Women with disabilities and violence
Barriers to accessing domestic violence services
The Disability Discrimination Act
With every act of kindness
to myself
every refusal to blame
or to despise myself
I strike back
against the men
in grey suits
who don't think
I'm cost effective
and the ones in white coats
who don't believe
I exist
all of those too busy
or in too much of a hurry
to notice who I am
From behind my drooping eyelids
I am watching
with the stillness
of a lizard or a snake. I have learnt
the languor
and the stealth
of a tiger
lying in wait
ready to pounce So next time
you come across
a woman like me
tired looking
in a pink dressing gown
just because
I'm lying low
don't imagine
I take anything lying down.
Watch out I have never been
as slow or as deadly before.
[extract from 'Warrior Woman' Maria Jastrzebska in Mustn't Grumble ,Women's Press 1994]
'Warrior Woman' is from an anthology of writing by women with disabilities. In the last decade, the published writing of women with disabilities has played a major part in their claiming of a political and cultural identity. Many women with disabilities recognised the need for their own specific political and social movement, as often the barriers within the disability movement were hierarchical and male dominated, whilst women's movements and organisations had largely failed in recognising disability as a feminist issue.
Disability has largely been understood in the context of the medical model. The result of this is that medical label of the disability is assumed to be the core of a woman with a disability's identity. It is assumed that women with disabilities are the disability - disability becomes the only lens through which women experience life.
The individualisation of disability treats (disability) as personal tragedy, failing to place the experience in the social context. It is as though the disability by itself is the cause of poverty, discrimination and violence rather than a society's social, cultural and economic response to the disability.
Over the last twenty years people with disabilities have adopted and presented the social model as the most appropriate framework in which to understand and then take action on the experience of disability. The social model says disability is a social construct, in the same way gender is. The experience of being a woman and having a disability takes place within a social context which largely determines the consequences of being female or having a disability. Understanding disability as a social construction is exactly the same as how many people in the feminist, and gay and lesbian movements include the social construction of sexuality and gender in the political analysis of their experiences.
Morris says, in practice, this means recognising that people who have physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities, or mental or emotional distress, are denied opportunities, discriminated against and excluded by the barriers that society creates. It means focusing, not on our disabilities - what is'wrong' with our bodies or our minds - but what is wrong with the way society is organised. In other words focusing on the prejudice that we experience, negative attitudes regarding the right to control one's own body, the lack of reproductive rights, inaccessible physical and communication environments, the failure to put resources into enabling technology, and other socially created barriers. This focuses on such prejudice in a way which challenges the stereotypes and places the responsibility for the barriers back onto the society which enables them to exist.
In situating disability and gender it is common to find that 'our society thinks of certain characteristics as naturally a consequence of disability, primarily poverty, loneliness and stigma. However, the experience of disability is culturally diverse. In Western society, (disability is) largely determined by class, gender, race and the way in which economic relationships are defined and the accompanying ideology. All this has set women with disabilities at the margins of social and economic activities and institutions.' For example, a woman's experience of multiple sclerosis will be influenced by socio-economic factors, and the experience of associated impairments such as loss of mobility will depend on factors such as access to resources and services, availability of services - factors external to MS but not integral to the experience of MS. This does not mean a woman with MS or another impairment may not experience chronic pain, fatigue or other illness.
It is more often than not the experience of discrimination, lack of services, inaccessible transport, violence, inflexible working opportunities, and/or lack of access to education that disables many women with disabilities, rather than the actual experience of the impairment.
Interviews with black and ethnic minority women found 'women felt that at certain times and certain places, it was race, disability or gender which determined their experience. As one woman put it, it happens singly, plurally and in multiple, and it's the totality that counts at the end of the day. You are thought of as inferior because you are all these things.'
In response to the experience of prejudice on the basis of gender, disability and/or the intersections of race and sexuality, many women with disabilities have identified the need for their own political movement. Women with disabilities movements have been organised on a local, state, national and international level. They work within mainstream women's organisations as well as working with other groups of minority women.
Such political movements have focused on building and
sustaining networks and organisations, informing and influencing
government policy, challenging the assumptions about the
experience of disability, and developing projects on issues such
as violence against women with disabilities. Building links
throughout the world, women with disabilities have been able to
change policies and programs for women or for people with
disabilities to ensure women with disabilities are properly and
adequately represented.
