Women on the Line Cleis Hart, Kannagi Bhatt, Phuong Tran, Xen Nhà & Scheherazade Bloul.

According to a 2021 report by the Centre for Women’s Safety and Wellbeing, women on temporary visas experiencing family and domestic violence have been recognised as a particularly marginalised and at-risk cohort. On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Peggy Kerdo, an experienced human rights lawyer practising mainly in immigration and refugee law, about working with clients on temporary partner visas, the barriers they face when trying to get help, what supports are available and how the government can do better to protect these women. 

On this week’s episode, we speak to Emily Duyên Đặng about her photovoice gallery project, Overcoming this Grief: Stories from Vietnamese women surviving family violence in Australia. Through photos and text presented in Vietnamese and English, these women share their experiences of migration, family violence and finding safety. In this conversation, Emily talks about her research into family violence within the Vietnamese context here in so-called Australia, she shares stories from the women who participated in the photovoice gallery, and we touch on the systemic injustices that can place survivors in further harm.Please note that the following discussion will contain references to abuse/violence. If you are impacted by any of the themes covered in this program, you can reach out to:InTouch: a family violence service working with migrant and refugee women and their communities,1800 755 988 (9am – 5pm)Safe Steps: a 24/7 family violence crisis response phone line for women and children, 1800 015 188 (24/7)1800 RESPECT

On this episode of Women on the Line we speak with Cher Tan, who is an essayist, critic and editor based in Narrm. She previously lived in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide and Singapore, where she was born and raised. Cher Tan recently published her first book titled ‘Peripathetic: Notes on (un)belonging’ through UNSW Press. She chats about (un)belonging, the internet and writing her first book. You can find both print and e-book editions online and at various bookstores.

This week we head to Istanbul to speak with Tan Safi, a member of the Media Team for the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition is an international grassroots solidarity movement which is aiming to break Israel's naval blockade of Gaza and deliver 5,500 tonnes of vital humanitarian aid by sea. Tan provides an update on what is happening now that the Flotilla has been unable to set sail on its scheduled departure date of April 26 due to having its flag or legal registration revoked by the state of Guinea-Bissau. We also hear excerpts of Freedom Flotilla Coaltion organiser Huwaida Arraf speaking at a press conference in Istanbul on April 27. To follow the Freedom Flotilla Coalition visit https://freedomflotilla.org/ or find them on socials:Twitter/XInstagramFacebookYoutube You can also make a donation to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition here. Women on the Line spoke with Tan on May 1.    

On this week’s episode we speak with human rights activist Khadija Gbla. Khadija was born in Sierra Leone and spent their youth in Gambia before coming to Australia. We talk about their experiences living at the intersections of disability, neurodivergence, queerness and Blackness, their activism in these spaces, and their hopes for young people like themselves. A note that this conversation covers difficult topics including racism, ableism, childhood abuse, Indigenous deaths in custody, and police brutality against Black and Indigenous people. If these subjects bring up anything difficult for you, you can contact 1800 RESPECT or Lifeline on 13 11 14. Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander listeners can also call 13 YARN.

On this episode of Women on the Line we continue our conversation with Yeoreum and Udie from Scarlet ChaCha– a sex worker-led organisation in South Korea. On 2 January 2023, the Mayor of Paju announced that he would demolish Paju’s red light district ‘Yongjugol’ within a year. In November last year the demolition commenced, and Scarlet ChaCha has been actively showing up in person for sex workers in Paju’s Yongjugol – protesting on the streets, creating signage to raise political awareness and supporting sex workers. Today we hear the final episode of a two-part series about what’s happening in Paju’s red light district and about the work Scarlet ChaCha is doing in South Korea. You can listen to the first episode of this series here. Our interview with Scarlet ChaCha members was translated by Yeonhoo. You can support Scarlet ChaCha by donating to their mutual aid request @choyeonhoo via paypal. All funds will go directly to sex workers who are impacted by the demolition. Please note there is discussion of state violence in this episode.