Police flooded Melbourne’s streets over the weekend, not because of a terror threat or a crime wave, but because women gathered outside Victorian State Parliament to rally over women’s rights.

The “Restore Women’s Rights” rally was held in support of Sal Grover, the women’s rights campaigner currently involved in a legal battle over women-only spaces. The timing was significant, coming just days after former prime minister Julia Gillard appeared to revisit aspects of changes made to the Sex Discrimination Act under her government, changes critics argue weakened the legal recognition of biological sex and created uncertainty around protections for women.

Gillard running away from the can of transgender worms she opened years ago. pic.twitter.com/J6pw9jclsS

— Valerie 🤌🏻 (@AussieVal10) July 3, 2026

For those attending the rally, it was confirmation that concerns they had raised for years could no longer be ignored. Their message was simple: women should not need permission to discuss their own rights, and women-only spaces should remain protected.

Yet the scale of the police presence told another story.

Officers formed a barrier separating the rally from counter-protesters, including trans activists and political campaigners. The women gathered were not there over a violent dispute or public safety threat. They were exercising their right to protest and required police protection protect them from those attempting to disrupt their rally.

I explained the difference between the two groups of protesters to curious onlookers: “These are women’s rights activists" and "on the other side, you have men dressed up as women telling them that they can’t speak.”

Massive police presence in Melbourne to protect women and men speaking about sexual based rights.

Notice how there are lines of police facing the trans activists and away from us.

We are not a threat. But men who wish they were women are and we needed lines of police, with… pic.twitter.com/BsPHcUUiik

— Kirralie Smith (@KirralieS) July 4, 2026

Speakers at the women's rights rally argued the issue went beyond one campaign or one legal dispute. They said the broader question was whether women still have the right to organise as a sex-based group, advocate for female-only spaces, and have those protections recognised in law.

Another speaker told me they were there “with women, unmistakable women, to talk about women, to talk about women’s rights, to rally in support of women and to try to restore our rights in law in Australia.”

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Across the police line, counter-protesters made their rabid opposition clear, chanting, shouting and attempting to disrupt proceedings. Police, including the riot squad, maintained the separation between the groups, to protect the women speaking.

Those at the women's rally argued that the fact police were required to protect women gathering was evidence of how deeply dangerous the issue has become for women.

The $$$$ that @VictoriaPolice [thank you] spends to protect women from the free speech haters who try to drown out Aussie Women's Voices.

Is it still a democracy when women need armed police protection to talk about their concerns? pic.twitter.com/SGpJ8EG22h

— Women's Voices Australia (@womensvoicesau) July 4, 2026

Among the counter-protesters were activists wearing keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags while also presenting themselves as supporters of LGBT rights.

I asked some of them a simple question: “Do you know what actual Islamic law in Gaza prescribes for gay people?”

I also asked whether they saw a contradiction between supporting LGBT rights while displaying symbols associated with a region where critics point to severe restrictions and persecution of homosexuality.

The questions were met with insults rather than answers.

It was clear that even on the issue of women’s rights, the trans rights activists had no interest whatsoever in engaging in an actual debate, offering no clear position on their progressive views on gender beyond feelings.

By the end of the rally, the divide was clear.

Supporters of the women's rally argued they were not seeking to take rights away from others, but fighting to ensure women can continue to organise around sex-based rights, speak openly and maintain protections they believe are under threat. A position that shouldn't even be up for debate in Australia, but sadly one we have become all too familiar with.