Submission to the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System

The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has asked for submissions to help accelerate improvements in access to mental health services, service navigation and models of care. The Royal Commission also provides an opportunity for a wider community conversation about mental health — toward ending stigma and discrimination.

WIRE provided a submission prepared by Dr. Nilmini Fernando that is informed by contributions from WIRE’s own research and work, as well as the experiences of women who seek our services.

Our submission focused on the far-reaching mental health consequences for women, gender diverse and non-binary people as a result of the direct, indirect and structural disadvantages they face due to their gender.

WIRE’s submission calls for:

• A gendered and intersectional lens in future reforms to improve access to prevention, early-intervention and long-term treatment and management of mental health disorders.
• WIRE encourages practice models and strategies that have been shown to work and can authentically help women.