Presenters: Sue Claridge and Madeline Heron from Auckland Women's Health Council.
1988 was a watershed year for health in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Cartwright inquiry - which investigated and upheld allegations of unethical medical research carried out on women and National Women's Hospital - ended with a set of recommendations that led to major changes in the health landscape: changes that had implications for every New Zealander.
At the same time, in dozens of small towns and large cities around the country, women's health centres were being set up. Women were raising their voices, demanding a better deal for women and women's health.
It is against this backdrop that the Auckland Women's Health Council was founded in 1988 and our herstory is inextricably bound up with the feminist activism of the time. The Council had a significant role in many of the health sector changes of the 90s.
In 2022, despite the improvements, we are far from a situation in which all women in this country have accessible, affordable, available and culturally appropriate healthcare.
Thirty-four years after Cartwright, the work of the Auckland Women's Health Council continues: we lobby, we advocate, we inform. We are a voice for women, and a voice for change.
The Spirit of Peace statue is the inspiration for the AWHC logo