Women With Disabilities Australia (wwda) wwda-news issue 2, 2012

Presentation by Elizabeth Broderick to the High Level Panel on Rural Women & Girls With Disabilities: Economic Empowerment & Political Participation
Endnotes
[1] Stella Young in ABC PM Radio, ‘Concerns over sterilisation of girls with disabilities’, Transcript, 14 February 2012. At http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2012/s3430739.htm (viewed 15 March 2012).
[2] Figures calculated from Australian Bureau of Statistics data used for Disability, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4446.0). See Table 1.1 – ALL PERSONS, disability status by age and sex – 2009, available at .http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4446.02009?OpenDocument. Full report: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Disability, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4446.0; latest issue released 2011). At: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4446.0main+features42009 (viewed 15 March 2012).
[3] Figures calculated from Australian Bureau of Statistics data used for Disability, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4446.0). See Table 1.3: ALL PERSONS, Disability rates by sex, state or territory, remoteness and country of birth - 2009, available at http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/4446.02009?OpenDocument. For the purposes of calculating figures for this paper, ‘rural areas’ was defined as including people living in ‘Inner regional’ and ‘Other’ areas under the main heading ‘Remoteness’. Full report: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Disability, Australia, 2009 (cat. no. 4446.0; latest issue released 2011). At:http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4446.0main+features42009 (viewed 15 March 2012).

[4] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Sickness, Disability and Work: Breaking the Barriers – A Synthesis of Findings across OECD Countries (2010). See http://www.oecd.org/LongAbstract/0,3425,en_2649_33927_46502382_1_1_1_1,00.html(viewed 22 March 2012).

[5] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Sickness, Disability and Work: Keeping on track in the economic downturn – Background paper (2009). Available at www.oecd.org/dataoecd/42/15/42699911.pdf (viewed 22 March 2012).
[6] Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4446.0 Disability Australia, 2009 (latest issue released 2011). At http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4446.0main+features42009 (viewed 15 March 2012).

[7] PricewaterhouseCoopers, Disability expectations: Investing in a better life, a stronger Australia (2011), p9. At http://www.pwc.com.au/industry/government/publications/disability-in-australia.htm (viewed 22 March 2012).

[8] Australian Human Rights Commission, Response to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Questionnaire for the Preparation of the Analytical Study on Violence Against Women and Girls and Disability (2011), p2.

[9] K Howe, Violence Against Women with Disabilities - An Overview of the Literature (2000). At http://www.wwda.org.au/keran.htm(viewed 15 March 2012).

[10] Australian Bureau of Statistics Website. At http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/c311215.nsf/web/Gender (viewed 15 March 2012).

[11] Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4125.0 Gender Indicators, Australia (2011). At http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4125.0 (viewed 15 March 2012).

[12] The legal framework regulating sterilisation of children in Australia was set out by the High Court of Australia in the case of Secretary of the Department of Health and Community Services v JWB and SMB (1992) ALJR 300 (Marion's Case). It was held in that case that:

• 
  court or tribunal authority is required before any child can lawfully be sterilised unless the sterilisation occurs as a by-product of surgery appropriately carried out to treat some malfunction or disease; and
  
• 
  authorisation may be given only if sterilisation is in the child's best interests after alternative and less invasive procedures have all failed or it is certain that no other procedure or treatment will work.
  

Each state and territory in Australia has different laws about who is authorised to make decisions as per Marion’s case. In some jurisdictions the Family Court of Australia and the Federal Magistrates Court have exclusive jurisdictions to decide on sterilisation matters while in other jurisdictions, the respective guardianship tribunal or board also has jurisdiction to determine sterilisation matters. The Australian Guardianship and Administration Council has produced a protocol to assist various Australian guardianship tribunals in exercising power regarding sterilisation, and to promote consistency across the jurisdictions when dealing with an application for the sterilisation of a person. According to this protocol, the Tribunal hearing a sterilisation matter must follow principles based on human rights, maximum participation, minimal limitations, the expressed wishes of the person to be considered, encouragement of self-reliance and self-management, the least restrictive alternatives, maintenance of existing supportive relationships, and the maintenance of cultural environment and values.
[13] See for example, S Brady and Dr S Grover, The Sterilisation of Girls and Young Women in Australia: A legal, medical and social context (1997). At http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/hr_disab/sterilization/sterilization.html (viewed 15 March 2012); and Women with Disabilities Australia, Sterilisation of Women and Girls with Disabilities - An update on the issue in Australia (2011). At www.wwda.org.au/sterilisationsynopsisDec2010.pdf (viewed 15 March 2012).

