What we are about
Endeavour Forum started out as Women Who Want to be Women. That explains the four ‘W’s on the sails of the ship, HMS Endeavour, in our logo The organisation was set up in response to the militant feminism which first came around in the 1970s and became increasingly influential in Australia, especially under the Whitlam Labor government (1972–75) and even under the Fraser Liberal-Country Party government (1975–83). While militant feminism did address some legitimate grievances, it went too far, promoting issues such as easier abortion, weaker divorce laws and affirmative action.
There was a need for women to defend the legitimate rights of traditional women in families and the rights to employment of male breadwinners.
We believe that men and women are equal but different — not equal and the same.
What we aim to achieve.
The fight against abortion is high on our agenda, as it causes much physical and psychological harm to women, as well as taking the lives of innocent human beings. Our broad aim is to prevent economic forces such as high taxation from destroying families. We believe that the rights and interests of the family must be the cornerstone of economic policy.
How we aim to achieve our goals
We want to bring to the forefront education and awareness of how induced abortion, whether legal or illegal, hurts women. Many studies now confirm that abortion is linked to breast cancer and pre-term births of subsequent “wanted” children. Many studies reveal the negative impacts of abortion on women’s mental health afterwards. We can achieve pro-life goals only by educating the public and their parliamentary representatives on the many scientific studies proving that abortion is not a “safe” procedure. We also make known the incredible science of the DNA, from fertilisation onward, and insist on the humanity of children in the womb.
The traditional family is the basic unit of society. Sadly, today the crime of sexual molestation, pornography, rape, harmful sex education, normalisation in the media of pre-marital sex, and promotion of liberal-minded philosophies are rampant. The acceptance among politicians and others of promiscuity, common law non- marital relationships and fatherless children only confirms the dire situation confronting families. In recent years a perverted form of sex education has promoted the agenda of what is called the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) movement. Children have been encouraged to undergo irreversible chemical and surgical sterilisation, in the belief that psychological problems can be solved by a superficial change of gender. We need your support to continue our work and to promote a better future for women, children and families.
About Endeavour Forum’s founder
Mrs Babette Francis AM (1930–2024) was born in India, where she spent the first 22 years of her life. She
was awarded a BSc(Hons) degree in microbiology and chemistry. In 1953, she met her Australian future
husband, Charles Francis AM RFD QC (1924–2009), on a ship bound for London. Charles was then a
returned serviceman and an up-and-coming barrister, who would later become a QC and sit as MP in
Victoria’s state parliament.
Babette and Charles were married in London and returned to live in Australia.
The couple are survived by their eight children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Babette Francis was a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in Australian publications, such as
Quadrant magazine, News Weekly, Melbourne’s Herald Sun, Fidelity and Kairos, and in several U.S.
Catholic publications. She led teams to attend numerous United Nations conferences on population, habitat,
food and the status of women. She alerted other organisations to the anti-family implications of the 1979
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by
the UN General Assembly. She has been honoured by the U.S. Phyllis Schlafly Eagles Forum, the Cardinal
Mindszenty Foundation, Steven W. Mosher’s Population Research Institute, Dr Allan C. Carlson’s World
Congress of Families (WCF), and the Pontifical Council for the Family. In 2000, Endeavour Forum Inc. was
granted special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Endeavour Forum Inc. was originally founded as a pro-life, pro-family, Australian women’s NGO and has
links with similar groups overseas. Many men are now numbered among its active members and supporters.
It aims to promote the interests of the traditional family, to oppose abortion and euthanasia, and to counter
the ideology that gender is fluid and which seeks to erase the distinction between male and female.