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

Report from Young-joo Byun on the 2nd World Assembly of Women With Disabilities
I am a Korean-born, Australian Deaf woman, and member of Women With Disabilities Australia. Last year, I attended the Second World Assembly of Women With Disabilities in Seoul, Korea. I was encouraged to attend by the ex-president of the Sydney Society of Korea and was certainly motivated by this opportunity to meet disabled women from all over the world. It is the first time that I have had such a chance. The WAWD felt a bit like the United Nations.
WWDA President, Sue Salthouse also encouraged me to attend and gave me a presentation about women with disabilities in Australia and WWDA to take with me. Before going, I practised my presentation frequently with a work colleague as tutor. Then in October I flew Korea to reunite with my daughter, Emily, who is also Deaf. Emily had already gone to Korea to spend time there during the Australian school holidays. Just prior to the start of WAWD, organisers asked me if I might also be able to volunteer as an interpreter in KSL during the conference. In the end there were enough KSL interpreters at WAWD.
The first WAWD event was the welcoming pre-conference night at Chunggyechun, Seoul City (Chunggyechun is like Darling Harbour). There was great entertainment including the local police drum group, and excellent performances by a number of dancers and singers. I was able to contribute a Sign’ N’ Sing performance of “My Heart Will Go on” in Auslan and dance. The audience gave me the traditional Deaf applause by waving their hands in the air. I was glad to see they knew about Deaf culture in doing this. Afterwards a number of the Korean delegates said that it was the first time they had seen a performance combining Sign Language, song and dance.
From Chunggyechun we went together to Sejong Hall for the official Opening Ceremony. We had a police escort and felt like VIPS. Women with disabilities from many nationalities were there and wore their national costumes. I wore an Australian costume. Part of the ceremony was a parade of beautiful Korean traditional costumes (Hanbok) worn by ex’s Miss Korea winners. People couldn’t believe that I was an Australian representative because, of course, they could see that my looks show I am also Korean. However my being there as an Australian representative impressed them and demonstrated Australia’s multicultural society.
I used both the KSL interpreters and the Korean real-time closed captions on the screen during the conference. After the Ceremony, South America, USA and Australia gave their country presentations. I spoke in Auslan and my daughter Emily spoke in English when we presented. It was a first time for a Deaf mother and daughter to present together at a conference such as this. Over dinner, the other panellists asked us how use to chopsticks as well as needing our help for translation with the waiters and other Korean nationals there. Emily and I were pleased to be able to share our cultural ties to Korea in this way.
Then next day, there were presentations by women from both Asian and African countries. I was interested to learn the degree of disadvantage women and girls with disabilities experience in so many countries, being unable to go to school, or work, or form a family, etc. Women with disabilities everywhere want to live the same as other people, have fair treatment, a good quality of life, and proper recognition of their abilities. WAWD President Heo wants the WAWD head office in Korea to strengthen networks of women with disabilities throughout the world. In the immediate future WAWD may support the education of African and Asian women with disabilities by funding Korean teachers to work there. I wish WAWD every success in the future and look forward to learning about outcomes from 2011 conference and news of the next conference.


National Violence Plan Implementation Panel (NPIP)

Report from the Inaugural meeting
Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is represented on the National Plan Implementation Panel (NPIP). WWDA’s immediate past- President, Sue Salthouse, attended the first meeting of the NPIP on behalf of WWDA, and below is her report from that meeting.
The first meeting of the National Plan Implementation Panel (NPIP) was held in Melbourne on 26 & 27 April 2012. The Panel is to give input to the first 3-year cycle (First Action Plan – Building Strong Foundations, 2010-2013) of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. Unfortunately, it has taken a long time to get the States and Territories to sign on to the Plan and this is not yet universal for all jurisdictions. It has also taken a protracted time to get an agreed set of delegates on the NPIP. It was often noted that the first Action Plan time is well past the half way mark before the NPIP is convened and that the Plan is being rolled out without the non-government involvement which had been proposed in ‘Time For Action’ and by the Violence Against Women Advisory Group (VAWAG). In fact the Draft Implementation Plan was tabled at the meeting, in confidence, and all NGO copies taken back by the secretariat. State and Territory representatives do have copies depending on their position in their respective governments as advisors to the Ministers for Women.
The meetings were held at the Mercure in Spring St Melbourne, the only wheelchair entrance to which was down the ramp to the underground car park, and which had considerable access issues in all the rooms which they refer to and advertise as ”accessible”. The FaHCSIA staff had done the bookings. My personal homework is to take the matter up with Mercure Australia management.
The NPIP is composed of representative state/territory public servants (e.g. head of Office for Women) and a NGO representative (e.g. a director of a DV service or state umbrella body for DV services). In addition, each state/Territory can have observers attending. The NPIP also has a number of national non-government representatives, of which a WWDA representative is one¹².
The reporting structure for the NPIP is:

1. 
   The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) is ultimately responsible for carriage of the National Plan to Reduce Violence.
   
