Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Thanks to today’s partner
Monash University and the RACGP
Sam Wood, a man who was once deemed Australia’s most eligible Bachelor, is now facing allegations of violent domestic assault and strangulation. He remains in jail until Thursday when he will apply for bail.
The allegations triggered a collective gasp across Australia, but…should they have? Somewhere in our consciousness, we’ve decided what a “violent man” looks like, when the image we should have is, frankly, anybody.
Elsewhere today, climate shocks, rising prices and conflict are compounding to leave women across the world hungrier, poorer and less able to withstand the next crisis. A new CARE report reveals just how heavily women are carrying the burden and their resilience is being stretched.
In tech, Angela Priestley explores the 20 AI risks already harming women from a Research Snapshot released today by the Victorian Women’s Trust.
Hannah Diviney shares this excellent firsthand account of growing up with cerebral palsy, and wondering where everyone like her was, despite 50 million people living with CP worldwide. Now she’s helping lead a campaign for the UN to formally recognise World Cerebral Palsy Day and calling for a world where people with CP feel seen.
And, when Rowena Alexander's 20-year-old daughter died suddenly in 2018, the family was faced with a difficult decision about organ donation. It wasn't something they had ever spoken about. We share more thanks to our partner, DonateLife.
More on site!
Tarla Lambert-Patel
Editor in Chief & Co-Founder
The Key Quote
This is a difficult time for all of us, we are working through this as a family and are thoroughly co-operating with the authorities
The Wood Family
A noncommittal statement released across social media from Sam Wood and his wife Snezana, following alleged domestic violence accusations on Sam’s behalf. It follows a video uploaded on Friday, in which the Bachelor star and personal trainer from Melbourne spoke about his food cravings, and how he asked his wife to hide sweet snacks from him. He went on to jokingly say “even if I am strangling her to death” she will not give him the snacks. Wood has faced a weekend of backlash following his arrest, and remains behind bars with court proceedings to come.
On Women's Agenda Today
After her daughter’s death, Rowena faced an impossible decision about organ donation
When Rowena Alexander’s 20-year-old daughter died suddenly in 2018, her family found themselves dealing with unimaginable pain and grief. Read more +
AI is already harming women in Australia. These are the 20 risks identified
Car locks, deepfakes, and job losses are just some of the AI harms women are living with while regulation lags. Read more +
There are 50 million people living with cerebral palsy. So why did I grow up feeling so alone?
World Cerebral Palsy Day is about visibility, recognition and creating a world where people with CP can thrive. Read more +
Climate, rising prices, conflict: The compouding crises leaving women hungrier, poorer and less resilient
Climate shocks, rising prices and conflict are leaving women hungrier, poorer and less resilient than before, a major new report has found. Read more +
Sam Wood was Australia’s dreamboat. The allegations against him should make us reflect.
Sam Wood, is splashed across headlines in connection with stomach-churning allegations of domestic and family violence. Read more +
The Key Figure
55
The age following the steepest rise in pain for most people, a new report published in Nature Medicine has found, showing that women feel pain more than men. The statistics show women’s self-reported pain across 11 bodily sites was higher than for men. University of Edinburgh Professor Andrew Horne called the research ‘landmark’, saying, ‘It is strong evidence that the gender pain gap is real, consistent and global. Yet women’s pain is still too often dismissed, underresearched and undertreated,”
The win
Sarah Whitty, a grower from Maine, has smashed North American records with her giant zucchini, affectionately named ‘Secretariat’
The 77kg marrow weighed in at 4kg heavier than the previous North American record, and beat the US record by nearly 10kg. Marrow are distinctly hard to grow due to their tendencies to split open while growing, and Whitty, also known as ‘Pumpkinista’ online, shared her journey through two split marrows in the leadup to her record break. She hopes to continue the streak with her other giant vegetables as the season continues.
On The Women's Agenda Podcast
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