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Tag: 2014

  • Submission on Development of a Service Delivery Plan for the University of Canberra Public Hospital

    Within the human rights context, and as articulated in the UN Convention on
    the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the progressive right to the
    enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination
    on the basis of disability is fundamental to the design principles of the
    proposed University of Canberra Public Hospital (UCPH). Also fundamental to
    the design principles of the proposed UCPH is Article 6 of the CRPD which
    expressly calls on all Governments to take specific measures to ensure the full
    and equal enjoyment by women and girls with disabilities of all fundamental
    freedoms and human rights with men. Given the likelihood that a potentially
    higher proportion of women than men with disabilities in the ACT will need
    sub-acute hospital care, the design and operation of the UCPH is a gendered
    issue.

    You can read our full submission below.

    WWDACT-submission-on-the-UC-public-hospitalDownload submission
  • Submission to the ACT Discrimination Act Review

    Submission to the ACT Discrimination Act Review

    WWDACT believes that the express inclusion of multiple discrimination in The Act will impact
    positively on the overall wellbeing of the Australian people.21 WWDACT acknowledge that the
    implementation of such a legislative provision will incur costs. However, we believe the overall
    benefits on the life-expectancy, income, consumption, productivity, education levels, unemployment
    levels, health and social capital of all stakeholders in Australian society will far outweigh these costs.
    You can read our full submission below.

    WWDACT-submission-to-the-ACT-Discrimination-Act-ReviewDownload
  • Submission on Innovative Housing Opportunities and Supported Living Opportunities in the ACT

    Submission on Innovative Housing Opportunities and Supported Living Opportunities in the ACT

    Accessibility is a precondition for women and men with disabilities to live independently and participate fully and equally in society. Without access to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communication – including information and communication technologies and systems – and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, people with disabilities would not have equal opportunities for participation in society.

    Nationally, the majority of people with disabilities live in private dwellings (94%). The
    remainder of people with disabilities (6%) live in non-private dwellings, with nearly two-thirds of these (4%) living in cared accommodation. However, there is no publically available data that helps us understand the situation of women and men with disabilities in the ACT.

    Strategies to create housing opportunities for women and men with disabilities in the ACT must be effective both at the community level and also at an individual level. At international law, this is the difference between the principle of accessibility and the principle of reasonable accommodation (respectively). Care must be taken not to confuse or conflate these two principles.

    It is very important that the specific needs of women with disabilities (i) for safety and
    protection against violence; (ii) for recognition of their family responsibilities as parents and carers; and (iii) as they age to be expressly embedded in each and every housing option under consideration.

    You can read our full submission below.

    WWDACT-submission-on-innovative-housing-opportunities-in-the-ACTDownload submission

  • Facts on Women with Disabilities in the ACT

    Facts on Women with Disabilities in the ACT

    The WWDACT Principal Policy Officer, Emilia Della Torre, prepared a set of statistics and facts about Women with Disabilities in the ACT, prepared in April 2014. You can read more about this in the document attached.

    Facts-on-women-with-disabilities-in-the-ACTDownload
  • Facts on Women with Disabilities in the ACT

    Facts on Women with Disabilities in the ACT

    You can read this factsheet below.

    Facts-on-women-with-disabilities-in-the-ACTDownload factsheet
  • Report: Data Set Identification Project

    Report: Data Set Identification Project

    In June 2013, the ACT Disability Advisory Council (DAC) commissioned Women With Disabilities ACT (WWDACT) to undertake work to find what survey and data information about women with disabilities in the ACT is available in the areas of services for health and wellbeing and participation in social and economic life. The work was also to investigate how this information can enable the DAC to provide policy advice to the Minister for Disability, Children and Young People.

    The first section of the report sets out the objectives of the commission in more detail and includes the underlying rationale for the study. The direction of the study is aligned with the ACT Government’s Triple Bottom Line Assessment Framework which examines the economic environmental and equity impacts of policies. In turn, the ACT Women’s Plan 2010 – 2015 contains Economic, Social and Environmental strategic outcomes.

    The rationale is in three major areas. Firstly, it examines the complex nature of the intersection of disability and gender, acknowledging the diversity of vulnerable groups and various forms of inequality. Any action to address the challenges of this intersectionality must be based on sound evidence. Secondly, this section establishes the grounds on which public authorities are obligated to respond to the needs of women with disabilities. Thirdly, it stresses the role of
    information in guiding policies as well justifications for the participation of public authorities in generation and dissemination of information.

    The remainder of the document contains the study methodology, a review of 13 data sets that are identified as relevant to women with disabilities in the ACT, and findings resulting from the review. The main outcome of the study is to provide systematised information regarding available data sources. This information is summarised in a Table (Table 1, page 35). The study recommendations identify some of the current gaps in data collection or where analysis could be expanded in a way that would be helpful to ACT policy makers. It further identifies which body could be responsible for making the suggested data collection changes. The concluding section explains the central place of statistical evidence in guiding policies and actions, as well as outlining the joint responsibilities of all participants in the ACT community.

    You can read the full report below.

    ACT-DAC-data-set-investigation-project-reportDownload report