Women and girls with disabilities live at the intersection of gender and disability bias. As a consequence, they experience higher rates of violence and lower rates of service access than their non-disabled peers.
One of the most successful investigations of the 1970's and 1980's has been that concerning domestic violence. Research and activism alike have drawn attention to the violence that women experience within their own homes, redefined this violence as unacceptable, challenged the legal system to take it seriously and, through the women's refuge movement, provided opportunities for women in violent relationships. Yet none of the studies of domestic violence have considered the issues from the perspective of disabled women and it is therefore hardly surprising that only recently have women's refuges started to look at how they can provide service to disabled women. As with non-disabled women, disabled women face the issue of naming the violence they experience and getting others to recognise it.
In the WWDA Project to develop a DDA Action Plan for Woorarra women's refuge, women with disabilities identified that is was important for the domestic violence sector to understand the experience of domestic violence for women with disabilities before they tried to implement any change.
Violence against women with disabilities incorporates an almost endless list of injustices and maltreatment. Women with disabilities have been institutionalised for life when they could have managed to live in supported accommodation, or with assistance at home. They have been denied control over their bodies, particularly in relation to decisions about sexuality and contraception. They have also been denied total control over their finances and have been discriminated against in employment with available jobs usually limited to low income work. They have had few opportunities for social contact (with people they would choose), education and community participation.
The exact nature of the extent of violence against women with disabilities is difficult to establish as little data on disability is maintained either by police or service providers (such as refuges, referral agencies, outreach services and relevant state and federal governments).
Research suggests that women and girls with disabilities are 2 to 12 times more likely to be victims of physical and sexual violence than women and girls who are not disabled.
This outcome can best be explained by the anecdotal experience of women with disabilities who are aware that the type of disability a woman may have, or where and how she is living, will increase the 'targeting' and 'vulnerability ' to violence. For example:
At this point it is important to recognise that poverty, segregation, low rates of education and employment, as well as a social denial that disabled women and girls are targets of sexual and domestic violence, leads to an increased targeting and vulnerability.
Indeed, it is not a disability itself that creates vulnerability, but the social and political reaction to disability.
The Family Planning Association of Western Australia reports that nearly 60% of people with intellectual disabilities who sought sex education had been subjected to abuse, and that most of these were female. The factors that lead to this increased targeting by perpetrators and therefore the vulnerability of many women with disabilities are:
Despite the high incidence of violence experienced by women with disabilities, services are frequently non-existent, inaccessible or inadequate to meet the needs of these victims/survivors. Disability service providers frequently fail to screen clients for abuse histories. In addition, women with disabilities are frequently not believed when they report sexual and domestic violence, or their cases are not taken seriously by the criminal justice system or service providers.
Throughout the world, women with disabilities have begun to organise on issues of violence against themselves and their children. At a recent conference of 600 women with disabilities in Washington DC (in July 1997), many women saw the WWDA Action Plan and Model Process project as having international significance.
The following barriers to access were identified by women with disabilities in the Discussion Groups for the WWDA Domestic Violence Project which developed a Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) Action Plan for the Woorarra Women's Refuge.
The main barriers to women with disabilities in accessing refuges can be grouped in the following areas:
Communication
Women with mental health issues felt that to disclose their
domestic violence situation would increase the risk of losing
their children. Women felt that because of the label of their
illness they would be unlikely to get residency and so residency
could go to the abusive partner.
Visually impaired and blind women said that if information on domestic violence services was not in alternative formats and distributed to where blind women might be, then probably not many women would know about refuges.
Because of the lack of Telephone Typewriter (TTY) services in domestic violence referral/outreach services, the only option for Deaf women would be to use the relay service. However, many women wouldn't want to use this when trying to get help around their domestic violence situation. The relay service has an operator listening in all the time and women were unsure of how well they would translate their domestic violence crisis also. These operators could be familiar with many Deaf people and their relationships.
Once with in refuge, communication about refuge procedures and rules is often given in one main sitting. Many women identified this as stressful, particularly when they could not recall everything due to memory difficulties, as well as being stressed with their recent domestic violence experience. Material in alternative formats, either written or taped is not available.
Information
Existing information is not available in alternative formats,
only on paper. One woman with a visual impairment said 'for me,
if information is on paper, then all it is is a piece of
paper.'
