WUNRN
Submission
from Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) to the preparation of the United
Nations Analytical Study on Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities
Direct Link to Full 72-Page WWDA
Report:
This Submission from Women With Disabilities Australia
(WWDA) to the preparation phase of the United Nations Analytical Study on
Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities, aims to provide an
overview of some of the legislation, regulatory frameworks, policy,
administrative procedures, services and support available within Australia to
prevent and address violence against women and girls with disabilities. It
provides detailed information under the following themes: data and statistics;
legislation and policies; prevention and protection; prosecution and
punishment, and recovery, rehabilitation and social integration. WWDA
acknowledges that, due to time and resource constraints, this Paper does not
provide a complete and detailed analysis of all mechanisms and programs across
Australia’s eight States and Territories. However, the information provided in
the Paper clearly demonstrates that there have been, and remain, significant
systemic failures in legislation, regulatory frameworks, policy, administrative
procedures, availability and accessibility of services and support, to prevent
and address the epidemic that is violence against women and girls with
disabilities. Underlying these systemic failures is an entrenched culture
throughout all levels of Australian society that devalues, stereotypes and
discriminates against women and girls with disabilities, and invariably
perpetuates and legitimises not only the multiple forms of violence perpetrated
against them, but also the failure of governments to recognise and take action
on the issue.
The paper concludes that, as a matter of urgency, and consistent with recommendations from other key Australian disabled people’s organisations, the Australian Government should establish and adequately resource an independent, statutory, national protection mechanism for ‘vulnerable’ adults, where the requirement for mandatory reporting is legislated. WWDA further asserts that the Australian Government, in consultation with people with disabilities, should act immediately to develop and adopt, a gendered National Violence & Disability Prevention Strategy, which includes targeted, gendered initiatives to build capacity of individuals and organisations to prevent violence against people with disabilities and to ensure appropriate responses when it does occur.