Welcome to 2024 and our first newsletter of the year!

Our team had a nice break and is now back on board, ready to continue the fight!

There is plenty to do already - see below for more information.

We appreciate your ongoing support!

Speak up For Women (SUFW) is seeking to ensure freedoms, safety and identities are protected for women and girls in New Zealand. 

Actions & Highlights

✍️ Midwifery Council Scope of Practice - get your pens ready!

The Midwifery Council announced in November 2023 that it will be ignoring the 90% negative feedback to their proposed Scope of Practice (MSP) which no longer includes the words "woman" or "baby".

The Midwifery Council will be implementing the MSP on July 1st 2024.

There are numerous issues with the proposed MSP (hence 400 responses to the feedback request). We have put together an outline of the talking points that we will be using in our own SUFW response. You you can read it here.

Please join us in this campaign and write to the Minister for Health - Hon Dr Shane Reti - asking the Government to reject the changes to the MSP. It is vital that midwives continue to be focussed on the wellbeing of women (mothers) and their babies.

We also encourage you to sign and share this petition amongst your networks: Petition of Deb Hayes: Investigate Midwifery Council’s removal of ‘woman & baby’ from Scope of Practice

📣 Briefings to Incoming Ministers

With the change in government late last year, we have been working on briefings for the incoming ministers (BIMs).

BIMs are a way for advocacy groups such as SUFW to provide background information and guidance in the areas they work in. Each portfolio has a different focus and our BIMs contain a mixture of general information and points relating specifically to each area.

We have published our briefings on our website. You can read them here.

We welcome your feedback on these; they are a collaboration between members of our leadership team and our amazing team of researchers and writers. Send your feedback by replying to this email or using the contact form on our website.

📢 The Christchurch Call

The Christchurch Call was initially introduced to combat and eliminate extremism and terrorism content and we support this wholeheartedly.

Recent documents released under the OIA show that the Christchurch Call is now working to prevent “gender-based extremism” (including anti-LGBTQIA+) by targeting 'gender-based hatred'. This could mean that the Christchurch Call seeks to oppose and suppress the views of people such as those who are gender-critical and who reject the idea that individuals can change their sex. That's people like us, like you.

The Free Speech Union are calling on the Prime Minister to "Stop Christchurch Call from Silencing Kiwis" - you can read more about this issue and sign their letter here.

🤝 How You Can Help

1. Raise Awareness: Share our newsletter and talk to your friends and colleagues. Engage in commenting and sharing our posts through social media - We are active on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).

2. Donate: Support our mission by contributing here. Your donation will help us to raise awareness through social media campaigns, other advertising and legal advice.

3. Share your story: Join the conversation and share your experiences by contacting us via  speakupforwomen.nz

Speak Up for Women NZ

Please feel free to share this newsletter, or any of the content within it.

Speak Up for Women | Because Sex Matters

Speak Up For Women NZ | Facebook