I don’t always agree with what Jacqui Lambie says, does or how she votes - but one thing I do know is that she didn’t deserve a serve from Pauline Hanson’s One Nation goon squad regarding a personal health issue. Lambie’s health issue also didn’t need to become a point of public ridicule for One Nation political point scoring either. I’m not sure at what point people think that a political party and its leader have gone too far - because let’s face it, Hanson has crossed that line too many times to count in her last 3 decades of providing nothing of actual relevance and worth to the general public. Perhaps some people think that the enabling of constant racism and the punching down on Indigenous people and immigrants has been sensationalised so much that it has allowed a desensitisation, an acceptance and a tolerance - but let me tell you - it is still NOT acceptable by any standards to hate and abuse others just because you see someone else do it. I can guarantee that there was a collective recoil from Hanson this week after One Nation’s less-than-stellar moment regarding Lambie. Many women suffer from these same issues and it’s no laughing matter. It is a serious health issue, a hygiene issue, a mental health and physical wellbeing issue. We know that Hanson has little respect for other women. She has demonstrated that over the years via her attacks on other women in parliament and the general public. She has been known to encourage misogynistic ideologies and often supports groups associated with far-right and nationalist figures. Hanson and her party have documented ties to the manosphere and various men’s rights groups. (abc). Disturbingly, she has also said that she wanted to sit down with some of these men’s rights groups “to give them a voice”. Personally I believe that Hanson identified a key vulnerable niche and wanted to vote harvest. Too bad she didn’t give vulnerable women who were the victims of DV the same consideration. Hanson’s views on DV are well known, too. She has stated that “most women seeking DV orders are doing so for frivolous reasons”. She also insists that DV is gender-blind despite reams of credible research showing men are the primary perpetrators and women are the primary victims” (Daily Telegraph). Hanson’s track record on voting is consistently poor when it comes to women: -has consistently voted against measures for decreasing gender pay gap. -has voted against the paid parental leave amendment. -has opposed expanded or equalised paid parental leave frameworks for families. -has voted against motions addressing women’s economic security and retirement incomes. -has opposed minimum wage increases and workplace equality reforms. -has routinely voted against increasing access to subsidised childcare services. -has opposed moves to remove GST from sanitary and feminine hygiene products. 🤔 Personally nothing that Hanson and One Nation do for notoriety surprises me anymore, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be disgusted by the depths that they continue to plumb. To disrespect and ridicule Lambie’s experience is to disrespect and insult all women. It demeans and reduces women’s experiences to little more than a joke. When women’s experiences are reduced it undermines their place in society. It continues to make it harder for every woman now and into the future. It is hard enough for women in a largely patriarchal society. Why do some women make it harder for us?