A new report released today by Women with Disabilities ACT (WWDACT) analyses the
experiences of women, girls, feminine identifying, and non-binary people with disabilities during
COVID-19. It illustrates an urgent need to address pre-existing disadvantage, and to involve
women* with disabilities in all emergency planning.
Report author Megan Hagan says ‘Findings were disheartening in that nothing was really new,
or really COVID-19 specific. Instead, there was a predictable worsening of pre-existing
disadvantage.’
78% of women* with disabilities reported experiencing new or increased mental health issues
during COVID-19. Of particular concern, 87% of LGBTIQA+ people with disabilities
experienced increased mental health concerns. These figures reflect the already high levels of
mental health concerns among women* with disability being exacerbated.
28% of women with disability were impacted negatively by increased physical labour. Ms
Hagan notes ‘gender inequalities around the mental load, home schooling, and increased
domestic work increased barriers for many women* with disabilities.’
The report also acknowledges positive changes brough about by COVID-19. Of note, there
were increased social security payments; increased availability of Telehealth appointments; the
normalisation of video calls; the ability to work from home; and a greater community
awareness of infection control, isolation, and loneliness.
These positive aspects are important to bring forward as we strive for an equitable society, but
they in no way balance out the negative impacts.
COVID-19 has resulted in increased domestic violence cases across Australia. Despite the
federal government committing additional domestic violence funding, there have not been the
resources to meet demand for support services. 12% of women* with disability experienced
new or increased domestic violence due to COVID-19.
22.73% of LGBTQI+ people with disability experienced new or increased family or domestic
violence during COVID-19 in contrast to 7.25% of cisgender women.
40% of women* with disabilities experiencing family or domestic violence did not have access
to appropriate services.
In Australia, compared to their peers, women, girls, feminine identifying, and non-binary people
with disabilities experience higher levels of all forms of violence more intensely and frequently
and are subjected to such violence by a greater number of perpetrators. COVID-19
exacerbated the situation.
When speaking on the prevention of violence against women* with disabilities in the ACT,
WWDACT CEO explains that ‘Women* with disabilities experience the same forms of violence
that all women* experience, but they also experience forms of violence unique to the
intersection of gender and disability.’ The prevalence of this violence is testimony to the lack of
prevention strategies and pathways safety afforded to women* with disabilities by current
policy, services, and systems. On this, Mx Reed notes ‘worryingly, our stats do not represent
the true extent of this problem’.
You can read our full report, summary brief and media release below.
Tag: Report
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“Involved from the Beginning” COVID-19 Outreach Project Final Report
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Report: Parenting Peer Support Group
Women with disabilities who are pregnant, parenting or planning to become parents face a range of
barriers to successful parenting. They experience higher rates of domestic violence, poverty, social
isolation and reproductive coercion than their non-disabled peers. Women with disabilities who are
pregnant are less likely to breastfeed and less likely to have control over decisions during their labour
than their non-disabled peers. Women with disabilities are significantly more likely to be involved
with the child protection system and have their parenting capacity questioned. This is a big fear for
parents and may reduce their likelihood of engaging with a mainstream parents group. Though rates
of breastfeeding are low for parents with disabilities, disability specific parenting peer support groups
may increase rates of breastfeeding. Knowing these issues, it must be acknowledged that women*
with disabilities who are pregnant, parenting or planning to become parents may be more likely to
experience structural oppression that intersects, or overlaps, creating greater levels of disadvantage.
Although the Women with Disabilities ACT Parenting Peer Support Group aimed to focus on the
strengths of participants, it is important to acknowledge these experiences of oppression and work
towards reducing them through our work at WWDACT.
You can read our report from this project below. -
“The Responsibility has Fallen on Us”: Perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on Women* and Girls with Disabilities in the ACT and Region
This has been a difficult year for the Canberra community, which is dealing with the
impact of smoke, bushfires, hail and now COVID-19 (‘COVID’). Early in the crisis
WWDACT identified COVID-19 was affecting women* with disabilities
disproportionately, given that this was the second major disaster the ACT was
facing. The impact of gendered issues in emergency situations have been well
proven and researched by bodies like the National Women’s Alliance,1 who have
highlighted that women* are disproportionally impacted by disasters. The inequalities
caused by disproportionate impacts increase within ‘vulnerable cohorts,’ such as
disability.
WWDACT sought to analyse this issue through a feminist lens that is inclusive of the
experiences of women* living with a disability in the ACT through this survey and
interviews, the results of which are summarised in this report.
