Intro | Gender | Diversity | References

Introduction

In line with other behaviours, health behaviours are gendered. Differences exist between the way women and men behave in relation to their health and illness. Various factors including gender roles and socio-economic status, means that behaviours such as dieting, sun exposure, exercise, prescription drug use, and alcohol and tobacco use, differ between women and men.

Gender

A snapshot of these differences includes:

• One in twenty females report having an eating disorder and one in four women report knowing someone who has an eating disorder[1]. Anorexia Nervosa is the third most common illness for adolescent girls in Australia (after obesity and asthma)[1].
• Women are more likely than men to use sun protection[2], but girls under 14 years from lower income families are three times less likely to use sun screen, sun glasses or umbrellas than those from higher income families[3].
• Australian women (24%) participate less in organised sport or physical activity than men (30%)[4].
• Almost 30% of Victorian women report drinking alcohol at levels that place them at risk of short-term alcohol related harm, and young Victorian women aged 14-17 years are more likely to have risky drinking patterns compared to their male peers[5].
• A higher prevalence of tobacco use reportedly exists in female adolescents aged 16 than in males of the same age (24% and 16% respectively)[5].
• Females more than males report greater lifetime tranquilliser use, with an increase in use among 16-17 year old females[5].
• Victorian women are more often social gamblers, preferring to gamble on bingo, raffles, scratch tickets and gaming machines, while men gamble on football, private cards, and horses[6],[7]. Women gamblers tend to be either 20-39 years of age and working fulltime, or retired and on a below average annual income.

Diversity

Women with disabilities

• In 2003, Victoria recorded 498,200 women with disabilities compared with 494,100 men[8]. 
• Women with disabilities are less likely to have regular two yearly Pap tests than other women[9]. 
• Women with disabilities often face discrimination by healthcare providers and staff[10].
• Women with disabilities often have difficulty accessing healthcare services or are refused service because of poor accessibility[10]. In 2006, 23% of women with disabilities surveyed reported having difficulty accessing services[11].

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women

• A greater proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women than men report their levels of exercise to be sedentary[12]. 
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s tobacco use is reportedly 2.5 times the rate of non-Aboriginal women[13]. 
• Alcohol consumption by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women occurs most in women aged 25-34, where higher rates of alcohol consumption for non-Aboriginal women are found in the 35-44 age bracket[14].

Same-sex attracted women

• Significantly higher rates of risky alcohol use, marijuana and other illicit drug use have been found in young same-sex attracted women aged 22-27 years compared to heterosexual women of the same age[15].

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