After a long period of loneliness, Rochelle Steven was at the point of "total despondency" when she typed "child-free women's social group" into an online search engine.
"Working from home and also being a woman in her late 30s with no kids — that's actually two of the really key mechanisms that women use to make friends," Ms Steven said.
"And I was locked out in both."
Ms Steven, who moved to Western Australia from Queensland in 2018, said her mental health deteriorated due to the isolation she was experiencing.
Realising she needed to build connections, she hit the enter key in her Google search.
It's brought her in contact with a group of women who have now changed her life.
"If I had not been so down, I might not have taken that leap," Ms Steven said.
"It was kind of this lifeline for me.
"I joined, I fronted up to a social gathering with these women … [aged] in their 30s to 50s [with] no kids — either by choice or not — so it's very much a judgement-free zone."
Ms Steven is a member of one of multiple Perth social groups created by people without children to socialise and make new friends.
More women not having kids
According to 2020 data from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), there is a growing cohort of Australians who are not having children.
The proportion of women not having children at all has continued to grow in Australia since the mid-1980s, despite fluctuating fertility rates.
While their reasons vary, some have experienced a social stigma for not becoming a parent.
For Ms Steven, the group has not been an escape from those social pressures but an opportunity to address her loneliness.
Ms Steven says it has been difficult to develop and maintain a relationship with the women already in her life.
"One of the biggest obstacles is the fact that they have kids," she said.
"They are obviously doing their best to juggle everything that a woman with children does in Australia in the 21st century.
"I saw, and I experienced, how difficult it was to try to cultivate a regular connection with those women."
As a consequence, Ms Steven chose to seek out women who were child-free.
"I did decide to actively find a group of women who were in a similar stage of their life, both [in terms of] choice and age and interests," she said.
During her 20s, Ms Steven decided she did not want children. This was initially for lifestyle reasons and later due to ethical concerns about human population and consumption.
A safe space from trolling
Kimberley Tassoude, co-founder of a social media group called Perth Australia Childfree, says non-parent communities provide a safe place to share feelings and experiences.
Ms Tassoude has been the target of vitriolic comments on social media for being open about her decision not to have children.
"I believe my most amusing one was being called an 'empty vessel' by someone who was a little angry," she said.
"I've also been told I'm mentally ill for not wanting children."
Ms Tassoude has also been told that she is "a waste of food" and that "if a woman is not going to reproduce then she basically shouldn't be here".
Ms Tassoude's decision not to become a parent has often led to assumptions that she hates children, or comments suggesting she is missing out, but she disagrees.
"I just don't want to," she said.
"Some people just can't handle that answer for some reason.
"It'd be good if people, rather than saying, 'Why don't you want them?' could just say, 'Good for you'."
Some of the child-free women in the group, which has more than 100 members, are seeking friendships after many of their friends become parents, Ms Tassoude said.
She says women with children tend to move into mothers' groups or spent more time with other parents.
"Children are a lot of work and a lot of time," Ms Tassoude said.
"And especially for friends who become single mums. They just do not have the money and the time, and I completely understand that.
"But, unfortunately, sometimes it makes friendships hard to continue."
More childless men join group
Although initially it was women who made up most of the group members, recently more men have been joining, Ms Tassoude said.
Nik Gassner, an administrator of the online group, experienced some social isolation as a result of not being a parent, but his experience as a man had been vastly different to that of his fianceé.
Men tended to celebrate his decision, he said, whereas his fianceé faced assumptions that there must have been a physical reason for her decision.
"Telling mates I'm not wanting to have children … it's almost like I'm empowered," Mr Gassner said.
"My mate's, like, 'Oh, look at you, you're making the most of it. You're going out there and you're living life'."
"I think the most insulting thing is that for [my partner, and] some of the other people that I know who are women when they say they don't want to have children … it always boils down to, 'Well, what's wrong with you?'"
Mr Gassner described the online community as a kind of "haven" that provided support and sometimes a place to laugh about shared experiences.
He still has friends with children and respects people's choice to start a family.
"We are not here to demonise people that actively want children and families, and more power to them," Mr Gassner said.
"But this group helps to remove a stigma."
Not alone anymore
Ms Tassoude said the online group planned to start holding in-person social events in Perth.
She hopes more discussion, both in-person and online, will help make it more socially acceptable to decide against parenthood.
Ms Steven believes that finding her group has helped save her life.
"I was so, so down and I am definitely not alone," she said.
"There are other women in the group that feel the same way.
"They know that it's a safe place for them … they can come in and not worry about having any awkward conversations or being asked questions."
