DISCRIMINATORY REFORM AND ONLINE SOCIAL PLATFORMS.
Senator the Honourable Katy Gallagher has authored a Women's Budget Statement[1] ('the Statement') for the Australian Federal Budget 2025–26. The Statement is positioned as a component of the Government's dedication to "equality for women," which is complemented by the Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality[2] report. The ten-year plan charts several initiatives for investments in five priority areas.
The Statement presents a variety of initiatives that are designed to enhance the outcomes of women. I wholeheartedly concur with the principle of granting women equal rights, opportunities, and protections. However, the Statement is fundamentally flawed in that it is framed through a gender-exclusive lens, which presupposes that women are the primary victims and males are the primary perpetrators. The lived actuality of contemporary Australia is not reflected in this framing.
The Statement portrays women as the sole recipients of protection, support, and reform, even though many of the initiatives enumerated do not inherently discriminate by gender. This method perpetuates a narrative that marginalises men, erases male victimisation, and exacerbates the divide it purports to address.
One example is the initiative Making Online Platforms and Services Safer for Women.[3] The government claims that women are more susceptible to technology-based abuse; however, it fails to acknowledge the increasing prevalence of online platforms in which women publicly humiliate, publicly disgrace, and defame men. Platforms like "Is this your man?" and "Sis, is this your man?" enable users to send images of men without their consent and solicit anonymous commentary about their character. Many posters hide their identities, leading to the question: why maintain anonymity if the allegations are true?
A single screenshot has the potential to permanently damage a man's reputation, sabotage his employment prospects, and disseminate misinformation across social media platforms. Often, these men remain unaware that strangers are discussing their images. This behaviour is a clear example of technology-facilitated abuse; however, it is not included in government reporting because the current framework only recognises women as victims and men as perpetrators.
There is no national dialogue regarding the psychological, reputational, or social repercussions that a man experiences when he is targeted online and labelled a deceiver, liar, or predator for using a dating app. Women are capable of weaponising the same systems that are commonly referred to as "weaponised by perpetrators", yet the policy narrative fails to recognise this.
The government perpetuates a distorted perception of online harm by portraying technology-based abuse as a gender-one-way issue. It overlooks the fact that men also face harassment, defamation, doxxing, fraudulent allegations, and reputational sabotage.
Despite the catastrophic nature of these behaviours, male victims face virtually no avenues for recognition or assistance. A prevention model that safeguards both genders adequately addresses the true scope or nature of online abuse.
The Preventing Tech-Based Abuse of Women Grants Programme[4] has been allocated a $600,000 priority pool by the Government[5], although there is no equivalent support for males.
As I conclude, I leave you with a single question: Does this budget proposal appear equitable?
[1] Commonwealth, Budget 2025–2026: Women’s Budget Statement (Statement by Senator Katy Gallagher, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Government Services, and The Honourable Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer, Commonwealth of Australia, 25 March 2025).
[2] Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Working for Women: A Strategy for Gender Equality (Commonwealth of Australia, 2024) <https://genderequality.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-03/working-for-women-a-strategy-for-gender-equality.pdf>.
[3] Ibid 31 n 1
[4] Australian Government, Grant Connect, eSafety Commissioner: Preventing Tech-based Abuse of Women (Estimated Period of Release: July–December 2024) https://www.grants.gov.au/Fo/Show?FoUuid=1bd0b1e3-61e2-41e3-88c1-437a33a5fed2.
[5] Ibid 31 n 1, [2].
