This submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into the Rights of Women and Children addresses the first Term of Reference: understanding the treatment of women and children internationally and the impact of this treatment on their human rights. The submission focuses on the rights of women and outlines an approach that is grounded in the prevention of violence against women drawing on the evidence from Change the story (2021), Changing the picture (2018) and Changing the landscape (2022) to inform its recommendations which include:

• prioritising primary prevention of violence against women, and establishing gender equality as a goal in all international engagements
• embedding an intersectional approach in the development and implementation of all government policies, programs, and services
• continuing to strengthen gender policy machinery, including by establishing processes to undertake intersectional gender impact assessments of all international policy and programs.