A conversation with acclaimed author, journalist and feminist advocate Anne Summers AO and journalist and activist Jess Hill.About this Event
Drawing on the five decades of writing, activism and public commentary collected in Anne Summers' new essay anthology, Witness: People. Politics. Culture. Feminism. 1975–2025, this conversation will explore the progress made in addressing gender-based violence and the challenges that remain.
From helping establish Australia's first women's refuge, Elsie, to her current role as Professor of Domestic and Family Violence at UTS, Anne's work offers a unique lens on the evolution of gender equality in Australia. Together, Anne and Jess will examine the relationship between gender inequality and gender-based violence, the role of advocacy and public discourse, and what meaningful prevention looks like today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:
DR ANNE SUMMERS AO is a journalist, commentator and best-selling author of ten books, including the classic Damned Whores and God’s Police, first published in 1975, and still in print. Anne is currently an Honorary Professor of Domestic and
Family Violence at UTS. Previously, she has advised Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, run the Office of the Status of Women, been Canberra Bureau Chief for the Australian Financial Review newspaper, been editor-in-chief of America’s leading feminist magazine Ms., editor of Good Weekend, chair of the Board of Greenpeace International and a Trustee of the Powerhouse Museum.
Anne has been an activist in the women’s movement since its inception and in 1974 was involved in establishing Elsie Women’s Refuge the first modern shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence. She was appointed an officer of the Order
of Australia for her services to journalism and to women in 1989; had her image on a postage stamp as an Australian Legend in 2011 and in 2017 was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame.
JESS HILL is an Industry Professor at the University of Technology Sydney, where she researches gender-based violence. Named Marie Claire’s 2023 Changemaker of the Year, she is a journalist, author and educator whose work on gendered violence has received international acclaim.
Her first book, See What You Made Me Do, became a bestseller and won both the 2020 Stella Prize and the ABA Booksellers’ Choice Non-Fiction Book of the Year. Widely regarded as a seminal text on family violence and coercive control, it has been translated into four languages and adapted into a three-part television series for SBS.
Since then, Jess has written The Reckoning: How #MeToo is Changing Australia for Quarterly Essay; created the award-winning podcast series The Trap on coercive control; and presented another three-part SBS series, Asking For It, on consent. Her most recent essay, Losing It: Can We End Violence Against Women and Children?, critically analyses Australia's efforts to end gender-based violence.
In 2024, Jess was appointed to the Australian government's Rapid Review into Prevention, which led to significant reforms on systems abuse and beyond. Jess serves voluntarily on the boards of Stepping Out, which supports adult female survivors of child sex abuse, and the Grata Fund, which funds and supports strategic public interest litigation to advance democracy, human rights, and climate justice.
ABOUT THE VENUE:
MARRICKVILLE PAVILION AND LIBRARY is accessible by lift from both the street and ground levels. The venue is accessible for people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids. There is a hearing loop available.
If you have any access or support requirements in order to participate fully, please let us know when you book via the order form to ensure that we can arrange any reasonable adjustments.
We may take photos and video of the speakers and audience. See details here.
Event venue
Marrickville Pavilion, Patyegarang Place, Marrickville, Australia
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