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A broad range of organisations have expressed their support for the 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…

Tonight’s ABC Four Corners report, ‘Fighting the System’ exposed more evidence of the appalling levels of violence and abuse against people with disability in Australia.  This is only the tip of the iceberg. In light of the graphic and disturbing cases revealed this evening, Disabled People’s Organisations Australia (DPO Australia), calls on the Federal Government…

Dubravka Šimonović, the UN Special Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences, has completed her official mission to Australia. She presented her initial findings in Canberra yesterday. In her statement, Ms Šimonović noted that ‘Australia remains a democratic nation without comprehensive constitutional or legislative protection of basic human rights at a federal…

In January 2o17 WWDA prepared a submission on behalf of DPOA, to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Šimonović. The submission was written to assist with informing the Special Rapporteur’s official visit to Australia from 13 to 27 February 2017. In addition, WWDA met with the Special Rapporteur in Hobart,…

Violence against women with disability occurs at alarming levels in Australia: at least twice the rate of other women. Today, on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Disabled People’s Organisations Australia (DPO Australia) calls for urgent action to address the human rights violation that is violence against women with disability. DPO Australia…

According to the UN Women, one in three women around the world experience violence in their lifetime, often at the hands of someone they know and trust. Of all women who were victims of homicide globally in 2012, almost half were killed by intimate partners or family members. Compared to our peers, women with disability…

In June 2017 Disabled People’s Organisations Australia (DPO Australia) coordinated a civil society statement to The Hon Malcom Turnbull, Prime Minister of Australia, calling for the immediate establishment of a Royal Commission into all forms of violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability. The Civil Society Statement was endorsed by over 160 organisations and 383 individuals. The statement was…

In January 2o17 WWDA prepared a submission on behalf of DPOA, to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Dubravka Šimonović. The submission was written to assist with informing the Special Rapporteur’s official visit to Australia from 13 to 27 February 2017. In addition, WWDA met with the Special Rapporteur in Hobart,…

International human rights law condemns violence against women in all its forms, whether it occurs in the home, schools, in institutions, the workplace, the community or in other public and private institutions, and regardless of who perpetrates it. Yet violence against women and girls with disability, in all its forms, is a global epidemic which,…

Between January and August 2016 Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) conducted a six-month project to assess the adequacy and accessibility of 1800 RESPECT – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service for people living in Australia. In consultation with over 100 women and girls with disability from around Australia, the 1800 RESPECT: Improving…