GENDER JUSTICE: EQUALITY AND EQUITY Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have always been the nurturers, carers and leaders for their families and communities. They play a central role in the development and growth of their babies, in strengthening family and community networks, supporting learning and undertaking cultural practices that build the foundations for healthy and happy future generations. The resilience, expertise and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls are central to the health and wellbeing of families and communities, and to progressing health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls have long felt that basic human rights have been denied to them, and that current national policy frameworks fail to recognise the unique cultural context and intersectional issues that they experience, leaving them feeling missed and marginalised in a way that differs from the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and boys. In understanding and addressing inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, we must first understand what substantive equity and equality look like. In recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the criminalisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) and #MeToo movements have demonstrated the inequity experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. It therefore has never been more important for the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls to be elevated and properly considered. Gender justice and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls are central to supporting strong families and communities to lead healthy lives. Justice for women and girls means justice across all aspects of life, in: • health • social and emotional wellbeing • land and Country • legal and child protection systems • the delivery of services and housing. In order to achieve true gender justice, governments, organisations and decision-makers need to deliver equality and equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, by supporting the appropriate infrastructure and frameworks that are led by their communities, and that centre the needs of those who experience heightened and intersecting marginalisation. Governments must work to ensure justice for women and girls in health, learning and education, employment and economic participation, legal and child protection systems, and in the delivery of disability and housing services.17 Achieving gender justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women will ensure that women and their communities are able to determine their own futures and pursue their social, cultural and economic interests – safely and without discrimination, prejudice or fear. It also means the creation of laws and policies that meet the unique needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.16 Substantive equality recognises that policies and practices put in place to suit the majority of people may appear to be non-discriminatory but may not address the specific needs of certain groups of people. In effect they may be indirectly discriminatory, creating systemic discrimination.15 Transforming Power: Voices for Generational Change 27