Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation welcomes landmark Victorian Government Inquiry into Women’s Pain findings

Why OCRF contributed a submission on behalf of you – our community, and what we thought of the Inquiry’s findings.

Released in November, findings from the Victorian Government Inquiry into Women’s Pain, shed vital light on systemic biases and research gaps that shape women’s experiences with pain in the Victorian healthcare system.

In the words of Hon Jacinta Allan MP and The Hon Mary-Anne Thomas MP, “Women and girls make up over half of Victoria’s population, yet their health needs have been systematically overlooked... The evidence is clear – chronic pain disproportionately impacts women”.

For ovarian cancer, where early-stage symptoms are often non-specific and attributed to other experiences such as menopause, and where research investment has historically lagged behind other cancers, these systemic issues have profound impacts.

Understanding how women’s pain is overlooked, under-investigated, and under-researched provides crucial context for why ovarian cancer continues to be diagnosed in the later stages and remains Australia’s most lethal gynaecological cancer.

About the Inquiry into Women’s Pain Report

The landmark report, Bridging the Gender Pain Gap: The Inquiry into Women’s Pain Report 2025, was initiated by the Victorian Government’s Women’s Health and Wellbeing Program, with the goal of understanding and sharing women’s pain and its toll on daily life, to inform vital recommendations for the Victorian health system to better address the needs of women.

It also examined barriers to accessing care, the impact of current services, and opportunities for improvement, while also exploring evidence-based interventions, workforce skills gaps, and service delivery reforms to enhance pain management and drive more equitable healthcare outcomes.

Over 13,000 individuals and organisations, including the OCRF, submitted responses to the Inquiry in July 2024, and in November 2025 the inquiry report was published. Topline statistics included:

• 90% of respondents experienced pain lasting more than a year, with over half (54%) enduring daily pain
• 71% of respondents cited widespread dismissal by healthcare professionals as a primary challenge when seeking help
• 53% of respondents reported delayed diagnosis as a barrier to appropriate care

The OCRF’s submission on behalf of the ovarian cancer community

How do the report's findings correlate to ovarian cancer?

The Women’s Pain Inquiry revealed deep systemic issues in how women’s pain is perceived, investigated, and treated— and at the OCRF, we know that these failures are magnified when it comes to ovarian cancer.

Findings illustrated that women more generally reported being routinely dismissed or disbelieved when presenting with pain, and their symptoms were often minimised, normalised, or attributed to stress or hormones. These general healthcare patterns also directly contribute to delayed diagnosis of ovarian cancer, a disease where symptoms are often non-specific, easily overlooked, and misdiagnosed.

When a health system is primed to treat women’s pain as an overreaction rather than a clinical warning sign, the first – and most critical – opportunity for further investigation, and potentially detection, is frequently missed.

These findings also highlight the long-standing gender bias in medical research. The Inquiry reinforced that women’s health conditions remain under-studied, poorly understood, and deprioritised, with the health system still largely built around male biology.

Nowhere is this more evident than in ovarian cancer. 

Despite being Australia’s most lethal gynaecological cancer, research investment has historically been low, progress has been slow, and there is still no early detection test. The lack of foundational research into ovarian biology, pain mechanisms, and disease progression means clinicians do not have the tools they need to diagnose ovarian cancer earlier or differentiate its symptoms from non-cancerous conditions.

For women already facing structural barriers, including those in regional areas, First Nations women, culturally diverse communities, and women living with disability, these research gaps compound existing inequities in care.

The Inquiry makes clear that improving outcomes for diseases like ovarian cancer requires more than better clinical care, it requires sustained, targeted research into women’s pain, women’s biology, and the conditions that disproportionately affect them. Only by closing these research gaps can we begin to close the survival gap.

Focusing on a positive shift: opportunities for change

This Inquiry represents a critical point. By formally acknowledging the systemic dismissal of women’s pain and the longstanding research inequities that contribute to delayed diagnoses and poorer outcomes, the Victorian Government has taken an important and commendable step.

This work validates the lived experiences of countless women who have fought to be believed, and it begins to reshape a system that has historically overlooked conditions including ovarian cancer. Recognising these failures at a government level creates the foundation for meaningful structural reform, the kind that can directly influence how ovarian cancer is researched, detected, and treated in the future.

The report’s findings illustrate myriad areas for action that the OCRF believe could lead to transformative change for gynaecological cancers, including ovarian cancer if dedicated attention:

• The multidisciplinary approach advocated for should include gynae-oncologists
• Recommendation 1.1 Collaborative research approaches criteria should encourage gynae-oncologist participation, alongside dedicated funding streams for ovarian cancer research
• Recommendation 1.4 (and 3.3 medical education) the Resource library to aid clinicians should be developed in consultation with ovarian cancer researchers and gynae oncologists – raising awareness at a GP level of ovarian cancer. Additionally, curriculum to be developed in consultation with ovarian cancer specialists – including RACGP materials
• Recommendation 2.2 encourage Vic Gov to consult peak bodies such as OCRF to further develop its action plan

Looking ahead, we hope to see this momentum translate into sustained investment in research that specifically addresses the gaps highlighted by the Inquiry, evidence that builds on the need for dedicated funding streams for ovarian cancer research.

Additionally, the OCRF will continue to advocate to Federal Government for support for diseases that disproportionately affect women, including ovarian cancer, via the Gynaecological Cancer Transformation Initiative in collaboration with peer organisations, Ovarian Cancer Australia and Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG).

By strengthening research, improving pathways to diagnosis, and ensuring equitable access to specialised care, we can meaningfully shift outcomes for those facing ovarian cancer, and create a health system that finally treats women’s pain with the urgency it deserves.