2. 
   The Select Council on Women’s Issues (comprising the relevant Commonwealth/State/Territory Ministers) provides strategic direction to COAG on the Violence Plan.
   
3. 
   The Senior Women’s Officials Group (SWOG) supports the Select Council on Women’s Issues and also supports the NPIP (a membership/designation list has been requested by NPIP).
   
4. 
   The NPIP will provide advice to the SWOG, and also engage with the non-government sector about the Plan. It ostensibly also will have a monitoring role, but the criteria for this have not been outlined, nor have the tools which might be used to undertake any overview. Time for Action/VAWAG had required an independent monitoring body.
   
5. 
   Four key priority advisory groups will be formed, to provide expert information to NPIP in the priority areas of the first 3 year plan (i.e. Primary Prevention; building the evidence base; enhancing service delivery; and justice access).
   

The composition of the Advisory Groups is not yet decided. Names can be suggested by NPIP members. The size and structure is also not yet decided for each group. Their focus questions were discussed at the Meeting.

Because the NPIP has a brief to engage with the non-government sector, each meeting of the NPIP will produce two documents: (1) minutes of the meeting - which will be confidential, and (2) an overview – which will be for public information. This is a very different situation to the VAWAG, the preceding advisory group and of which WWDA member Annie Parkinson was a member.
Resources
Website: sexualityanddisability.org
www.sexualityanddisability.org - is a website that starts with the premise that women who are disabled are sexual beings - just like any other woman. The website is constructed as a bunch of questions a woman with a disability might have - about her body, about the mechanics and dynamics of having sex, about the complexities of being in an intimate relationship or having children, about unvoiced fears or experiences of encountering abuse in some form.
sexualityanddisability.org discusses a wide range of topics related to sexuality without shying away from them - parts of it are explicit. People have different views of what is and isn't appropriate and we've included them all.
sexualityanddisability.org is accessible to people with disabilities; special features have been included to ensure this. The website has been created with the active support of women with disabilities, disability rights activists, counselling professionals, and organizations working on disability. More and more women with disabilities are reclaiming their sexual selves, speaking out through blogs, films, books, performances, websites and offline activism.
sexualityanddisability.org is brought to you by (CREA ) and Point of View . Based in Delhi and New York, CREA is a feminist human rights organisation that promotes, protects and advances the sexual rights of all people; as part of its programs, it runs an online course on disability, gender and sexuality. Based in Mumbai, Point of View is a non-profit platform that brings the points of view of women into multiple domains through media, art and culture.
sexualityanddisability.org aims to provide women with disabilities and related constellations - partners, families, health workers, counsellors, organisations - a platform to explore this further.
Go to: http://www.sexualityanddisability.org

Article: Politicizing Sexual Pleasure, Oppression and Disability: Recognizing and Undoing the Impacts of Ableism on Sexual and Reproductive Health
Barbara Waxman was one of the most powerful and trailblazing scholar-activists on the intersection of sexuality, violence and disability. Her works insist on the recognition of the need for sexual pleasure by disabled people and draw attention to hate- motivated violence against disabled people. This piece brings her seminal work on sexuality featured in The Disability Rag, “It’s Time to Politicize Our Sexual Oppression” (1991b) into the current epoch by updating her facts and connecting her work to recent advancements in critical disability studies. Through exploring the sexual and reproductive oppression of disabled people, this piece pays particular attention to the persistence of silence and lack of political mobilization around these issues in the disability community. This piece is a renewed call to action to recognize and dismantle the root of much of the communal sexual oppression of disabled people: ableism, which is a system of social power that simultaneously devalues disabled people and exalts supposed able-bodiedness. Interrogating the specific manifestations of structural and internalized ableism makes clear the deeply embedded nature of this system of social power.
To download a copy of this article in either Word or PDF format, go to:

http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/2011OnlineSeriesBarbaraWaxmanFiduccia.asp

Book: Disabled Women and Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is encountered by disabled women more frequently than non-disabled women, yet disabled women are less likely to receive appropriate services, and there has been little research on their experiences and how this problem can be addressed.
This book, drawing on the first UK national study of disabled women who have suffered domestic violence, highlights the experiences of these women, the nature of the violence perpetrated against them, and the seriousness and range of its impacts. The book draws attention to the gaps in services for disabled women and discusses how professional responses should be developed and improved, pointing to current examples of good practice. It includes first-hand accounts from disabled women and includes contributions from leading disabled women activists.
This book will be important reading for students, practitioners, policymakers and academics in the fields of disability and domestic violence.

