About Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)

Contents

Background

Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) was incorporated in 1995 and evolved from the National Women's Network within Disabled People's International Australia (DPIA), where it had been operating as an un-funded Network for some eight years. WWDA was initially established by a group of women with disabilities who felt that their needs and concerns were not being acknowledged or addressed within the broader disability sector, or the women's sector in Australia.

Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is the peak organisation for women with all types of disabilities in Australia. It is an organiastion made up of women with disabilities and associated organisations. The national secretariat is located in Tasmania, the island State of Australia. WWDA is run by women with disabilities, for women with disabilities. It is the only organisation of its kind in Australia and one of only a very small number internationally. WWDA is inclusive and does not discriminate against any disability. WWDA seeks to ensure opportunities in all walks of life for all women with disabilities. In this it aims to increase awareness of, and address issues faced by, women with disabilities in the community. WWDA seeks to ensure the advancement of education of society to the status and needs of women with disabilities in order to promote equity, reduce suffering, poverty, discrimination and exploitation of women with disabilities. WWDA is unique, in that it operates as a national disability organisation; a national women's organisation; and a national human rights organisation.

WWDA addresses disability within a social model, which identifies the barriers and restrictions facing women with disabilities as the focus for reform.

WWDA's policy and program areas have included: Preventing Violence Against Women With Disabilities; Sterilisation and Reproductive Health of Women and Girls with Disabilities; Leadership and Mentoring; Information and Communications Technology; Housing; Health and Well-Being; Ageing; Education, Employment and Income Support; and Human Rights.

WWDA's innovative programs have been critically acclaimed at national and international levels, and the organisation has been rewarded with a number of prestigious awards in recent times. In late 2003, WWDA was formally invited by the French Government to apply for the French Republic's Human Rights Prize for 2003. WWDA was one of only two Australian entries invited to apply for the Prize. Although WWDA did not win the Prize, the judges said:

In December 2001, WWDA was named the National Winner of the Australian Human Rights Award. The judges were impressed by the broad base of WWDA's work and influence and the range of methods used to advocate for women living with disabilities, from lobbying to education. They said WWDA deserved ongoing recognition and was a valuable and visible organisation. They further stated:

WWDA's groundbreaking work in the area of preventing violence against women with disabilities has seen the organisation awarded the Australian Heads of Government National Violence Prevention Award (1999), as well as a nomination for the United Nations Millennium Peace Prize for Women Award (2000).

Aim and Objectives

Aim
The aim of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is to be a national voice for the needs and rights of women with disabilities and a national force to improve the lives and life chances of women with disabilities.

The objectives of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) are:
(a) to actively promote the participation of women with disabilities in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life;
(b) to advocate on issues of concern to women with disabilities in Australia; and
(c) to seek to be the national representative organisation for women with disabilities in Australia by:

• (i) undertaking systemic advocacy;
• (ii) providing policy advice;
• (iii) undertaking research; and
• (iv) providing information and education.

Management

Sue Salthouse - WWDA President

Sue Salthouse has worked in the area of social justice since 1996, playing an active role in systemic advocacy for women with disabilities. She runs her own Consultancy company which specialises in work in the disability sector - social research, policy analysis and advice in both government and non government areas, conference facilitation, project development and management, TAFE teaching, and individual advocacy. Sue is mentor to a number of young women with disabilities. Sue has worked as a research and policy consultant to WWDA, coordinator of WWDA's Telecommunications Working Group, and WWDA spokesperson on Industrial Relations and Employment. She has also undertaken a number of research and advocacy projects covering a wide range of issues of concern to disabled women. Sue convenes Women With Disabilities ACT (a WWDA-affiliate organisation), and is a Board Member of Advance Personnel (Disability Employment Network agency), Women in Vocational and Adult Education, and Rehabilitation International (Australia), and Chair of the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network.

Margie Charlesworth - WWDA Vice President

Margie has a keen interest in issues of mental health. She has been a volunteer systemic advocate since 1996 and has contributed to a number of community based disability organisations, including the Physical Disability Council of South Australia and Disability Action (SA). Margie has also held the position of Secretary for the WWDA Management Committee. Margie has undertaken a Bachelor of Social Science, at Adelaide University, majoring in Gender Studies and Politics.

In 2005 Margie stepped down from the WWDA Management Committee to go to Canada to complete her studies, and re-joined the Committee on her return in 2007.

Rayna Lamb - WWDA Secretary

Rayna was born in New Zealand, and moved to Western Australia when she was 16. She has worked in a range of areas and has completed a year of BA in Writing, which she has put on hold in order to focus her energies on her work with women with disabilities in Western Australia. In 2003, Rayna established a network of women with disabilities in Perth, which evolved into the community based organisation Women With Disabilities WA Inc. Rayna co-ordinates this organisation on a voluntary basis. Rayna is particularly passionate about raising awareness about women with disabilities and family and domestic violence, and finding ways to reduce the isolation of women with disabilities.