Women with disabilities need to know beforehand the physical accessibility of the refuge, and to know that when they get there they will be able to go to the toilet independently and get in and out of bed. The current lack of clarity about the accessibility of many of the refuges does not instil confidence in women with physical disabilities.
Attitudes
'Most people, whether doctors, police or magistrates, look upon
the disabled partner as the dependent partner and so we start off
from the back foot anyway.'
A common belief towards women with visual impairments by workers in community policing and others can be that a woman is safer in her own environment as she knows it well.
'If we take them on we might be getting into deep water, maybe we'll give the perpetrator a good talking to and let them go home.'
'Paternalistic attitudes reign strong in the community, everywhere, including in domestic violence services.'
Physical environment
In the discussion group for women with physical disabilities, all
of the women said they would not assume that a refuge was
accessible. One woman said, 'there is no point going there (to a
refuge) if you can't get in.' 'Could you ring a refuge and say
"these are the things I need and here is my order of things I
need to get around"? Would that be welcomed?'
One woman said 'there can be a fear with physical disability of not being able to cope at all in a strange place. That whatever the emotional feelings, I can deal physically with my own environment because it's now arranged so I can. If I go to a strange place I might be at a total dis-ease. How would I manage? That's a barrier. To actually step out and hope that yes I will be able to manage the bathroom. To go to the loo without having to ask for assistance."
Access to Services
The common story with all women was that disability services and
non-government agencies tended not to have knowledge or expertise
on domestic violence issues for women with a range of
disabilities; and that domestic violence services more often than
not did not have awareness or the skills to work with women with
disabilities.
There were always exceptions to this, with many workers being very well intentioned; but good intentions were not enough and sometimes backfired on the women with disabilities escaping domestic violence themselves. Some women have found that disability agencies were seen to be the appropriate organisation to assist a woman with a disability, rather than a domestic violence service. However, the experience was that the agency 'messed the whole thing up completely', in spite of taking it on so willingly. They simply did not have the expertise, and were very paternalistic.
One woman with mental health issues felt her experience in a refuge and dealing with the aggression of other residents was too disturbing for her mental health.
Skills of Workers
One mental health service had been approached by a worker in a
refuge to get some training and support in working with domestic
violence survivors with mental illness, but it was NOT seen as a
priority by her organisation. 'We are seen to be difficult by
many workers.' Workers need general and specific training in
disability awareness and in issues of domestic violence for women
with disabilities.
12 March 1997
The consultant, Fiona Strahan, made contact with Victorian
Women's Refuges and Associated Domestic Violence Services
(VWRADVS) representatives and, after hearing the proposal,
VWRADVS agreed the project deserved support. This was
critical, as without the support of the peak body the changes
which needed to occur would not be made. With
VWRADVS having some ownership of the project from the
beginning, and not feeling as though this was a project forced
upon them, an openness to learning and challenging of direct and
indirect discriminatory attitudes, policies and practices was
established.
9 April 1997
Fiona attended a
VWRADVS meeting to fully explain the project. Again
unanimous support was given and the project was endorsed.
21 April 1997
Fiona was notified that her tender was successful.
21 April 1997
Letter from Fiona to
VWRADVS asking the Access and Equity sub-group to
choose the
VWRADVS representatives. The structure of the Working
Group to consist of:
30 April 1997
Woorarra chosen by the Access & Equity Group to partake in
the project.
6 May 1997
Woorarra's management informed of the project.
16 May & 21 July 1997
Access Audit - the auditor Francesca Davenport came to the refuge
twice and assessed it's accessibility.
25 May 1997
The first meeting of the Working Group. Information kits with
reports on domestic violence and women with disability,
prejudice, gender, and the Disability Discrimination Act were
distributed to all present. Background to the project was given,
structure of the working group discussed. The group consisted of
the previously mentioned domestic violence sector representatives
and equal numbers of women with disabilities, who had knowledge
and interest in domestic violence, had personal experience of
domestic violence or represented key disability consumer
organisations.
The following organisations were represented on the Working Group: Attendant Care Coalition (ACC), Domestic Violence and Incest Resource Centre (DVIRC), Immigrant Women's Domestic Violence Service (IWDVS), Morgana Women's Refuge, Royal Women's Hospital, Western Domestic Violence Outreach Service, Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC) and the Women's Domestic Violence Crisis Service (WDVCS).
