Government and healthcare officials in Victoria, Australia are facing harsh criticism for including men in a government inquiry into women and girls’ pain.
The Victorian government, led by premier Jacinta Allan, is asking the public—both patients and care providers—to complete a survey on women’s pain that is open until July 31. The survey authors claim that “language is an effective tool for changing community attitudes and promoting inclusion” before going on to define females as “those assigned female at birth and anyone who identifies as a woman, though they may have a different sex at birth”—the latter, of course, meaning biological males.
This survey is part of Allan’s wider, AUD $153 million project –called the Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program—aimed at improving women’s health on the whole. At its launch, Allan claimed that there exists a “gendered pain gap.” She said that women’s pain is ignored and “that is why the government is placing a significant amount of attention and resources on the issue, because when we support women’s health, we support the health of all Victorians.”
The pain inquiry’s stated goal is to improve patient care for women and girls. Despite recognizing that female pain is a distinct phenomenon, and can be dismissed by care providers because of medical bias and a lack of female-specific research (regarding numerous health conditions), the researchers fail to see the irony in including biological males. “The department seeks to support services that are responsive to gender, biology, and diversity,” they wrote, suggesting some level of awareness that one’s “gender” may have nothing to do with their biology.
The first question in the survey states: “This survey is for women and girls who have experienced pain. Is this the correct survey for you?” followed by “What sex were you assigned at birth?” Optional answers to the latter question include female, male, intersex, other, and prefer not to say.
The group will publish a final report in December 2024. “The Inquiry into Women's Pain provides an opportunity for individuals, clinicians, and organisations to share their experiences and knowledge on women and girls’ pain, care, service and treatment in the Victorian health system. The Inquiry will report on these experiences and make recommendations that will form the basis for improved patient care,” reads their website.
In a viral post on X (formerly Twitter), Australian women’s rights advocate, Sall Grover quipped: “Men have been included in an inquiry about pain specific to women, rendering the whole thing completely useless unless you want to know how women feel when hit in the balls.” Grover is best known for her involvement in Australia’s landmark Tickle vs. Giggle court case, which will see the Australian judicial system forced to define the word “woman” in law.
Speaking to The Post Millennial on the pain inquiry, Grover did not mince words about the Victorian government’s misstep: “They’re spending $153 million on a study that is effectively useless if it doesn’t have a correctly defined subject. It’s about women’s pain but men who claim to be women can be part of it, therefore men are part of the study about women’s pain. There is no point to this study. But this is what happens when the government buys into the lie that men can be women: they have to keep that lie going at all costs rather than admit they got sucked into nonsense. The Victorian government would rather look like fools and do research into women’s testicular pain than admit the truth.”