Pamela Menere - Treasurer

Pamela lives in Corryong in North East Victoria and has been involved with WWDA for many years, having held positions of Secretary and Treasurer of the Management Committee. Pamela has been involved with several advocacy and disability related groups including the Victorian Women with Disabilities Network, Towong Shire Community Access Committee and the Hume Region DHS Disability Advisory Committee.

Pamela is also actively involved with numerous other community organisations in her local area. She has worked in part time paid employment as an outreach employment counsellor with a disability employment agency.

Helen Meekosha

Helen Meekosha is Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, University of New South Wales, Australia. She worked as a community development worker for 17 years in the UK and Australia prior to her appointment at UNSW. Her research interests cross boundaries of race, ethnicity, disability and gender. In 1996 she was instrumental in establishing The Social Relations of Disability Research Network, a group of interdisciplinary scholars interested in Disability Studies. Later she went on to be a founding member of the Disability Studies and Research Institute (DsaRI). Helen has written and spoken extensively, from a feminist and a disability perspective on citizenship, human rights, social movements, the media and the body, communications and multiculturalism. Active in the disability movement for 20 years, she has been involved with Women with Disabilities Australia since it inception over a decade ago and as President in 2001 accepted the Australian Human Rights Award in the community category.

Helen is an Overseas Consultative Editor of Disability and Society, on the JORSEN International Advisory, a member of the International Advisory Editorial Board of the Encyclopaedia of Disability 2006 (Sage), and an editor of Volume 4. In June 2005 she was the Noted Scholar in feminist disability studies at the University of British Columbia.

Annie Parkinson

Annie has been actively involved in the establishment and management of several organisations, and has been a member of a number of management committees. Annie has most recently joined the management committee of a small SAAP funded housing organisation which offers short-to-medium term housing for women who have experienced sexual abuse.

Kate List

Kate has a keen interest in disability policy and is a committed campaigner for the rights of women with disabilities. Kate has worked as a Policy & Research Officer for WWDA and has also worked in disability policy with the Commonwealth Government. Since joining WWDA in 1999, Kate has undertaken a number of representative roles in the past including representing WWDA on the Board of the Australian Disability Studies and Research Institute (DSARI), and on a Museums Australia Access committee.

Kate's other love is science education and communication. She has worked at the Australian Museum, the University of New South Wales (Kensington and ADFA campuses) and since 2004, at Geoscience Australia. For the last eighteen months Kate has been on leave in remote NT, completing a Graduate Diploma of Education (by distance) and providing literacy and numeracy support for a student with learning difficulties. She plans to return to work at Geoscience Australia in 2010.

Sheila King

Sheila King took up the mantle of advocate for people with disabilities after she retired from the work force. She is the founding member of Australia For All Alliance Inc. Presently her primary task is the construction and maintenance of the international web site www.australiaforall.com which is devoted entirely to accommodation and tourism venues which are accessible to people with disabilities.

Sheila's forte is in undertaking research into matters which affect the lives of people with disabilities. She has published the results of a national survey into the lack of height adjustable examination beds in GP's surgeries. A further survey entitled "Accessible Tourism - It's Time", a report on the barriers confronted by people with disabilities when they travel on holidays and visit Tourist Venues. She is presently undertaking a survey into the compliance by the bus and coach companies into the requirements of the Disability Standards For Accessible Public Transport-2002. Sheila serves on a number of Committees and undertakes a wide range of representative work in the disability sector.

Vicki Alipasinopoulos

Vicki Alipasinopoulos has been a member of WWDA since 1999. Vicki's background is in social work and she also holds a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment. Vicki has been an active member of the disability sector and attended the first Leadership and Mentoring Workshop run by WWDA in 1999. Vicki currently serves on a number of committees in the disability sector, including the Management Committees of the Disability Resources Centre and Blind Citizens Australia. Vicki is also currently serving on a consumer feedback committee as part of the newly formed blindness agency, Vision Australia. This Committee provides feedback to staff to the Training, Technology and Employment team in Victoria. Vicki participates in voluntary work at various agencies where she provides counselling to clients who have an intellectual/psychiatric illness. Other voluntary work involves providing emergency relief, information, referral, advocacy and support.

Jo Dixon

Jo Dixon has a keen interest in human rights, disability and gender issues. She is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Laws Degree at Latrobe University in Victoria. Jo is very active in student advocacy within the University, and is the current Disability Liaison Officer where she actively promotes the needs and rights of students with disabilities. She is also the student representative on the La Trobe University Disability Advisory Committee.

Jo is an active community volunteer and has undertaken voluntary work in the areas of asylum seekers and refugees; aboriginal legal aid; youth support services and domestic violence support services.

Carolyn Frohmader - WWDA Executive Director

Carolyn Frohmader is the Executive Director of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) and has held this position for more than a decade, working at the national and international levels to promote and protect the human rights of women and girls with disabilities. Under Carolyn's leadership, WWDA has received a number of prestigious awards for its ground-breaking work including the National Human Rights Award and a number of national and state violence prevention awards. Carolyn also has an extensive background in women's health, health policy, primary health care and community development.