[14] Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Concluding Observations Australia (2010), UN Doc CEDAW/C/AUL/CO/7 para 43. At http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/cedaws46.htm (viewed 15 March 2012).

[15] United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review – Australia (2011), Para 86.39. At http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/PAGES/AUSession10.aspx (viewed 15 March 2012). Recommendation 39 put forward by Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany.The treaty bodies for ICESCR and CRC have similarly noted in their concluding observations on Australia that the regulation of the practice of sterilisation as a breach of human rights.

[16] Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their children 2010-2022 (2011). At http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/women/progserv/violence/nationalplan/Pages/default.aspx (viewed 15 March 2012).

[17] Australian Law Reform Commission, Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws - Improving Legal Frameworks (2012), http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/family-violence-and-commonwealth-laws-improving-legal-frameworks-alrc-report-117 (viewed 15 March 2012).

[18] Productivity Commission, Disability Care and Support, Productivity Commission Inquiry Report (2011), p5. At http://www.pc.gov.au/projects/inquiry/disability-support/report (viewed 15 March 2012).

[19] Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, National Disability Agreement (2009). At http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/progserv/govtint/Pages/policy-disability_agreement.aspx (viewed 15 March 2012).

[20] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Disability support services 2009-10: report on services provided under the National Disability Agreement (2011). At http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=10737420186&tab=2 (viewed 15 March 2012).

[21] Council of Australian Governments, National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (2011). At http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/about/news/2011/Pages/nds.aspx (viewed 15 March 2012).

[22] National Disability Insurance Scheme Website. At http://www.ndis.gov.au/.

1 The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and the principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. The 56th session of CSW was held in New York in February-March 2012, to consider ‘The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges’ as its priority theme. For more information on the CSW56, go to: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/56sess.htm

2 http://www.waltja.org.au

3 Research funded with an Australian Research Council grant (2010–2013), DP110102719: ‘Disability in Rural Australia’, and conducted by Professor Barbara Pini, Dr Karen Soldatic, Associate Professor Helen Meekosha and Professor Carol Thomas.

4 United nations Treaty Collection Overview, viewed on 7 April 2012 at: http://treaties.un.org/Pages/Overview.aspx?path=overview/overview/page1_en.xml

5 In the USA, the number of women on Boards and in Executive positions has remained low and relatively static over at least the past 5 years, with women occupying only 15% Boards and 14% of Executive position in the Fortune 500 companies; see:

Soares, R. et al, 2010, 2010 Catalyst Census: Fortune 500 Women Executive Officers and Top Earners, Catalyst 2010, viewed online 7 April 2012 at: http://www.catalyst.org/publication/459/2010-catalyst-census-fortune-500-women-executive-officers-and-top-earners ; and

Media Release: Latest Catalyst Census Shows Women Still Not Scaling the Corporate Ladder in 2010; New Study Indicates Clue to Reversing Trend, http://www.catalyst.org/press-release/181/latest-catalyst-census-shows-women-still-not-scaling-the-corporate-ladder-in-2010-new-study-indicates-clue-to-reversing-trend

http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/convention-violence/convention_en.asp

6 AGOSCI is a group representing people with complex communication needs, as well as those who live, know or work with people with complex communication needs. See: http://www.agosci.org.au

7 http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/111609/key-indicators-2011-report.pdf

8 Goal 1(End Poverty & Hunger)

9 Goal 5 (Maternal Health)

10 Goal 2 (Universal Education)

11 Goal 4 (Gender Equality)

12 A list of the NPIP membership is available at: http://www.juliecollins.fahcsia.gov.au/mediareleases/2012/pages/reducing_violence_against_women_240412.aspx