Louise O’Reilly is a Warrwa-Noongar Aboriginal woman based in Boorloo (Perth, Western Australia) on Wadjuk Country. Through her experiences with identity and personal journey of self-discovery, she realized society wasn't always accepting of her identity, community, or culture. Louise provides online courses to stimulate harmonious & inclusive change in the world where every global citizen can say I'm #FreeToBeMe. That’s the big picture goal. For now, she is focused on cultural diversity & inclusion of Aboriginal people and culture.

She is a freelance writer for Amnesty International Australia and a radio host for an Aboriginal women's self-empowerment program called Yorgas Yarning (women talking) on 100.9fm Noongar Radio. She is a committee member for the Danjoo Koorliny (Walking Together) Aboriginal-led 10yr visionary reconciliation/conciliation plan for Boorloo (Perth) which is hosted by the University of Western Australia's Social Impact Unit. Louise also runs her own personal business, The Ascension Personal Development Academy 

If you will let her, Louise will show you how to use your words to create inclusion and how to make it ripple out into the world.

• The difference between diversity and inclusivity
• The importance to create a safe space for all to belong
• Why the subconscious guilt of white privilege stops us from reaching out in order to dissolve racism.
• The foundations of inclusive  language
• Why our intention to learn outweighs the fear of offending
• Why Acknowledgement of Country should be embraced and honored.
• And the importance of having privilege.

Connect with Louise Here:

Email [email protected]

Website www.louiseoreilly.com.au

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/louise.oreilly.shieldandconch/

Twitter https://twitter.com/LouiseOReilly

Connect with Ashleigh and Verity Here:

Email [email protected] 

Twitter (Ashleigh) @nerdypioneer

Facebook @goodgielsdontpod

IG @goodgirlsdontpod 

Hummingbird House is Queensland's only Children's Hospice. We provide a home away from home for children and their families with a life-limiting condition. We care for children from birth to aged 18 and support families with short break stays crisis and symptom management care, end of life and after death care.

Andrea is a Paediatric Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner. Andrea is a UK trained children's nurse, Andrea moved to Australia with her young family 13 years ago. She has extensive nursing experience caring for children, working in the Emergency Department, General paediatric wards, oncology and now in paediatric palliative care.

• Why as a society there's more fear around death than previous generations
• The financial accessibility of accessing the services of a children's hospice
• Do other cultures cope with death better than we do?
• Why we don’t get over grieving but need to learn to grow around grief instead.
• The importance of community and inclusivity when it comes to death, especially the death of a child.
• How there is no right or wrong way to grieve the loss of a child
• The child-friendly language around dying children
• How do we normalise death, especially in conversation with our kids?

Connect with Hummingbird House:

Email

[email protected]

Website

www.hummingbirdhouse.wmq.org.au

http://hummingbirdhouse.org.au/home/

Connect with Ashleigh and Verity

Email [email protected]

Instagram/Facebook: @goodgirlsdontpod 

After our own Ashleigh Rae successfully charged a man with sexual violence, she shares with us what happens when it comes to sentencing and what it means for the victim and the offender. Please note that the conversation refers to Victorian legislation around sex offending and the specifics do not represent the legislation and regulations of other states and territories.

Here’s what we spoke about;

• The difference between a plea hearing and a sentencing hearing.
• Why does the register exist and what does it mean for the perpetrator, the victim & the community?
• How children can be placed on the sex offenders registry.
• What’s restorative justice and should it be compulsory?
• Should the Sex Offenders Registry be made public?
• The importance of educating ourselves and our children of the criminal implications of innocent ‘sexting’, and how easily young teens can get themselves and their girlfriends/boyfriends and peers into serious trouble.

In Australia, up to one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage. 103,000 Australian families are impacted each year. And yet, for many, it remains a silent trauma.

Miscarriage is a taboo topic affecting 282 Aussie women a day that can cause long-lasting grief and mental health problems.

Why are we not talking about this?

So we want to start a conversation about it and create an episode dedicated to allowing women to share their stories around miscarriage.

We want to stop the silence and start sharing.

Join us and an array of courageous women as we share our stories around Miscarriage. Join us today as we honor the stories of Verity, Bess, and Sandi.

Contact Verity and Ashleigh:

[email protected]

FB/IG: @goodgirlsdontpod 

In a  society that dictates a strict definition of what masculinity is and demands rigid expectations upon how men and women should conform to binary gender roles, the struggle to inform others that non-binary people exist is real. Nic Lawrance takes the time to chat to us about their incredible experience of living as non-binary person, growing up without the language to express their identity and journey of acceptance from family and peers, finding that safe space to explore and express gender identity, and some of the present perils fraught in the legal system discriminating against gender diverse people.

Nic Lawrance is a brilliant and powerful non-binary burlesque performer. Nic has performed at Fringe Festival and throughout Perth, Western Australia blending ideas of the feminine and masculine, challenging the norms of what is traditionally acceptable or expected of masc presenting humans. 

• Normalize the idea of asking for pronouns,like you would ask someone's name
• Reclaiming the word ‘Queer’.
• What happens when ‘males’ don’t fit into the “mans club”.
• Medical gate-keeping that prevents people from ever being able to own their identity.
• The dangers of identifying oneself as non binary to organisations and institutions when you’re filling out forms.
• The difference between sexuality and gender.
• Why all humans, even men should be able to feel pretty.
• The legal implication and limits of identifying as non binary gender
• And why inter-sectional feminism is crucial to the freedom of all minority groups.

We loved Nic’s vulnerability, their wisdom and generosity as Nic shares their heartfelt stories and experience of fighting for one’s true identity. If you’ve ever felt confused about the conversation of gender fluidity, what the hell it all means and why we should even be talking about it, or even how to move forward in your own gender identity this episode is for you.

