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.
Indigneous woman Lisa Sansbury tells her story of trauma and abuse after being removed from her family at a young age. She tells her story in a painting to be submitted to the Disability Royal Commission with the support of her Indigenous advocate at Grampians disAbility Advocacy.
The report examines existing research to gain a better understanding of both risk and protective factors relating to why some members of society cause harm to people with disability. A rapid review process was used to identify 168 papers in the peer-reviewed literature. The researchers found that the majority of studies focused on the risks for people with disability while only few looked at the risk factors which enable perpetrators, or systemic issues that enable violence.
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.
Ballarat-based Grampians disAbility Advocacy (GdA) has launched a video to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to share stories with the Disability Royal Commission. This Is My Story gives voice to the experiences of Ballarat-based Indigenous elder Lisa Sansbury.
Disability support is a matter of significant public and community interest, with employers operating in a highly regulated, accountable and sensitive environment. The type of care and conduct of employees towards those in their care has come under closer scrutiny in recent years as community expectations have shifted to zero tolerance of any form of abuse perpetrated against supported persons.
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.
There is no doubt about it: the NDIS quality and safeguarding system is a complicated beast. Many newly transitioned providers are scratching their heads about what all this means in practice. If you aren’t sure whether you are across the fundamentals, here’s some questions to help…
“If family violence and risk factors are not identified, it could put a victim-survivor at imminent risk of harm and is likely to lead to an inaccurate assessment and plan that does not consider the specific support and safety needs of a victim-survivor.”
The NDIA is inviting existing participants to take part in the pilot through text messages, cold calls and emails, with offers of $150 in exchange for participation. The text messages have included the phrase “exclusive invitation”, and have been sent directly to NDIS participants.
Restrictive practices limit a person’s rights or freedom of movement and come in various forms. Seclusion, such as locking someone in a room, using restraints like handcuffing someone to a bed or medicating someone to control their behaviour are all examples of restrictive practice. Respondents said restrictive practices can have negative effects on people with disability. This includes trauma, poor health, shorter lifespan and death. They said using restrictive practices can be degrading and cruel. Their use can create a culture which does not value people with disability, and make denying them their rights seem normal.
Advocates are calling for change after a report found people with a disability are twice as likely to experience sexual and physical violence than those without a disability.
Melanie’s story was revealed as part of the disability royal commission’s examination of the experiences of people with cognitive disabilities in the criminal justice system who are locked in indefinite detention in forensic mental health facilities.
In dismantling our indefinite detention system, the key is to provide more disability-focused support to those at risk of coming into contact with criminal justice systems.
“But the impact of the pandemic on many people with disability, especially those with high support needs, would have been significantly ameliorated if the Australian government had complied fully with the letter and spirit of its obligations under the [UN convention] from the very outset of the pandemic.”