I’ve been reading about the horrifying ordeal endured by Australian woman Laura Bushney on a Malaysian Airlines flight to Paris. She states she was sexually assaulted by a member of the flight crew on an overnight flight to Paris. The staff member in question has been remanded in custody in France. It has been immensely brave of her to speak out about the assault.
Around a year and a half ago, a man on Australian television discussed a woman who had been asked to leave her local pool for breastfeeding her daughter. This man felt that breastfeeding should be done with discretion– covered, perhaps, or in a private area. The woman in question, Bribie Island Mum Liana Webster, quite rightly, did not.
This other woman also heard his words. She was coming out on the other side of her own struggles with breastfeeding and after the worry and stress over low supply, dodgy latch, mastitis and general new-baby related exhaustion- she also took offence. She had been struggling from the start to get it right- now someone wanted to shame her for breastfeeding in public- because she didn’t have enough to worry about?! She was supposed to struggle with blankets or covers or sit next to nappy bins in parents rooms and hide away? She was outraged at the idea. She wasn’t the only one. She banded together with another nursing Mama, Ash Zuko, who also took exception to the words of this man and they staged a nurse-in that made headlines all around the country and was even reported internationally.
…Doesn’t exist!
In Australian society, most mums have stopped breastfeeding within the first months of their baby’s lives. There are many factors that lead to early weaning including lack of education, lack of support, early return to work, difficulty pumping and much more.
We can’t discount the power that social media and the Internet has given us to bring about change. A typed message, a website, a Facebook page and the result is that companies have no choice but to listen or risk ostracising sizeable portions of their market.