Charges Laid Over Alleged Sexual Assaults
Police have laid charges over alleged sexual assaults on intellectually disabled women in a DHS care home.
Resources
Creating Healthy Workplaces
VicHealth has identified five areas where workplaces can begin to make advances, not only in improving the health of employees and preventing future problems, but also in enhancing productivity and reducing absenteeism and staff turnover. The Creating Healthy Workplaces program is structured around five areas: reducing stress promoting equal and respectful relationships between men and … Continued
Disability Groups Aim for High-Tech Help
When, at 23, Joanne Webber was told she had a rare eye condition, she received lots of support. She was diagnosed for free at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and was helped by the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind. “I met with mentors of similar age to me and met people with … Continued
With Better Digs Comes a Happier Life
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 19 and her marriage broke down when it all became too much, but Katy Skene considers herself one of the lucky ones. At the age of 31, because there was nowhere else for her to go after a two-month stay in hospital, Ms Skene was moved into a … Continued
Converting PDFs to Webpages Results in Staggering Increase in Page Views
A striking lack of PDF files differentiates the Victorian Government’s Department of Primary Industries web site from just about every other government and business site in Australia. Since DPI Systems and Technical Manager Mark Bryant completed a PDF purge in July 2011 the DPI site has also registered an astonishing increase in page views – … Continued
Death with Dignity Backed
Victorians could soon have greater control over their deaths by being allowed to refuse life-saving treatment for future illnesses, under proposed laws strongly endorsed by the Health Minister. The proposed laws being considered by the state government would enable people to set directives about healthcare and medical treatment for conditions they don’t yet have. Health … Continued
Disability in Indigenous Communities; Addressing the Disadvantage
By any measure, Aboriginal people with disabilities are amongst the most disadvantaged Australians. They often face multiple barriers to their meaningful participation within their own communities and the wider community. This continues to occur for a range of reasons including the fact that the vast majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disabilities do … Continued
Agreement for More Captioning on Pay TV
Media Release, , 8 May 2012 Captioning levels on subscription television services will be increased over the next three years, under an agreement reached between the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Australian Subscription Television and Radio Association (ASTRA). The agreement was reached together with leading captioning expert body, Media Access Australia and … Continued
A Blind Spot Found on City Trip
Transport Department project officer Paul Smith designs tram stops so they are easier to use for people with disabilities. But it took the temporary loss of his own vision during a cross-town tram trip to fully appreciate how tricky using public transport is for the blind. The experience was part of a Guide Dogs Victoria … Continued
Police Encounters with People with Intellectual Disability: Prevalence, Characteristics and Challenges
Closing date: October 31, 2012
This study investigates the experiences and perceptions of operational members of Victoria Police in relation to their contacts with people with intellectual disability (ID). Key interests for exploration included how frequently and in what context police reported coming into contact with people with ID, how they made this identification, and the challenges they experienced at … Continued
Autism School for West
Victorian Education Minister Martin Dixon says a plan for a prep-to-year-12 school for students with autism in Melbourne’s western suburbs is ”non-negotiable”, with work on the new school to begin within two years. Specialist autism P-12 schools are controversial because some experts argue autistic children should be educated in mainstream schools to improve their social … Continued
Pushing the Boundaries on Autism in the Mainstream
Clifton Hill Primary principal Geoffrey Warren is the first to admit to ”considerable doubts” when asked to enrol a student with severe autism several years ago. Adam Dickson, then eight, was ”shutting down” at an autism school and his mother Stephanie Gotlib became concerned he was depressed. Ms Gotlib, the executive director of Children with … Continued
Know Your Rights Brochures
The brochures aim to assist people to understand their rights, identify situations where their rights are not being met and know what actions they can take The series of five Know Your Rights brochures are entitled: About Us Age Discrimination Disability Discrimination Race Discrimination Sex Discrimination The About Us brochure explains what the Commission does … Continued
Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 Final Review Report
Final Report of the Review of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 was tabled in the Parliament on Wednesday 14 September 2011. The Government Response was tabled on Wednesday 14 March 2012.
Violence Against Women with Disabilities
Women with disabilities experience violence at a higher rate, for longer periods, and are less likely to report the abuse, than women without disabilities (Healey, 2008). Tricia Malowney, Chair of Women with Disabilities Victoria, and Ariane Garner-Williams, youth and women with disabilities advocate, talk about some of the issues that arise for this doubly disadvantaged … Continued