Histories of struggle and reform in modern Australia

This issue of Australian Historical Studies opens with two articles that explore the struggles for the recognition of human rights, including the protection offered for women and children, in Australia’s recent history. From today’s vantage point, looking back to the experiences and politics of the 1970s is a reminder of how far we have advanced as a society when it comes to such issues as the acknowledgement of child sexual abuse and gender equity in the workplace and the wider community. But it is also sobering to see that many of the concerns about the status and safety of women and children that were expressed almost five decades ago have not been fully addressed in 2018. One lesson we can draw from the past is that social change can be slow and halting, even when the need for reform is compelling.