Babies are being removed at birth from First Nations mothers living with disabilities, the disability royal commission has heard. Giving evidence in Brisbane, Ms Schwartz said she had witnessed the removal of Indigenous babies first hand. “I would call it a heinous practice,” she said.
“We are among the most seriously disadvantaged members of the Australian community, and are also experts on the impact of policies on us,” says First Peoples Disability Network Chief Executive Officer Damian Griffis. “This week, a number of First Nations people with disability will give evidence about the different racist and ableist systems that harm our children.”
The essential functions and value of advocacy and representation in the protection and advancement of rights are described throughout the report and evidenced through The contribution advocates made at hearings, and submissions received from advocacy organisations.
Supporting the rights and needs of people with disability for equal access to safe, nutritious and enjoyable food is the call behind Dietitians Australia’s latest submission to the Disability Royal Commission.
This report was commissioned by the Disability Royal Commission and suggests that ‘paternalistic presumptions’ of people with disability is preventing them from living lives on their own terms. It shows how disability theories and models can contribute to promoting a more inclusive society.
This report was commissioned by the Disability Royal Commission and looks at how First Nations people with disability speak about their experience of violence and abuse. It finds that First Nations people with disability are less likely to discuss issues of violence and abuse with others outside their community because their experiences are too ‘raw’ to talk about. They often mention the terms ‘loss’ and ‘lost’ in reference to traumatic events.
This report was commissioned by the Disability Royal Commission to explore how people with disability use language, as well as concepts such as safety, inclusion, belonging and self-determination. The report finds that people with disability interpret the terms violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation in a very broad way. They could even construe help from others as violent or abusive behaviour.
The report sets out what the Royal Commission has done in its first 15 months, the cut-off point being 31 July 2020. The report says people with disability experience attitudinal, environmental, institutional and communication barriers to achieving inclusion within Australian society. It shows that a great deal needs to be done to ensure that the human rights of people with disability are respected and that Australia becomes a truly inclusive society.
The disability royal commission’s interim report was handed down on Friday, detailing how people with disability were experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation across all aspects of their lives. The 561-page report outlines the attitudinal, environmental, institutional and communication barriers people with disability face when seeking inclusion within Australian society.
In this research report, the author examined the articles of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to determine how well Australia is doing in improving the lives of its citizens with disability. This wide ranging assessment looks at 30 Articles to the UN Convention that affect Australians living with disability including the explanation of disability, transport, women and girls with disability, children and emergencies. The report finds that Australia is not upholding United Nations human rights protocols for people with disability and could do more to legislate greater rights for people with disability.
This research report investigated the extent and use of the Commonwealth’s legislative powers that enable it to provide support for and protect the rights of people with disability. It has found three distinct periods of time in which the Commonwealth positively moved to support its citizens with disability. It also says there is more scope for the Commonwealth to further expand its support for persons with disability and its legislative protection of their rights.
This report describes the international human rights context in which the Royal Commission operates. The report investigated the early rights movement of people with disability from the 1960s and 1970s through to the present day, which “exposed the power relations inherent to the medical model of disability, and which is commonly referred to as ‘ableism’”.
At Public Hearing 7, focused on “barriers to accessing a safe, quality and inclusive school education and life course impacts”, the commission received submissions and heard raw and compelling oral testimony from young people and their families who described experiences of exclusion, violence and neglect. Collectively, their testimony painted a sobering picture of how the education system continues to fail many people with disability.
Attorney-General Christian Porter announced on Tuesday that the government will amend the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to guarantee that written submissions will remain confidential even after the royal commission concludes.
A disability advocate has detailed harrowing stories of abuse against some of Australia’s most vulnerable people – from physical assaults to being put in cages – by those paid by taxpayers to care for them.