Medical student Jasmine Davis selected for Global Youth Committee, wants to change lives in regional, rural communities

A medical student raised in Ocean Grove wants to change the world for regional communities and gender-diverse people. Here’s how she could achieve it.

Ocean Grove-raised youth activist Jasmine Davis has been selected to sit on the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s new Global Youth Committee. Picture: Supplied

When Jasmine Davis began her medical degree, she started to notice the inequalities regional communities faced in accessing healthcare.

Ocean Grove-raised Ms Davis, who is in her final year of medical school and doing placement at a hospital in the Northern Territory, said she knew she had been “really lucky” to have good access to healthcare growing up.

But the 26-year-old said her placements around regional Victoria had made it clear there were many people who didn’t have the same.

“Seeing the distances people have to travel to access healthcare,” she said.

“And then the challenges that people face, on top of being from a rural area, when they’re from marginalised groups like women and gender-diverse people, trying to access things like abortion or gender-affirming care in a small town can be really challenging.

Ms Davis said she realised she could do a lot as an individual doctor, but more with policy changes. Picture: Supplied

“Seeing that in action and realising that you can do a lot as an individual doctor, but you can do even more if you take an overall look at the healthcare system and policy, and try and see if you can make a change at that more systemic level.

“Because healthcare really is a fundamental human right, and it’s pretty sad to see how much people in this wonderful country struggle to access those really important things.”

To make her voice heard, Ms David got involved with student organisations, and last year led the Australian Medical Students Association.

She has also spoken out about other issues including gender-based and climate issues.

Ms Davis said she had always been interested in leadership, and women in leadership.

She said it was instilled as important from a young age by her family, and in high school when she attended Sacred Heart College in Geelong.

“There was lots of strong, female role models,” she said.

Now, Ms Davis is among 17 young leaders selected to sit on the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership’s (GIWL) Global Youth Committee.

The committee will look at the most pressing gender-based issues facing their generation, and will be chaired by leading youth advocate, Chanel Contos, whose landmark petition started a national conversation on sexual consent and education.

The committee will act as a platform for engaged young people to share their ideas and advocate for change.

Ms Davis said she was very excited but shocked to be selected for the committee.

She said she was looking forward to lending her knowledge, and to learn from the expertise of the other women and become a better advocate.

Ms Davis said she wanted to raise two key areas of concern, including the impact of geographical location on policy, and how issues like climate change affect regional and rural communities more than city-based residents.

For more information about the committee, visit giwl.anu.edu.au/giwl-global-youth-committee

Originally published as Medical student Jasmine Davis selected for Global Youth Committee, wants to change lives in regional, rural communities