. What if the carer who she is reliant on is sexually assaulting her? That’s a horrible situation for her to be in. She is crying and tearing her hair out.”
The Voices of Older Women
Every older woman has a story to tell. Each one is unique. These stories have been collated as part of the #ReadyToListen project aimed at ending sexual assaults of older women, including those living in residential aged care.
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Older Women’s Network NSW
The Older Women’s Network in NSW believes in a society rich in social capital, where mutual respect and trust are paramount, where diversity and debate are valued and where people and their networks have a legitimate voice.
CONTACT US
Older Women’s Network NSW
8-10 Victoria Street,
Newtown NSW 2042, Australia.
+61 – 2 – 9519 8044
Newsletter
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live, and we pay our respects to Elders past and present.
We acknowledge the sorrow of the Stolen Generations and the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
OWN NSW supports the Uluru Statement from the Heart, the call for a First Nation's Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution and a Makarrata Commission to oversee agreement-making and truth-telling.