The success of this Project required developing a strong co-operative relationship between women with disabilities and the domestic violence sector. Therefore, it was critical from the beginning to have this project's outcomes owned by women with disabilities and the key players in the domestic violence sector (see appendix for how the Working Group worked).
3 June 1997
DDA training held at Woorarra for management members and
workers.
July – August 1997
Discussion Groups were held with women with disabilities. These
were organised by the consultant.
5 August 1997
First meeting between Fiona and the Co-ordinator to develop the
Action Plan.
2 Sept 1997
Fiona and the Co-ordinator continued to work on the Action
Plan.
2 Sept 1997
Fiona addressed the management and staff in relation to the
Action Plan. It is important to understand that a process such as
this cannot work if it is carried out in isolation. For a service
to develop and implement an Action Plan, other services and the
peak bodies must be supportive and involved. All need to be
committed to the aim of the Action Plan being not only developed
but also implemented. Following the development of our Action
Plan, it became evident that if services were to attempt change
without support it would be too 'overwhelming' for them, and it
is doubtful that the process would be successful.
Commitment must come from both disability organisations and the women and domestic violence sector. The most overwhelmingly positive outcome of this project has been the converging of two divergent viewpoints and experiences, discussed and challenged within a mutually supportive environment. No question was seen as too silly or discriminatory to ask.
It is the belief of Woorarra that having a facilitator is a crucial factor in assuring that a safe environment is maintained which allows for viewpoints to be put forward and challenged. This has been where the greatest attitudinal change has come for all involved. At a service level, it is imperative that all are committed and involved; this includes workers, volunteers, and management. For a Co-ordinator, it can be a taxing time and services will need to be aware of this before embarking on such a project.
Supports must be set in place at the beginning, for example with people to whom the Co-ordinator can talk and with whom she can debrief. Throughout the process this can be a member of the Working Group. This is unlikely to occur at the beginning, but once trust is developed and it is clear all have a commitment for the service to be accessible to all women no matter what the disability, then a mutual respect and confidence develops.
Services will need to be aware that a project such as this will be 'lots of work' and awareness will need to be developed of 'how ignorant' and discriminatory we can be. From a worker in the service, advice to fellow workers would be 'be prepared to make a commitment - and it will be a big commitment; views will be challenged, and awareness developed'.
The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) was enacted in 1992 following years of lobbying by women and men with disabilities and human rights activists who recognised that national legislation equal to the Race Discrimination Act and the Sex Discrimination Act was urgently required to protect and enhance the rights of people with disabilities.
The DDA makes it unlawful to discriminate in the provision of goods, services or facilities against people on the basis that they have, or may have, a disability. The Act also makes it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis that one of her or his associates may have a disability.
The Act requires that people with disabilities be given EQUAL opportunity to participate in and contribute to a full range of social, political and cultural activities. Access for people with disabilities to goods, services and facilities provided by non-government organisations, such access for a woman with a disability's to a WOMEN'S REFUGE, can no longer be an afterthought.
The DDA promotes and protects equality of access for people with disabilities - attitudinal, informational and physical.
Removing barriers to a women's refuge for women with disabilities' goes far beyond just thinking a ramp needs to be installed.
The objectives of the DDA are:
(a) to eliminate, as far as possible, discrimination against
persons on the grounds of disability in the areas of:
(b) to ensure, as far as practicable, that persons with
disabilities have the same rights to equality before the law as
the rest of the community; and
(c) to promote recognition and acceptance within the community of
the principle that persons with disabilities have the same
fundamental rights as the rest of the community.
Access to a women's refuge by women with
disabilities
The experiences of women with disabilities deter them from
approaching support agencies which work with women who are
subjected to violence, such as sexual assault services and
women's refuges. Their experience has been that facilities are
often inaccessible, transport is difficult and that staff have
limited knowledge and training in the area of disability and
therefore often refer them elsewhere, usually to a disability
group. But referrals are inappropriate because the problem is the
violence, not the person's disability.
What is discrimination in your service?
In developing an understanding of the DDA and its
implications for your service, you will need to understand terms
such as indirect discrimination, direct discrimination and
unjustifiable hardship. This is not a definitive guide, but here
are some basic explanations and examples.
Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination means treating a woman with a disability
less favourably than other women, because of her disability.
Policies which state that women with psychiatric illness cannot
come to the refuge, or that women who require an
attendant/personal carer cannot come to the refuge are examples
of direct discrimination.
Example One
Graciela has bi-polar disorder and rang the domestic violence
referral agency and said she wanted to leave her violent partner.
As part of the referral the service had a list of questions to
ask all women ringing the service. One question asked did
Graciela have a disability. She said yes, her disability was
bi-polar disorder. The referral agency said sorry but they didn't
take any women with psychiatric disabilities. They suggested she
contact the nearest mental health centre.
Example Two
Mi Yeon is living in a community residential unit and over one
weekend experienced verbal and physical attacks from another
resident. The staff on duty at the time decided she caused the
violence and she was told to 'keep out of his way'. On the Monday
another staff member explained to Mi Yeon that she has rights and
violence is a crime, and explained what a refuge is. Mi Yeon
decided she wanted to leave until either the violent resident
left or she could find another place to live. She believed he
should go, not her. Mi Yeon rang the referral service and they
said they couldn't help her. They referred her to the nearest
government disability service office.
Example Three
Foxglove refuge has had difficulty in attempts to make links with
the local Crisis Assessment Team (CAT). Susan, who comes to the
service, has a psychiatric disability. The refuge feels they
cannot offer her support (whether she needs it or not). They are
not sure the CAT team will come if they need them. The service
feels it is too risky and so won't allow her to stay for long.
This is direct discrimination because the original decision about
Susan not being allowed to access the service is based on
assumptions about her psychiatric disability.
Example Four
Estelle has an acquired brain injury and has come to a refuge.
The effect of her injury is such that she has some short term
memory loss and a slight speech impairment, which when she is
stressed becomes more slurred. At a staff meeting one worker says
they feel the refuge is an inappropriate place for Estelle as her
behaviour would be unpredictable and disruptive. The worker
points out the refuge policy that says women who are disruptive
and have negative behaviour will have to leave.
Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination occurs when a refuge imposes a
requirement or condition which then unfairly excludes a woman
with a disability from participating in that activity or
accessing that service. The barriers that exclude the woman are a
requirement or condition that:
In other words, a requirement that all women share all tasks related to communal living in a refuge makes compliance for some women with disabilities practically impossible and the woman is at an unreasonable disadvantage when compared to women without a disability.
Example One
It's 10pm at night. Ingrid wants to leave her domestic violence
situation immediately. Ingrid uses an electronic communication
board as she can't speak. She also uses an electric wheelchair.
Ingrid's friend Naomy says she'll ring the refuge referral
service. They say unless they talk to her directly and can be
sure she understands the process they can't do the referral. They
suggest she goes to the nearest domestic violence outreach
service, but she won't be able to do that until the next day. The
referral service can't guarantee that the domestic violence
outreach service will be physically accessible.
At 10pm on the same night, not far away from where Ingrid lives, Rosaleen rings the same referral service. By 11pm she is on her way to an interim accommodation, which is a temporary place to stay before going to a refuge. By 10.15 the next day Rosaleen is safely in a refuge on the other side of the city.
Example Two
Katya is staying in a refuge. She has an intellectual disability
and needs assistance with chores such as cooking and cleaning.
Katya has an assistant, Helen, who usually helps her with these
things. However, the refuge says her helper can't come.
Example Three
Jamileh is eight and has a dog, Ruben. Ruben is a pet for
therapy, as Jamileh has autism. Jamileh's mother is told Jamileh
and she can come to the refuge but Ruben can't, as the refuge has
a policy of no pets.
Example Four
The Snapdragon refuge has a policy that all women are to
supervise their children. Following the arrival of Alicia, who is
blind, and her child Karla, the refuge makes a decision that
because of her visual impairment Alicia can't supervise her
daughter. They say she should find family members to look after
Karla or even short term foster care. This is regardless of the
fact that Alicia supervises her own daughter in her own home.
Discrimination also includes discriminatory questions and harassment.
Unjustifiable hardship
The DDA
says it is not unlawful to discriminate against a person with a
disability if adjustments that the person requires, in order not
to be treated unfavourably, pose an unjustifiable hardship for
the person/organisation who has to make the adjustments.
