This joint Submission to the ‘Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia’, has been written by Carolyn Frohmader (Women With Disabilities Australia) with contribution from Jess Cadwallader (People With Disability Australia) for and on behalf of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA); First People’s Disability Network Australia (FPDNA); People with Disability Australia (PWDA); Children with Disability Australia (CDA); and the National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA).

The Submission addresses the terms of reference for the Senate Inquiry, and examines: a) the prevalence and impact of domestic violence; b) factors contributing to the levels of domestic violence; c) the adequacy of policy and community responses to domestic violence; d) the effects of policy decisions on the ability of people with disability to escape domestic violence; and, e) how the Federal Government can eliminate violence against women.

The Submission includes twelve recommendations, including for example, the urgent need for the Australian Government to commission and fund a National Public Inquiry into Violence Against People with Disability in Institutions, with a specific focus on the gendered nature of such violence, and the multiple forms of violence perpetrated against people with disability in such settings.

This Joint Submission from National Cross-Disability Disabled People’s Organisations (DPO’s) into the ‘Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia’, is now available on WWDA’s website in both PDF and Word formats.

For the PDF version, go to: http://wwda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Final_Draft_DPO_Sub_DV_Senate2014.pdf

For the Word version, go to: http://wwda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Final_Draft_DPO_Sub_DV_Senate2014.docx