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

December 2011 192pp ISBN: 9781849050081

Email: [e-mail] Web: www.jkp.com

Action Plan: WHO Violence Prevention

This Plan of Action for the World Health Organisations’ Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, aims to unify the efforts of the main actors in international violence prevention and identify a small set of priorities for the field, by presenting six national level goals towards which efforts can be directed. The first two goals aim to prioritize violence prevention within the global public health agenda; the next three aim to build strong foundations for on-going violence prevention efforts; and the last aims to promote the implementation of evidence-informed violence prevention strategies on parenting, life-skills, social norms, alcohol, the risks of firearm-related deaths and injuries, and services for victims. The objective of the Campaign in the coming years will be to support the achievement of these goals in countries around the world.

For more information about the WHO Global Campaign for Violence Prevention, and to download a copy of the Action Plan, go to: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/
Guide: A Study Guide to Female Victims of Violence with Disabilities (Sweden)

Women with disabilities are subjected to violence at least as often as the general female population. The problem has long been invisible in research, health and human services, and public debate. But it has been rising to the surface in recent years.

‘Looking the Other Way: A Study Guide to Female Victims of Violence with Disabilities’ is a guide which primarily targets professionals – personal assistants and employees of the social services, habilitation, rehabilitation, health care etc who handle cases affecting women with disabilities, as well as provide them with support and service. Personnel, such as caseworkers at other departments of the social services, who help female victims of violence in general may also benefit from the guide.

The guide is also directed to professionals at NGO:s, such as women’s shelters, crime victim support centres and organisations of people with disabilities. The objective of the guide is to raise awareness and skills among professions, and that professionals will be in a better position to provide these vulnerable women the protection, support and assistance they need.

The guide proceeds from literature and research in the area, as well as interviews with practitioners who have experience of helping female victims of violence. It is also based on a systematic review of international studies concerning effective methods that focus on female victims of violence with disabilities. This guide has been designed for two different uses: – as a source of information and reference for personnel at relevant organisations – as a basis for inter-professional training. Each chapter concludes with case reports and questions for discussion.
To download a copy of ‘Looking the Other Way: A Study Guide to Female Victims of Violence with Disabilities’, go to:

http://www.socialstyrelsen.se/publikationer2012/2012-2-13
Blog: Disability Discrimination Act “twenty years, twenty stories”
Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act will have been in force for 20 years in March next year, and the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) would like you to share in the celebrations. To recognise how the lives of Australians with disability have changed during this period, the AHRC is compiling a series called “twenty years, twenty stories”. These stories, which the AHRC plans to turn into short videos, will illustrate those changes, and show how the law has been used to achieve systemic change. The AHRC needs you to tell them those stories. They should be around 200 words, and demonstrate how the DDA has – or has not- changed the lives of Australians with disability. They might describe a successfully conciliated complaint, or a campaign using the DDA for the establishment of a Standard or other law change. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) will choose twenty stories to best reflect the achievements during the twenty years, and the learnings for the future. Please contribute to the celebrations.
Please email stories to [e-mail]

Link: http://www.ahrcblog.com/

Report: 56th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

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, and considered ‘The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges’ as its priority theme. The Commission adopted six resolutions and one decision, available in the report of the 56th session:

• 
  Ending female genital mutilation
  
• 
  Situation of and assistance to Palestinian women
  
• 
  Release of women and children taken hostage, including those subsequently imprisoned, in armed conflicts
  
• 
  Gender equality and the empowerment of women in natural disasters
  
• 
  Eliminating maternal mortality and morbidity through the empowerment of women
  
• 
  Indigenous women: key actors in poverty and hunger eradication
  
• 
  Women, the girl child and HIV and AIDS
  

For a copy of the Report, go to: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=E/2012/27