Carolyn has a Masters Degree from Flinders University where she won the inaugural Michael Crotty Award for an outstanding contribution in Primary Health Care. In 2001, Carolyn received the ACT Woman of the Year Award in recognition of her contribution to the promotion of women's rights in the ACT. In 2009, she was inducted into the Tasmanian Women's Honour Roll in recognition of her human rights work. In late 2009, Carolyn was also selected as a Tasmanian finalist for the Australian of the Year Awards (Tasmania).

Shirley Raspin - WWDA Office and Finance Manager

Shirley Raspin joined Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) in February 2008 as Office/Finance Manager. Shirley previously spent 10 years with the State Government in Customer Service and Project Officer (Business Processes) positions. This employment together with her strong background in accounting ensures quality operational support and financial management for WWDA. Shirley holds a Diploma of Business and Marketing - Certified Bookkeeper, various certificates in finance, training and business, and is a Justice of the Peace.

Shirley is actively involved in many school and community organisations and has held executive positions with Meals on Wheels, Little Athletics and various school associations.

Membership

Full membership
Full membership is open to women with a Disability who are resident in Australia.

Associate membership
Associate membership is open to:
(a) women who:

• (i) are resident in Australia; and
• (ii) in the reasonable opinion of the Committee, are supportive of the aim and objectives of the Association.

The Membership Fee for full membership is:

• Unwaged/Pension: $15
• Waged: $30

The Membership Fee for Associate Membership is:

• Individual: Unwaged: $20
• Individual: Waged: $35
• Organisations with an income of less than $100,000 per annum: $45
• Organisations with an income between $100,000 - $200,000 per annum: $65
• Organisations with an income of more than $200,000 per annum: $95

The total membership of WWDA is currently, approximately 2100. Membership is made up of individuals and associate organisations. WWDA has, and continues to, establish partnerships and alliances with a range of organisations in order to better meet the needs of women with disabilities in Australia. WWDA has established links with a number of relevant international organisations and now has a recognised international presence. WWDA is committed to developing strategic alliances with organisations and fostering collaborative approaches to projects and activities.

WWDA utilises a wide range of methods to raise its public profile and inform the broader community of its work. The organisation actively seeks out opportunities for disseminating information and recruiting new members. It endeavours to maximise every available opportunity to promote the organisation, its projects and activities. Some of the strategies WWDA employs to achieve this include:

• initiating interviews, features and articles with the media (including mainstream and disability radio, television and print media);
• attending public events and forums;
• attending government and non-government events, forums, meetings, and consultations;
• representing the organisation on a wide range of government committees, boards, advisory bodies etc;
• representing the organisation on boards of other organisations;
• establishing and developing intersectoral networks;
• making use of information technology such as e-mail to establish networks and disseminate information;
• publishing reports, journal articles, newsletter articles, conference papers etc;
• subscribing to relevant organisations;
• initiating and fostering partnerships with other organisations at an international, national, state and territory level;
• developing mailing lists and databases of relevant agencies and organisations and mailing out promotional material about WWDA (examples include: databases of all Federal members of parliament and parliamentary senators; database of non-government organisations; database of government departments etc);
• participating in relevant Information Days; community expos etc;
• conducting public launches of WWDA reports;
• presenting papers at national conferences;
• having promotional materials about WWDA available at national conferences;
• having information on WWDA's projects and activities published in International publications (examples include: Global Overview on Violence; World Institute on Disability);
• inserting WWDA promotional material into mailouts of other organisations;
• distributing WWDA pamphlets and membership forms to key points in the community (examples include: Social Security offices; community health centres; pamphlet stands of other organisations; neighbourhood centres; doctors surgeries; public libraries etc);
• distributing WWDA materials to schools and tertiary institutions (such as Disability Studies Departments; Human Services Departments; Social Welfare Departments etc);
• publishing monthly update bulletins.

Funding

Other sources of funds for WWDA come from grants project funding, a small amount from donations, and some from membership fees.

Major Functions of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)

Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is at the forefront of support and advocacy, with, and on behalf of, women with disabilities in Australia, both individually and collectively. WWDA's major roles, functions, and activities include (but are not restricted to):

WWDA International Email Discussion List for Women With Disabilities

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Ways That You Can Support WWDA

Here are just some suggestions for how YOU can help Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA).

You can help Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) by:

• becoming a member;
• giving a donation (donations over $2 are tax deductible);
• representing WWDA on Committees, Advisory Boards and so on;
• participating in consultations and government reviews;
• writing articles for journals etc;
• sending us copies of relevant resources for our library;
• letting us know about any relevant upcoming activities and/or events;
• letting us know about any new books, videos, etc;
• putting us on your newsletter mailing list;
• contributing your ideas or stories to our website and update bulletins;
• using us as a hub for information;
• using our website;
• giving us feedback about our work;
• donating equipment;
• raising funds for us.

How to Contact Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)

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This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.