This inquiry seeks submissions from anyone with information or interest in the Inquiry into Women’s Pain.
About The Enquiry
The Inquiry into Women’s Pain provides an opportunity for individuals, clinicians, and organisations to share their experiences and knowledge on women and girls’ pain, care, service and treatment in the Victorian health system. The Inquiry will report on these experiences and make recommendations that will form the basis for improved patient care.
The Victoria-wide consultation is led by Safer Care , the Victorian Women’s Health Advisory Council and the Inquiry into Women’s Pain sub-committee. It begins on the 30 January 2024.
A final report will be produced in December 2024 and delivered to the Women’s Health Advisory Council by the Inquiry into Women’s Pain sub-committee.
The Department of Health invites interested individuals, clinicians, and organisations to make a written submission that will form the basis for recommendations to improve patient care.
Submissions and evidence will also help inform and shape the next stages of the Inquiry’s targeted stakeholder engagement in mid-2024.
The Inquiry’s areas of focus, context and purpose are outlined in the Call for submission document (Terms of Reference).
Making A Submission
The Inquiry seeks submissions from anyone with information or interest in the Inquiry into Women’s Pain as outlined in the call for submissions document.
This includes but is not limited to Victorian girls and women from 12 years of age with living or lived experience of pain, carers, healthcare providers, health services, organisations, and researchers.
You are invited to read the Call for submissions (Terms of Reference) document and make written submissions by 12 March 2024.
Further Information
Visit the Health.Vic Inquiry into Women’s Pain submissions.
Associate Professor Magdalena Simonis AM is the Immediate Past President of the AFMW (2020-2023), former President of VMWS (2013 & 2017-2020) and current AFMW National Coordinator (2024-2026). She is a full time clinician who also holds positions on several not for profit organisations, driven by her passion for bridging gaps across the health sector. She is a leading women’s health expert, keynote speaker, climate change and gender equity advocate and government advisor. Magda is member of The Australian Health Team contributing monthly articles.
Magdalena was awarded a lifetime membership of the RACGP for her contributions which include past chair of Women in General Practice, longstanding contribution to the RACGP Expert Committee Quality Care, the RACGP eHealth Expert Committee. She is regularly invited to comment on primary care research though mainstream and medical media and contributes articles on various health issues through newsGP and other publications.
Magdalena has represented the RACGP at senate enquiries and has worked on several National Health Framework reviews. She is author of the RACGP Guide on Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery and co-reviewer of the RACGP Red Book Women’s Health Chapter, and reviewer of the RACGP White book
Both an RACGP examiner and University examiner, she undertakes general practice research and is a GP Educator with the Safer Families Centre of Research Excellence, which develops education tools to assist the primary care sector identify, respond to and manage family violence . Roles outside of RACGP include the Strategy and Policy Committee for Breast Cancer Network Australia, Board Director of the Melbourne University Teaching Health Clinics and the elected GP representative to the AMA Federal Council. In 2022. she was award the AMA (Vic) Patrick Pritzwald-Steggman Award 2022, which celebrates a doctor who has made an exceptional contribution to the wellbeing of their colleagues and the community and was listed as Women’s Agenda 2022 finalist for Emerging Leader in Health.
Magdalena has presented at the United Nations as part of the Australian Assembly and was appointed the Australian representative to the World Health Organisation, World Assembly on COVID 19, by the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) in 2021. In 2023, A/Professor Simonis was included on the King’s COVID-19 Champion’s list and was also awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division for significant service to medicine through a range of roles and to women’s health.
