MEDIA RELEASE: Sall Grover Withdraws from Sydney Rally Following Threats; Rally to Proceed
Following threats to her personal safety, Sall Grover will no longer be speaking at the Restore Women’s Rights & Fix the SDA Rally in Sydney this Sunday, 23 August.
Women’s Rights Network Australia Inc. (WRNA Inc.) will proceed with the rally, which will call on the Australian Government to urgently restore sex-based rights in Australian law.
“Sall Grover intended to speak about women’s rights and Australian law. She has now been made unable to participate in that public conversation because of serious threats to her personal safety,” WRNA spokesperson Bel Heaton said.
WRNA is also deeply concerned that Kirralie Smith, another scheduled speaker at Sunday’s rally, has received threats in connection with her advocacy for women’s sex-based rights.
“WRNA supports Sall’s decision and unequivocally condemns threats, harassment, intimidation and violence. We call on the organisations and individuals opposing our rally, and women’s right to single-sex spaces, to make it equally clear that threats and intimidation are unacceptable and have no place in their campaign.
“Governments and public institutions, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, also have a responsibility to speak clearly when women are threatened for participating in public debate. Silence sends a damaging message: that women may be intimidated out of advocating for legal change without any public condemnation from institutions charged with protecting human rights.”
The rally will feature a wide range of speakers addressing women’s sex-based rights and the need for reform of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).
Confirmed speakers include:
Kirralie Smith, women’s sport advocate and Director of Binary Australia
A representative of the Lesbian Action Group, which has been involved in litigation concerning lesbian-only events and the Australian Human Rights Commission
Professor Clive Hamilton, philosopher and public intellectual
Anna Kerr, Principal Solicitor at the Feminist Legal Clinic
Professor Dianna Kenny, psychologist, academic and author
Jasmine Sussex, breastfeeding advocate
Additional speakers and voices from the community will participate throughout the afternoon.
The 23 August rally is the latest in a series of rallies across Australia calling for reform of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth), following the 2013 amendments to the Act that introduced “gender identity” as a protected attribute and removed the statutory definitions of “man” and “woman.”
“Australia’s current legal framework has stripped women of a clear legal definition. Consequently, it has degraded their right to legal recognition and left them exposed to abuse and discrimination on the basis of their sex,” Ms Heaton said.
Event: Restore Women’s Rights – Fix the Act Rally
Date: Sunday, 23 August 2026
Time: 12:00 noon
Venue: Martin Place Amphitheatre (Pitt Street), Sydney
Hosted by: Women’s Rights Network Australia Inc.
ENDS
