1. 10-12 February 2015 UNSW, Sydney

2. Presented by: Dr Aminath Didi, UNSW Authors: Associate Professor Leanne Dowse, UNSW Dr Karen Soldatic, UNSW Dr Aminath Didi, UNSW Ms Carolyn Frohmader, WWDA Ms Georgia van Toorn, UNSW

3.  This presentation is based on the findings from the Stop the Violence Project (STVP), a Commonwealth Government funded project under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.  The STVP is also aligned with the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020.  The STVP was carried out from mid-2012 to end-2013.  It was implemented by WWDA, in partnership with UNSW & PWDA.

4.  Women and girls with disabilities make up approximately 20% of the population of Australian women which equates to about 2 million women. They come from diverse backgrounds, lifestyles and beliefs, and experience a range of impairments that impact on their lives in different ways.  Compared to their peers, women and girls with disabilities experience substantially higher levels of all forms of violence and are subjected to such violence by a greater number of perpetrators. They are 40% more likely to be victims of domestic violence, and more than 70% have been victims of sexual violence.  Currently there is no comprehensive strategy or mechanism to capture the prevalence, extent, nature, causes and impact of violence against women and girls with disabilities in the range of settings in which they reside or receive support services.

5.  The STVP aimed at investigating and promoting ways to support the development of an evidence-based service system and practice to respond to and prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities.  The goal of the STVP was to analyse good policy and practice models in order to lay the groundwork for future reforms to prevent violence and to improve access to, and responses of, services for women and girls with disabilities experiencing violence.  The STVP was significant as it was the first attempt at a comprehensive evidence gathering exercise across all jurisdictions in Australia and provided findings that were representative and significant nationally.

6.  The project was structured so that there was continuous consultation and engagement with key stakeholders from all jurisdictions and relevant sectors.  Overall advice on implementing the project was provided by a Project Steering Group (PSG) consisting of high-level officials from S&T Government agencies, as well as key experts representing NGOs, and was chaired by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner of AHRC.  Individual expertise and advice was sought from an Expert Consultative Group (ECG) on key outputs based on their individual knowledge and expertise.  Day-to-day activities were overseen by a Project Implementation Committee (PIC) comprising WWDA, UNSW and PWDA.

7.  A range of strategies was used to gather the evidence base for the STVP. They included:  Desk-based review of international and national literature  Mapping of existing legislation and policy  Consultations with women with disabilities  Online national survey of service providers, policy makers and representative organisations.  The national survey was the first of its kind in Australia and was conducted during April-May 2013. It was distributed via email to over 400 stakeholder, with invitations to participate and to distribute it further through their organisational networks.

8. Respondents n=367 Service Providers n=279; Policy Makers n=34; Representative Orgs n=54 Stakeholder group representation

10. Sectors Number of service providers Domestic violence & sexual assault 122 Disability services (other than employment or mental health) 102 Other health services 57 Housing/homelessness services 48 Information, advice & referral services 42 Mental health services 40 Youth services & youth welfare services 36 Family & relationship services 35 Legal services 33 Child welfare, childservices & day care 32 Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander support services 30 Employment/training services 23 Other 16 Services for the aged & elderly (other than residential) 14 Migrant, refugee & asylum seeker services 11 Individualadvocacy 8 Residential aged care & nursing homes 6 Police, correctional, investigation & prosecution 5 Victim support 3

11.  A synthesis of the survey findings, consultations with women with disabilities, research literature and legislative and policy mapping undertaken for the STVP suggested six key thematic areas presenting challenges to the provision of accessible and responsive services for women and girls with disabilities experiencing or at risk of violence.  These six key areas included:  Recognising violence  Responding to violence  Inclusion and participation  Sector development  Cross-sector collaboration  Data capture and use.

12.  There is a clear need for recognition that gendered disability violence is a human rights violation and a form of discrimination.  Development of a common, shared understanding across the range of relevant human services and justice sectors, as well as across all stakeholders and jurisdictions, is essential to inform good policy and practice.  Inclusion of women with disabilities at the centre of planning and development of integrated services to best address their particular needs and rights in relation to violence in their specific contexts and settings.

13.  Since the project concluded at the end of 2013, women with disabilities have been featured in the Second Action Plan of the National Plan - Moving Ahead 2013-2016.  Development of a National Framework to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children, focused on primary prevention of violence which is expected to support a coordinated approach to, and enhanced delivery of, policy and practice to prevent violence against women and their children.

14.  Addressing Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities in Australia. Background Paper.  Discussion Paper for the National Symposium on Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities.  Report on the Proceedings and Outcomes of the National Symposium on Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities.

15.  For further information on the STVP, please visit:  http://www.stvp.org.au  http://www.wwda.org.au/viol/viol2011/  http://www.pwd.org.au/what-we-do/supported-projects.html Thank You