The Pandemic Research Project looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health and wellbeing of women with disability. Women have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to several factors, including economic insecurity, over-representation in certain sectors of the economy, and caring responsibilities.
This podcast series discusses intellectual disability, accessibility and violence and was created in collaboration with women with intellectual disability. Experts are interviewed about how they work with women with intellectual disability who have experienced violence. They share their wisdom around what workers and services could be doing to work better with this group of women.
In 2022, people with disabilities made up just 6.3 per cent of university enrolments in Australia, and only 1.2 per cent had a profound disability. Of those, only a handful studied science. Geologist and lecturer Melanie Finch believes the lack of inclusion in geoscience is an attitude problem rather than a lack of opportunities for disabled academics.
Paperwork and bureaucracy should never stand in the way of people with disability accessing essential support. But cutting through this red tape is not only a structural barrier, but also a burden that has fallen mainly on women.
This fact sheet was developed to support women, girls, feminine identifying and non-binary people with disability understand, apply for and navigate the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The fact sheet is available as an online summary with explainer video or as downloads in PDF, Word and Easy Read formats.
“As well as experiencing violence from family and our partners in our private home, we’re in disability group homes or in mental health inpatient wards. We’ve got disability support workers coming into our homes to do things like help us go to bed and help us shower,” Jen Hargrave from Women with Disability Victoria said.
“Violence against women and girls with disabilities is not perpetrated by a ‘few bad apples,’ it looks like street harassment, controlling behaviours by paid and unpaid carers, doctors and policy-makers taking away reproductive choices, and institutional violence.”
This resource names ableism and gender inequality as the two consistent, intersecting drivers of violence against women and girls with disabilities. It sets out the actions that must be taken to address these drivers and stop this violence before it starts. It points to the many stakeholders that need to take action – from individuals to communities, schools and workplaces, to disability and health services, and governments. It makes clear that we all have a role to play in preventing this violence.
A new groundbreaking report has revealed alarmingly high rates of violence experienced by women and girls with disabilities, with 65 per cent having experienced violence. Our Watch and Women with Disabilities Victoria has found women and girls with disabilities are twice as likely to experience physical and sexual violence compared to able bodied women and girls.
Guest: Jen Hargrave, Senior Policy Officer at Women with Disabilities Victoria
Women told us being on the NDIS took a lot of time and effort. They said communicating with the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) was difficult, and the application process was challenging and emotionally draining.
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.
Women with cognitive and intellectual disability are increasingly being abused through technology, with perpetrators monitoring their behaviour, tracking their movements and encouraging them to share naked images, a new Australian study has found.
This video introduces 6 keystones for understanding disability. By putting them in place, we can work together for a more inclusive and equitable society.
The online self-paced 2-part micro-course explores violence against women with disabilities. The first course increases awareness of the impact of violence against women with disabilities and the second course introduces prevention of violence against women with disabilities. The aim is to assist the disability, prevention, social services, and government workforces to understand how easily violence against women with disabilities can occur and what actions you can take to prevent it.
About 47% of adults with disability have experienced violence, yet the lack of accessible and inclusive services makes escaping violence extremely difficult for women with disability. Researcher within the Disability Health Unit, at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Jen Hargrave, says this problem is unfortunately common for people with disability.