A woman of short stature has told an inquiry she is abused and harassed by strangers once a month on average, with people calling her names, laughing at her, taking videos without consent and even sexually assaulting her.
This week the disability royal commission heard tales of abuse and neglect from people with disabilities in youth detention and adult prisons. One woman described being constantly dropped while being moved in and out of her wheelchair and said she was denied physiotherapy to slow the progression of muscular dystrophy. An Indigenous man said he was denied his antidepressants and asthma puffer. A hearing-impaired man said he didn’t have an Auslan interpreter for weeks.
On any night there’s an estimated 116,000 homeless people in Australia and the majority of them have a disability. “Having nowhere to go after hospitalisation … that’s one of the difficulties I faced,” she said. “You just feel nothing, you’ve got nowhere to go, you don’t really have the ability or the finance to feel anything, so it’s nothingness.
Among the witnesses was a Warumungu woman, Daisy*, whose three children include 18-year-old Joziah, who lives with quadriplegia and dysphagia. While Daisy lives in Tennant Creek, Joziah now lives 500km away in Alice Springs, because he was unable to access the support he needed – such as speech therapy and physiotherapy – in the family’s home town.
The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has turned its attention to the treatment and experiences of thousands of Indigenous people with disabilities in remote communities.
But Ms Sayers argues separating students into mainstream and special schools is “a form of segregation”, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. “We need to be transforming our education system so that all students are included alongside their non-disabled peers in education,” she said.
Proud Indigenous man Thomas Marks tells his story of being Stolen Gen, incarceration and turning his life around through art. This is his story told in his own words for the Disability Royal Commission.
The family of a young disabled man abused by a carer has never received an apology or compensation from the service provider, a royal commission has been told.
The woman, known as Chloe, gave evidence to the disability royal commission that she was repeatedly raped by the man, and later fell pregnant. She told the DRC she “nearly died” and lost her baby in one of the attacks in 2016.
One of Australia’s largest national disability insurance scheme providers has apologised to the residents of two troubled group homes after allegations of violence, abuse and neglect were aired at an inquiry. Life Without Barriers charged residents at a Victoria home a substantial proportion of their disability pension for “rent” despite the property being leased on a peppercorn deal of $1 a month.
A woman with cerebral palsy was sexually assaulted in a public park after her disability accommodation provider refused to let her meet her date in her own home, the disability royal commission has heard.
This research report is about the disability rights movement and the history of disability activism and advocacy in Australia. It highlights how hard people with disability, advocates and activists have fought for the same rights as others, and to gain the protections offered by equality, inclusion and justice. It also reminds us of how important the outcomes of the Royal Commission will be for hundreds of thousands of Australians with disability.
This research report provides historic insights into the experiences of people with disability in Australia. It looks at different cultural and social factors that have impacted the lives of people with disability over time. It explains how, for hundreds of years, society viewed people with disability as different and told them they didn’t fit in. This influenced the way the community and government treated people with disability regarding access and needs. The 21st century has marked a more inclusive approach towards people with disability in Australia, but attitudes such as racism, stigma and exclusion are still common experiences that people with disability struggle against
This overview summarises the responses to the Promoting inclusion Issues paper that was released in December 2020. It outlines what should be done to promote a more inclusive society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.
Alarming statistics about the violence and abuse experienced by women and girls with disability have been laid bare for a Commonwealth inquiry, including increased reports of strangulation during the pandemic.