However, unjustifiable hardship is more than an inconvenience or minor expense - it has to be something that will really involve hardship that cannot be justified.
Your refuge may feel that it is unreasonable to revamp the bathroom and toilet to make it accessible when to date only one woman has required it. However, if it is basically affordable with the juggling of budgets, and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, then it is not unjustifiable hardship.
TheDDA is saying that, as a provider of a service such as a women's refuge, you will need to make the appropriate and necessary adjustments to ensure women with disabilities do not experience less favourable treatment when accessing your service.
To determine unjustifiable hardship, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) considers all the circumstances of the particular case, on a case by case basis, including the benefits and detriment to relevant people (women with disabilities, other residents, refuge staff and management), the effect of the relevant disability, financial circumstances and any Action Plan given to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission by the refuge itself. Because each scenario is different there are no hard and fast criteria to determine unjustifiable hardship. It is a process of evaluating each instance in its entirety.
What is an Action Plan?
An Action Plan is a 'plan for action' which identifies barriers
which may result in discrimination against women with
disabilities or children with disabilities who need to or are
using the refuge. An Action Plan recommends strategies to
eliminate these barriers and devise ways for monitoring and
evaluating the plan's implementation.
There are a number of Sections of the DDA about Action Plans, e.g. Section 60. The service provider may prepare and implement an Action Plan. The Act then states in Section 61 that certain provisions need to be included in an Action Plan, which have been adapted for a women's refuge:
To get much of the information to assist you in identifying the barriers and to develop solutions, your service will need to talk to women with disabilities, collect information and talk to others who have undertaken a similar process.
Don't panic. This can be exciting, challenging, interesting and fun!
Example of how an Action Plan can be set out:
Other relevant sections of the Act include:
Section 62
Action Plans may have other provisions: the Action Plan of a
service provider may include provisions other than those referred
to in Section 61, that are not inconsistent with the objects of
this Act.
Section 63
Amendment of action plans: a service provider may, at any time,
amend its action plan. This means that when you recognise other
barriers and/or develop different strategies as a result of
evaluation, monitoring or review, these changes can be included
and submitted to HREOC (see below).
Section 64
Copy of action plan to be given to HREOC: a service provider may
give:
(a) a copy of its action plan; or
(b) any amendments to the plan to the commission
Once the plan has been lodged and approved it will then be a
public document for other organisations to utilise if
relevant.
Why undertake an Action Plan?
Including and valuing difference
Refuges in Australia have shown a commitment to the rights of
women and children to live without violence. Many have identified
the issues for groups of women who experience increased
discrimination and disadvantage in the community and as a result
have developed strategies to ensure women from non-English
speaking backgrounds, Indigenous women and lesbians get access to
and are not discriminated against whilst in a refuge.
Refuges' philosophies and welcome statements have indicated a commitment to embracing and valuing difference, and this often includes disability.
Developing an Action Plan is a tool your service can use to assist in realising a commitment to the elimination of discrimination towards women and children with disabilities. The Action Plan will clearly identify the barriers in your service and solutions to the elimination of them. The Action Plan will include timelines and levels of responsibility within the refuge.
The Action Plan can be directly linked to any of your existing policies on access and equity.
Improving your service for women with disabilities escaping
domestic violence
A common belief regarding making a women's refuge accessible is
that it will only be of benefit to women with disabilities or
children with disabilities. Even if this is the case, it is a
very important step, not only in terms of equality for all women
to access a service, but also in tackling the broader issues of
violence against all women.
However, making your service accessible will have benefits for all women in your refuge, including staff and management.
For Example:
If you begin to make your information more accessible by using plain English, putting it on tape and maybe in picture form, not only will it be useful for women with visual impairment, women with intellectual disabilities, or women with learning difficulties, but it will also be useful for women form non-English speaking backgrounds and women with literacy difficulties.
In identifying 'WHY ACCESS?', The Right of Access Guide by
Villamanta Publishing states that accessibility is important for
the following reasons:
Often the first thought that springs to mind when thinking or talking about access is a ramp and an accessible toilet.
Access to a women's refuge for women with disabilities includes everything from:
The Villamanta Legal Service says a service is accessible when:
and a service such as a refuge is accessible when the woman who wants to use it:
So by developing and implementing an Action Plan your refuge will be:
Go to Section Two of More Than Just A Ramp
This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.