Report: ‘Breaking the Cycle’
‘Breaking the Cycle’ was a one-year research project undertaken by the Victorian Office of the Public Advocate (OPA). It arose as a response to the key systemic human rights and criminal justice issues identified by OPA’s Independent Third Person (ITP) Program. The program trains and manages volunteers to assist people who are believed to have cognitive impairments and mental illnesses in their interviews with Victoria Police. Through its management of the ITP Program, OPA has identified that there are a significant number of people with disabilities who are repeatedly presenting before the criminal justice system. The project explores the circumstances of these people, and investigates what can be done to assist them in ‘breaking the cycle’ of poverty, social isolation and contact with crime.
To download a copy of the report ‘Breaking the Cycle: Using Advocacy-Based Referrals to Assist People with Disabilities in the Criminal Justice System’ (either the full report or a Summary version), go to: http://www.publicadvocate.vic.gov.au/research/255/

Website: Livable Housing Australia (LHA)
Livable Housing Australia (LHA) is the lead national, not-for profit organisation for livable housing design in Australia. Established in June 2011, LHA's primary objective is to champion everyday Australians, the residential building and property industry and all levels of Government to adopt livable housing features in all new homes being built in Australia. It is supported by industry, government and lead consumer organisations across the country. LHA is committed to establishing national awareness, education and housing accreditation programs that will enable the community, the residential building and property industry and all levels of Government to identify and better understand the value of livable housing design. LHA is responsible for the development, dissemination and revision of the nationally agreed Livable Housing Design (LHD) Guidelines.
Go to: http://www.livablehousingaustralia.org.au/

Website: Optional Protocol to CEDAW

An exciting website has been launched recently on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The website aims to encourage greater engagement with the Optional Protocol by providing a central hub of material for women, advocates, academics, lawyers, students, NGOs and others. The website brings together in an accessible format all of the Optional Protocol decisions and inquiry findings. It lists them by country, subject matter, decision type and year. It provides summaries of each of the Committee’s decisions and inquiry findings and provides links to original submissions, amicus briefs and case comments. Included on the site is information about how to use the Optional Protocol. In addition, the website contains a list of scholarship and resources on the Optional Protocol and the Committee’s jurisprudence. Also available are some great videos on the potential of the Optional Protocol for advancing women’s human rights. Two of the videos concern the CEDAW Committee’s recent decision in L.C. v. Peru on the rights of a young rape survivor to access abortion services and essential health care.

To see what materials are available on the website and to ‘follow’ to receive notifications about new developments, go to: http://opcedaw.wordpress.com
The site is also linked to Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/OPCEDAW

Join WWDA!

The success of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) relies heavily on the participation and goodwill of our members. We are always seeking women with disabilities who would like to represent WWDA at government consultations, workshops, forums and committees, as well as helping us in other ways such as commenting on WWDA documents and reports; presenting papers at Conferences; writing articles for our website, becoming members of our Management Committee and so on. WWDA is a Public Benevolent Institution, which means that donations over $2 are tax deductible. Remember, becoming a financial member of WWDA entitles you to nominate for the Management Committee when vacancies arise and/or vote at annual elections.

WWDA’s Membership Form is available from the WWDA website at: http://www.wwda.org.au/member.htm
or by contacting WWDA

News Wanted For WWDA-NEWS!
Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) produces this newsletter, WWDA-News, quarterly. If any organisation or individual has any relevant information/news that you would like to share please forward to [e-mail] for inclusion. We look forward to hearing from you. NB: Space is limited and the editorial committee reserves the right to decide the content of WWDA-News.
Appendix 1: References and Endnotes

Presentation by Associate Professor Helen Meekosha to the High Level Panel on Rural Women & Girls With Disabilities: Economic Empowerment & Political Participation
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2007). Yearbook Australia 2007. Catalogue Number 1301.0. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Ben-Moshe, L. & Powell, J. J. W. (2007). Sign of our times? Revis(it)ing the International Symbol of Access. Disability & Society, 22, 489-505.
Soldatic, K, Meekosha, H and Somers, K (2012) Finding Ernesto: temporary labour migration and disabled children’s health. International Journal of Population Research, Special Issue on Disabled Children, Volume 2012 (in press).
Stienstra, D (2012) Race/ethnicity and disability studies: towards an explicitly intersectional approach. In Routledge Handbook of Disability Studies, N Watson, A Roulstone and C Thomas (eds), 376-389. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Nangala, I, Nangala, M, Lawrence, K and Bowman, R (2004) Inclusive pathways: Waltja’s work to support Aboriginal people with a disability, to access education, training and employment. Paper presented at Pathways 7 Conference, Alice Springs. www.adcet.edu.au/StoredFile.aspx?id=999&fn=Waltja.doc