Latest News from Women with Disabilities Australia – 15 June 2017

Posted on June 15, 2017

Civil Society Organisations Support Call for Royal Commission into Disability Violence

A broad range of organisations endorsed our call for a Royal Commission into abuse and violence against people with disability.

Over 160 civil society organisations and 380 individuals endorsed our Civil Society Statement to the Prime Minster calling for an immediate Royal Commission.

The endorsed statement was forwarded to the Prime Minister last week and to all State and Territory members of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG).

Organisations to sign the statement include Amnesty International, Local Government NSW, councils of social service, disability groups and community legal centres.

WWDA’s Executive Director spoke to ABC News regarding the statement last week.

Access the full statement with endorsements:
http://dpoa.org.au/submissions/civil-society-statement-rc/

Policy and Submissions

WWDA is writing a submission to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)describing a formal List of Issues [Australia] to be adopted during the 18th session (14-31 August 2017) of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
WWDA wrote and coordinated the recent civil society statement on behalf of DPO Australia, calling for a Royal Commission into violence and abuse against people with disability.
WWDA is represented at the June 2017 Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) by DPO Australia, in New York. The annual conference invites delegates from signatories to the UN CRPD and representatives from civil society organisations and Governments around the world to discuss implementation of the CRPD and related international development issues.

Collaboration

On 5th June 2017 WWDA attended the NDIA NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme LGBTIQA+ Sector Consultation workshop in Sydney to contribute to the development of a gender, sexuality and intersex inclusion strategy for the scheme. The workshop was a great success and WWDA looks forward to contributing further as the strategy takes form.
WWDA contributed to a joint NGO submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights‘ Fifth Periodic review of Australia in June. WWDA was represented at the 61st session by DPO Australia. More info: http://dpoa.org.au/news/dpoa-icescr-australia-review/

Have Your Say

Human Rights Consultation

The Australian Human Rights Commission is consulting with Civil Society and individuals on the domestic implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

On 9 February 2017, the Australian Government announced it intends to ratify the OPCAT by December 2017.

While the Government has outlined some of the key features of how it intends the OPCAT to operate in Australia, there remain many details still to be determined. Accordingly, the Commission is now conducting a consultation process with civil society to ascertain their views on the design and implementation of the OPCAT.

The Commission is seeking input from individuals and organisations through written submissions and a series of roundtables.

Find out more at the Commission’s website.

From Our Members

Where are the leaders with disabilities?

WWDA member, Christina Ryan from the Disability Leadership Institute has written a piece on the need to address the leadership diversity imbalance across corporate, government and community sectors.

[W]hen seeking diversity for our corporations, our board rooms, and as community leaders, disability is often forgotten. Some suggest that there are no leaders with disabilities; that the skill base is simply not there. Leaders with disabilities are rarely in the room, so they remain invisible. Few disability leaders are known; even fewer are appointed or recognised. […]

If mainstream programs were working we wouldn’t be having this conversation – they aren’t, they haven’t yet, so it’s time for some specialist work to support one in five of Australia’s population to reach their potential, and to be seen as equals. The Disability Leadership Institute has been established by leaders with disabilities for leaders with disabilities to address the diversity imbalance. It’s time to change the way leadership is understood.

Access the full article

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