Co-host Ashleigh Rae shares her experience of seeking justice after being raped as a child. It's a deep conversation and not for the faint hearted. We discuss her compassion for the offenders family, the obstacles and support through-out the process of seeking justice and the complexity of emotions around obtaining accountability and justice. 

We discussed;

• The reactions and responses from loved ones.
• The rights of survivors and offenders of sexual violence.
• The sensitivity and insensitivity of professionals involved.
• What it feels like to confront the offender with an impact statement.
• We questioned the appropriateness of current sentencing / legal consequences.
• And how the justice system needs to change to serve both the survivor and the offender in a holistic manner.

Its a conversation that all men and women should listen to, because there is so much we can learn as a society to not only know how to support those affected by sexual violence but to also understand the necessity of educating all men and women in order to prevent sexual violence.

Contact Verity and Ashleigh:

Facebook/Instagram: @goodgirlsdontpod

Email: [email protected]

Soo...what happens when your sex life is dead?

We know how it goes: find the man, get married, have the kids, and that's the end of your sex life. But what if that isn't how it has to be? What if we could have a deeply intimate sex life with our spouse, and toe-curling orgasms to-boot? 

We were curious if such a thing was possible, so we sat down with one of Australia's most qualified Sexologists, Isiah McKimmie.

But she isn't just a Sexologist.

She's also a Couples Therapist, a Sex Therapist, and a Tantra Teacher - so she knows her stuff when it comes to intimacy which means, we put our burning questions to her about how to resuscitate a dead sex life, including: 

• What happens when your sex life is deader than Tutenkamun?
• What are the first steps in re-igniting the intimacy and passion in your relationship?
• Why does sex become transactional?
• Why sex is the socially acceptable way for men to ask for intimacy
• Why do we need to reconsider having sex during a pandemic - surely it's the perfect time for more romps? 

Yup.

Lots of sticky, gritty questions. 

Lots of juicy, tantalizing answers. 

Connect with Isiah:

Email

[email protected]

Website

https://www.isiah-mckimmie.com/

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/isiahmckimmie.sexologist/

Connect with Ashleigh and Verity 

Facebook/Instagram @goodgirlsdontpod

Email [email protected]

Mental health care is a crisis in Australia, affecting 1 in 4 Australians at some point in their lives - so what does our mental health care system look like, and what’s it like to experience a mental health condition in Australia? 

On this episode of Good Girls Don’t Ashleigh shares her story and experiences of navigating the convoluted system that works to devalue and deny the experiences of people with mental illness, including the dramatic impact of trauma. 

We chatted about: 

• How easily mental health conditions can go undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or mistreated for a long time.
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the 3rd most commonly diagnosed mental health issue. So why don’t we hear about it?
• What’s the difference between PTSD and C-PTSD?
• Why does Trauma get swept under the rug or get ‘forgotten’ about psychologically?
• What happens when Doctors behave badly?
• The impact of medication on mental health but also the emotional and physical impacts.
• The stigmas attached to mental health, especially borderline personality disorder, bipolar, and schizophrenia.
• Why mental health isn’t always appropriately funded by the government.
• The hardships of actually being able to access mental health care.

Connect with Ashleigh and Verity here:

Facebook and Instagram @goodgirlsdontpod

Email [email protected]

Sometimes, out in the wild, we find ourselves in front of a microphone on someone elses podcast and they're kind enough to roll with it and see what happens. Today, Verity is interviewed by Margie McCumstie from The Wedding Wombat...

In this special Valentine’s Day edition, we meet Verity Mansfield, Relationship Coach and extraordinary woman with a powerful message about love, sex, romance and marriage. We talk about how to make your relationship juicy and your marriage even juicier!

8 years ago Verity found herself collapsed on the bottom of the shower floor, hoping the noise of the thundering water would drown out her gut-wrenching hysterical sobbing, so her kids wouldn’t hear her fall apart. She didn’t feel broken. She felt destroyed. Her marriage was falling apart. The kids were not getting the best of their mother. Her workplace was sucking the life out of her. She felt disappointed, disconnected and dead inside. Something had to give or Verity0 was going to explode. So she hit the ‘red’ button. You know the one they say only to hit in an emergency? Verity walked out of her marriage, out of an international fashion career and without looking back plunged into the darkness of the unknown with two toddlers, a mortgage and $136 cash.

In that moment, Verity broke the “good girls rules” and chose a life of integrity and authenticity.  With the wisdom of hindsight and a successful career as a Relationship Coach, Verity shares from a real place to inspire everyone listening in this episode to enjoy juicy relationships- with yourself, with others and whether you choose marriage… or not.

While we take a moment to catch our breath and re-organize the universe, we've partnered with the good folks from the podcast, Gertie's Law to bring you an incredible episode on how the Supreme Court of Victoria changed women's ability to access abortion safely: 

Fifty years ago, the Menhennitt Ruling was an example of judge-made law and it determined the legality of abortion in Victoria. In this episode of Gertie's Law, we find out why it was left to the Supreme Court, and not the parliament, to decide on such a controversial social issue. Hear from judges and people directly affected by the 1969 ruling.

It's a brilliant piece of audio wizardry that showcases the bravery of the Doctors who put themselves at risk for women to have access to birth control and the fascinating details of how it all went down in the Supreme Court of Victoria. 

We hope you love and enjoy it as much as Ashleigh has, and binge their entire series. Listen to the whole series here: Gertie's Law Podcast

You can also check out Jennifer Zeven and Jay Crisp Crow's new podcast Untamed Shrews right here!