Women face formidable challenges on many fronts

We are in 2022, right? Did I accidentally jump into a Tardis time machine from Dr Who and go back 150 years?

Women the world over are in a fight for their lives, liberties, equal pay and access to healthcare.

Roe v Wade — the landmark 1973 decision of the US Supreme Court that ruled the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction — is in danger of being overturned.

In my view, this will have devastating effects on vulnerable women of that country if the decision on whether to ban abortions is instead left up to individual states.

Twenty-two states have abortion bans that could become law if Roe is overturned.

Many of these state bans, incredibly, have no exceptions for rape or incest.

Here in New Zealand, while abortion has been available for decades — with restrictions — it was decriminalised in only 2020 after a Human Rights Commission challenge.

But women still face an uphill battle to be heard on other health needs, as demonstrated by the NZ Herald’s In Her Head campaign this week.

Thousands of women have received large taxpayer-funded payouts after being failed by our health system — more than

$27 million has been paid out in the past five years.

Women are still fighting to be paid as much as men as reported last week.

In Rotorua, vulnerable women and children trying to escape from family harm are ending up in emergency housing facing heartbreaking and potentially dangerous conditions.

It was reported at Rotorua Lakes Council operations and monitoring committee meeting that one-third of the 120 family harm calls a week in the city were to emergency housing motels — most of which are clustered in Fenton St.

Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni says the need for emergency accommodation is not ideal, but is better than people sleeping rough or in tents or cars.

Maybe so, but these vulnerable women might disagree.

The meeting was also told that contracted motels had “minimal issues” while the unmanaged sites appeared to have the most issues.

Councillor Merepeka Raukawatait, quite rightly, points out some women were living in a “quite toxic environment”.

Waiariki Women’s Refuge chairwoman Mihi James said many people who try to leave violent homes have no choice but to go into emergency housing — but these situations were often more unsafe.

Women would rather live in a home where they are beaten up than be put in a motel because at least they knew their perpetrators at home, she says.

"In Rotorua, vulnerable women and children trying to escape from family harm are ending up in emergency housing facing heartbreaking and potentially dangerous conditions."

What a harrowing and impossible choice for women who must build up incredible courage to leave an abusive situation.

James wants emergency housing specifically for women and children trying to escape family violence, with appropriate screening in place.

She’s spot on.

This is something the Government can remedy — and quickly.

These women and children need to be protected while they get back on their feet — not sent back to face more violence.

We can’t solve all the problems women are facing in the world, nor do we have a Tardis to go back in time to change things, but we can try to solve this issue now.

Memo to the Government: Get vulnerable women and children into safer emergency housing — now.