About Endometriosis Australia
Raising awareness and funding research: Endometriosis Australia is a nationally accredited charity dedicated to raising awareness, educating the public and funding research for endometriosis. Efforts have reduced the average diagnosis time from 7–12 years to 6.5 years, but much work still needs to be done.
Advocacy and impact on healthcare: Since 2012, Endometriosis Australia has actively promoted awareness, advocated for better healthcare, and provided comprehensive resources and information. We highlight the significant impact of endometriosis on workplace environments.
Educational programs: Our programs include informative fact sheets, training modules, and fundraising initiatives aimed at advancing prevention, diagnosis, and treatment options, striving for a cure. We collaborate with medical, psychology, physiotherapy, allied health, and complementary medicine experts to ensure our initiatives are accurate and effective, and enhance community and medical understanding of this disease.
Patient empowerment: We are committed to empowering patients with essential knowledge for proactive healthcare management and advocating for patient-centred care solutions.
Objectives of Endometriosis Australia
- Engage in a strong awareness campaign to inform, the medical community, business, media and the public about endometriosis.
- Create and provide professional, educational programs for women with endometriosis, communities, schools, healthcare professionals, businesses and individuals involved in improving health outcomes for *women with endometriosis.
- Represent the tens of thousands of women, girls and those assigned female at birth (AFAB) throughout Australia that have endometriosis.
- Work with those health professionals who treat the condition and with researchers working to find solutions.
- Raise funds for research in Australia into the causes, treatments and ultimately prevention of endometriosis.
Our people
Endometriosis Australia is proud to have a dedicated team of Board Directors, Clinical Advisory Committee members, Ambassadors, and EndoChampions.
Over the past decade, this team has actively fostered endometriosis awareness within the community, spearheaded fundraising programs for research and education, and more.
The story of Endometriosis Australia
Driven by their personal experiences with endometriosis, Jodie Dunne and Donna Ciccia felt compelled to enact positive change for Australian women and girls affected by the condition. Their paths crossed on Facebook in 2012, leading to an initial Skype meeting where Endometriosis Australia took shape. Recognising the urgent need to alleviate suffering for future generations, they established the organisation. Five months later, they convened for their inaugural board meeting, where Associate Professor Jason Abbott joined to contribute his extensive expertise in endometriosis research.
Dennis Robertson, motivated by his daughter’s battle with endometriosis, also joined the board, lending crucial financial management skills. Since its first face-to-face board meeting in 2013, Endometriosis Australia has proudly served the community for a decade.
The story of Endometriosis Australia
Understanding diagnosis delays
There is a significant delay in diagnosing endometriosis, with an average delay of 6.5 years. This delay is largely due to societal norms around menstrual health, which lead girls and *women to normalise symptoms. Additionally, healthcare providers sometimes dismiss or normalise symptoms when patients seek medical help.
Importance of early diagnosis: Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial as they reduce the long-term impacts of endometriosis, including the need for invasive and fertility treatments.
Impact beyond menstrual health: Endometriosis affects more than just menstrual health; it can profoundly impact every aspect of a *woman’s life, often without clear solutions. Raising awareness is essential to minimising diagnosis delays across all age groups.
Educating on menstrual health: Educating younger generations about menstrual health—what is normal and what is not—is critical to breaking the cycle of delayed diagnosis and its consequences for future generations (Ballard, K., Lowtan, K., Wright, J., 2006 & Dessole, M., Benedetto Melis, G., Angioni, S., 2012).
National Action Plan for Endometriosis
Endometriosis Australia stands as the foremost authority on endometriosis in Australia. Since 2013, our organization has taken a leading role nationally and internationally in raising awareness and promoting understanding of this complex condition. We actively advocated for and supported the creation of Australia’s first National Action Plan for Endometriosis (NAPE), aimed at enhancing awareness among patients and the medical community alike. This effort builds upon our pioneering initiative in 2017, when we initiated the first parliamentary discussion on endometriosis.
Despite increased awareness, there remains a widespread lack of understanding among both communities and healthcare professionals about this life-altering condition, which affects 1 in 7 women, girls, and those assigned female at birth (AFAB)—approximately 14% of the population. Endometriosis often persists beyond pregnancy, hysterectomy, and menopause.
Endo Yellow for Endometriosis Awareness
Our logo has been taken from the Australian Wattle. When in flower, the golden wattle displays the national colours, green and gold. As one species of a large genus of flora growing across Australia, the golden wattle is a symbol of unity.
Wattle is ideally suited to withstand Australia’s droughts, winds and bush fires. The resilience of wattle represents the spirit of the resilience of *women with endometriosis. The plant itself withstands a lot of hardship and remains strong but has delicate, soft flowers. This strength and delicacy of the wattle reflect the strength and femininity of women with endometriosis.
Yellow is the international awareness colour for endometriosis.
