Despite decades of law reform, there are still countless laws that discriminate against women, non-binary, trans, and gender diverse people. So we decided to rewrite the law.
We got together with 45 of Australia's leading legal minds: academics, lawyers, judges and activists.
We set them to work for 7 years.
The result? 16 redrafted Australian laws, fully rewritten with the help of a parliamentary draftsperson, and ready to be introduced to any parliament that wants them.
We've created something that can make people's lives better, in Australia and around the world.
And the best part? All these laws are rolled up into one easy-to-use guide - and it's completely free to download. (See below)
In this opening episode, you'll meet the team behind this project: Becky, Kate, Jamie and Heli.
You'll learn:
- The 16 areas of Australian law we have rewritten, across criminal, civil and constitutional law.
- How to use the book if you're an MP, policymaker, law reformer, academic or activist anywhere in the world.
- How a feminist legislation project differs from a feminist judgments project, and why that distinction matters.
Our hope is that lawmakers, academics and activists in Australia and around the world stop critiquing the law and start writing it better.
Take action today:
The book is free! The provisions are drafted. Take them to your parliament. Adapt them for another jurisdiction. Or start your own feminist legislation project.
Download the full book for free (open access):
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003372462/feminist-legislation-project-becky-batagol-heli-askola-jamie-walvisch-kate-seear
Guests:
- Associate Professor Becky Batagol, Faculty of Law, Monash University
- Professor Kate Seear, Deakin Law School, Deakin University
- Associate Professor Heli Askola, Faculty of Law, Monash University
- Dr Jamie Walvisch, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Western Australia
The Feminist Legislation Project: Rewriting Laws for Gender-Based Justice
Edited By Becky Batagol, Kate Seear, Heli Askola, Jamie Walvisch
Published by Routledge
Copyright 2025
Resources:
Critical Judgment Projects: The online repository of the growing Feminist Judgments Projects and Critical Judgments Projects from across the world https://criticaljudgments.com/
Australian Feminist Judgments Project: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/australian-feminist-judgments-9781782255413/
Australian Indigenous Judgments Project
'Indigenous Legal Judgments: Bringing Indigenous Voices into Judicial Decision Making' Edited By Nicole Watson, Heather Douglas (2021) https://www.routledge.com/Indigenous-Legal-Judgments-Bringing-Indigenous-Voices-into-Judicial-Decision-Making/Watson-Douglas/p/book/9780367467456
'Aboriginal Storytelling and Judicial Decision Making' by Nicole Watson (2021) https://www.indigconlaw.org/home/aboriginal-storytelling-and-judicial-decision-making
Produced by Miniature