Ultimately, these findings should inform WWDACT’s strategy in responding to the
Royal Commission into Disability and help inform recommendations into how the risk
of women* with disabilities experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation at
these times can be prevented.You can read the full report below.
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Report: Contraception, Consent, Respectful Relationships & Sexuality
This is part 2 of the project report for the Contraception and Consent Project, beginning in 2017.
The second part of this project looked at the experiences and knowledge of ACT
women* with disabilities, families, and health and education professionals. It
identifies what is being done well in the ACT, where there are gaps in services and
information, and what women*’s needs are. Information was gathered via two online
surveys, and conversations with survey participants.You can read the survey report below.
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Report: Contraception and Consent – A comparative analysis of the legal frameworks for accessing contraception
This research aims to improve women/girls with disabilities (cognitive, sensory, physical or dual disability) experiences in choosing a contraceptive device. The methodology followed adopts a human rights-based approach to provide a better understanding of contraception and consent issues concerning women with disabilities.
This research has been initiated by Women With Disabilities ACT (WWDACT). WWDACT is a systemic advocacy and peer support organisation for women and girls with disabilities in the ACT. WWDACT follows a human rights philosophy, based on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). WWDACT is a Disabled
People’s Organisation (DPO), governed by women with disabilities, and its proposals and recommendations to government are consistent with Article 4(3), and Article 29 of CRPD which outline the imperative for consultation.In the ACT, there are 32,600 women with a disability, who make up 52.5% of the population of people with disabilities, and 8.5% of the total population of the ACT (Australia Bureau of Statistics, Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers Australia, 2015). Many women with disabilities do not know about their reproductive rights. This arises from their limited access to sexual health education or information about reproduction, contraception, respectful relationships and sexuality. This is a barrier to them forming safe sexual relationships. Both young and adult women who have a learning disability which affects their decision-making, may be further compromised in exercising choice about contraception when third parties make decisions on their behalf. It is time to
empower people with disabilities by granting them equal access to society and having control over any needed medical treatment.You can read the full report below.
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Contributing our voices! A summary of feedback from the Have Your Say! Forum with women with disabilities in the ACT
The goals of WWDACT’s consultation were to:
- Provide an accessible, open and genuine space for women with disabilities in the ACT to contribute their voice to the shaping of policy, service provision and broader community relations;
- Provide targeted feedback and real life stories to government, policy makers, service providers and the community about the lived experience of women with disabilities in the ACT and how to better meet their needs and;
- Collect qualitative, grassroots feedback directly from women with disabilities in the ACT with a focus on what is working effectively, what is in need of improvement and identifying practical and innovative measures which can be implemented to more appropriately cater to the needs of women with disabilities in the ACT.
You can read the report from this consultation below.
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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.
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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.
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Strong Women Great City: A snapshot of findings from a survey of ACT women with disabilities
This report presents a snapshot of findings from a survey conducted in early 2012 of women with disabilities who live in the ACT by Women With Disabilities ACT (WWDACT) and the Women’s Centre for Health Matters (WCHM).
The survey was undertaken with two aims in mind: firstly, to complement existing disability data, and secondly, to highlight areas of need where data doesn ot currently exist, particularly ACT specific data disaggregated by sex and disability.
The survey covered three main areas: health and wellbeing, participation in social life and participation in economic life. Between these three areas the main priorities of WWDACT and WCHM are represented: to create the conditions necessary for all ACT women to make informed decisions about and manage their health and wellbeing; to improve women’s social participation and thereby reduce the likelihood of isolation or marginalisation; and to work to improve the social determinants of women’s health through advocating for (among other things) improved access to education and employment.
These three areas are also priorities of the ACT Women’s Plan, which seeks to ensure the social, economic and environmental contribution of women in the ACT, in particular women with disabilities. The Plan also makes a commitment to addressing existing gaps in sex disaggregated data.
You can read the survey report attached below.
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Strong Women Great City: A snapshot of findings from a survey of ACT women with disabilities
This report presents a snapshot of findings from a survey conducted in early 2012 of
women with disabilities who live in the ACT by Women With Disabilities ACT (WWDACT)
and the Women’s Centre for Health Matters (WCHM). The survey was undertaken with two aims in mind: firstly, to complement existing disability data, and secondly, to highlight areas of need where data does not currently exist, particularly ACT specific data disaggregated by sex and disability.You can read the full report below.