Resource for women and girls with disability launches in Australia

Currently, there are over 2 million women and girls with disability in Australia and they represent one of the most marginalised and excluded groups in the country. 

In 2018 WWDA received funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme’s Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Program to create a new website to provide information for women and girls aged 15 and over with disability.

WWDA CEO, Carolyn Frohmader, says it is important women and girls be provided information through Our Place because they often do not have information available to them.

“In many cases, women and girls with disability are not aware of their rights and how to access support and redress when their rights are violated. That’s why it is so important to have an accessible, reliable and relevant resource that they can turn to,” she adds. 

The website was created by women for women with over 100 women and girls with disability across Australia helping to create ‘Our Place’.

Ms Frohmader says, “Participation of disabled women as citizens is at the basis of the recognition of their dignity. ‘Our Place’ has been conceived and developed using an inclusive, co-design approach that has ensured ‘Our Place’ is designed, led, managed, implemented and influenced by women and girls with disability at every stage.”

There are five main information areas that the Our Place website focuses on:

• Human rights information about disability discrimination, Human Rights, and making a complaint. 

• Leadership and participation information about education, work, and politics and activism. 

• Decision making and life choices. This includes information about making decisions related to healthcare, housing, and money. 

• Sexual and reproductive health and rights information. This includes women’s health, gender, and sex and consent. 

• Safety from all forms of violence. This includes information about staying safe online, relationships, and where to get help. 

Along with information, the website will also include the experiences of 40 women with disability in Australia. 

Ms Frohmader says, “Including the real stories section on the Our Place website allows women and girls with disability to relate and connect to others who have had similar experiences or violations. It also enables the formation of personal and collective identities, creating a sense of solidarity, purpose and shared strength.”

You can explore Our Place online.