Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA):
Conference Papers, Other Articles and Reports 2011 - 2015

Women With Disabilities Australia: Submission to the United Nations Thematic Study on Violence Against Women With Disabilities (December 2011) [PDF Version] [Word Version] [Text Only/Large Print]
In mid June 2011, at its 17th session, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a Resolution to accelerate efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women. The Resolution called for a study to be conducted on the issue of violence against women and girls and disabilities, with the report of the study to be presented to the 20th session of the Human Rights Council in 2012. WWDA's Submission to the preparation phase of the UN Analytical Study on Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities, provides an overview 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. Copyright WWDA December 2011.

Global Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care: Sterilization of Women and Girls with Disabilities: A Briefing Paper (November 2011) [PDF Version] [Word Version]
In many parts of the world, women rely on access to a range of methods to control their fertility, including voluntary sterilisation. However, too often, sterilisation is not a choice. Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to forced sterilisations performed under the auspices of legitimate medical care. The practice of forced sterilisation is part of a broader pattern of denial of the human rights of women and girls with disabilities. This denial also includes systematic exclusion from comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care, limited voluntary contraceptive choices, a focus on menstrual suppression, poorly managed pregnancy and birth, involuntary abortion, and the denial of rights to parenting. These practices are framed within traditional social attitudes that characterize disability as a personal tragedy or a matter for medical management and rehabilitation. The difficulty some women with disabilities may have in understanding or communicating what was done to them increases their vulnerability to forced sterilisation. A further aggravating factor is the widespread practice of legal guardians or others making life-altering decisions for persons with disabilities, including consenting to sterilisation on their behalf. This briefing paper has been jointly prepared by WWDA, Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Open Society Foundations, and the International Disability Alliance (IDA) as part of the Global Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care. The paper gives a background to the issue of forced sterilisation, outlines various international human rights standards that prohibit forced sterilization, and offers several recommendations for improving laws, policies, and professional guidelines governing sterilisation practices. Copyright November 2011.

Women With Disabilities Australia: Policy Paper: 'Assessing the situation of women with disabilities in Australia: A human rights approach'(July 2011) [PDF Version] [Word Version]
This Paper uses a human rights framework to document the range of data, research and information needed in order to give a comprehensive assessment of the situation of women with disabilities in Australia. The paper provides the context for this work by giving an overview of the intersection of gender and disability, as well as a brief background to the human rights imperative. Using key articles from the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the paper then prescribes the key quantitative and qualitative data and research required under each article, and links this to Australia's international human rights obligations and domestic policy context. Copyright WWDA July 2011.