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December 2004 Newsletter
WomenLikeUsWomenLikeUs is our email discussion group - or e-list. It one way we in the Network connect with each other. It is only open to individual women with disability who are members of the NSW Network of Women with Disability. If you would to know how to join womelikeus, call Sharon on 9552 1606 or send an email to; women@mdaa.org.au We recognise that not all everyone has access to a computer or the internet. We don't want to disadvantage women in this position. Emails from this list are printed off once a week and snail-mailed to women who are part of the Network but who don't have access to the internet/email. End of Year CelebrationJoin us at the City group's favourite cafeloungebar for our end of year party! When? Sunday, 19th December, 2004 Where? Café Cube, 550 George Street, Sydney RSVP Wednesday, 15th December To Sharon, ph 9552 1606 - email women@mdaa.org.au Women's Health NSWWomen's Health NSW is an association of state-wide women's health centres and specialist women's centres. All centres are non-government, community based, feminist services that provide choices for women to determine their individual health needs. WHNSW Centres aim to improve the health status of women by providing a unique, holistic, woman-centred approach to primary health care. They also aim to provide women with the knowledge, skills and resources to enable us to take more responsibility over factors that affect our health. Centres operate from a feminist perspective that links the causes of ill health in women to social factors. This perspective is informed by the World Health Organisation's definition of health as a 'complete state of physical, mental and social well being, not merely the absence of disease' (1946). The range of services offered at Women's Health NSW centres includes;
For a full list of what your local Women's Health Centre offers, visit the Women's Health NSW website at; www.whnsw.asn.au. Disability, Pregnancy and MotheringAre you a woman with disability and also a mother? Are you pregnant? Do you want to have children but don't know how to find resources? Are you looking for information and support? Mothers who are members of the NSW Network of Women with Disability are getting together. Contact Sonia on 9576 5282 or Reclaim the Night Newcastle (By Cathie Phoeda)On the night of October 29th 2004 around 50 women gathered at Islington Park to rally and then march to protest against Sexual Assault and Violence against Women and Children. Seven women from Women with Disability Newcastle (WWDN) participated in Reclaim the Night this year. Although the gathering was small, it was a very moving and empowering night for everyone involved. The speakers for WWDN this year were Cathie Phoeda and Tanya Foye. Cathie began her speech by asking able-bodied women to look past our disabilities and recognise us as women with the same feelings, desires and rights as all women. She then talked about how many able-bodied people view women with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs, as being asexual: "You may be wondering why this is important. It's important because as a society, if we desexualise women with disabilities, we help to dehumanise them. When society focuses on the 'disability' rather than the 'woman', we become objectified as victims deserving pity, rather than as human beings with emotions and real lives. When you look at a woman and only see her disability, you take away her power as a woman. And men who abuse women, will prey on the women society considers to be powerless. By objectifying women with disabilities as poor sexless, powerless victims, our society turns us into targets of abuse." She then spoke about the concerns that women in our group had raised the month before: "[The women in our group].... expressed their feelings of fear, sadness and anger at the violence we as women with disabilities experience. The overwhelming majority of women in our group have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives. Safety and trust were brought up as major issues. Many women feel that they can't trust anyone - even the people they know. There was an overwhelming sense of vulnerability in our group - and a real need for empowerment." Cathie then outlined the recent government cut-backs to the disability sector and how this impacts on women with disabilities. She ended by recalling a recent incident of a woman being sexually abused in a group home: "Incidents such as these can only happen in a society that does not value women with disabilities as women deserving the same respect that all women do. When governments choose to forego their responsibility towards those members of society which are most vulnerable and in need of support and protection by cutting funding and support services for people with disabilities. When the very services that exist to protect and support people with disabilities stay silent on the abuse that occurs within their organisations. This is what happens when we live in a country whose voting citizens are more concerned with interest rates than human rights. We are here today as women with disabilities. We have come to march with you because we feel the fear and anger all women feel when it comes to sexual assault and violence. But we are also here as women who, because of the way society views and treats us because of our disabilities, feel a heightened sense of vulnerability. Like you, we have come here to feel empowered. We have come to let men know that as women we demand to be treated with respect and dignity. We have also come to ask you able-bodied women to embrace us as your equals while recognising the particular hardships we face as women who have a disability." Tanya then took the mic and spoke very courageously about her personal experiences of sexual abuse and violence. "My purpose in speaking to you today is to bring awareness to the extent of all forms of violence against women with disabilities as well as the incredible impact it has had on my entire life." Tanya's speech was extremely moving and brought the greatest reaction from the women at the rally. To the question "why does violence against women happen?" she listed the following reasons: It happens because men hold the power in our society It happens because we as a society allow it to happen It happens because men are not held accountable for their actions It happens because women and children are not heard and believed It happens because the victims not the perpetrators are blamed It happens because myself and many other women were conditioned as children to believe that we don't deserve better and abuse is all we are good for It happens because it can It happens because we are silent and don't want to expose violence or talk about it It happens because women, children, people with disabilities and the elderly are so vulnerable It happens because Government, the legal system and social hierarchies support power to the strong and disregard the vulnerable It happens because we as a society don't stop it. Tanya ended her speech on a strong and empowering note which was greeted with enthusiastic applause: "I have shared my experience and pain with you because violence against women has to stop. I am not putting up with it anymore. We as women deserve better. I am not protecting men who instigate these crimes any longer! And neither should you!" Thankyou to those women from WWDN who came along and participated in the Reclaim the Night protest this year! Complete copies of these speeches are available to WWDN members. If you would like a copy please contact Cathie - 4967 5058 or Tanya - 4953 8246 It's Hip to be Square (by Kerri)The newly formed Sydney City branch of the Network held our first meeting at Café Cube on Sunday 22nd August - great pick Shaz. We all commented on the delicious food, ample servings, and helpfulness of the staff. A meal was also organised "on the spot" for one of our members who has food allergies. Cube is advertised as a café.bar.lounge and is located nearby to many of the City's theatres. You can pop in for any meal of the day, a post-shopping coffee and cake session, a pre-theatre special or even an after show cocktail. The sour dough bruschetta, beer battered fish n' chips, and Cube potpie were all tucked into with relish - and the potato wedges with sweet chilli and sour cream were wicked. The meals and price range would be suitable to anyone's budget and appetite. Breakfast is priced from $3.50 to $11.50. Snacks start at $5.50 and meals from $14.50. Happy Hour is 5.00pm-7.00pm daily with $8 cocktails and free canapés Tuesday to Friday. Facilities include an accessible toilet - yay! The room was quite spacious with a low table, which could be moved out if necessary. The toilet has a handrail on the left hand side. The sink is small in size with a lever tap. The soap dispenser is accessible but the paper towelling was tricky to reach having been placed in the corner above the sink. The door to the room was on a swinging hinge for easier movement, however, the door lock was small and smooth and, so, difficult for some people. We had such a great time at Cube that we've already booked our next few meetings at this venue, including our Xmas get together on 19th December. If you come into the city anytime check it out - I'm sure the chocolate & cinnamon pudding would revive anyone after a hard day at the shops. Details: Open 8.00am 'til late 7 days United Nations Disability Rights Convention (A report by Ann-Mason Furmage)On 4th August, Ann-Mason Furmage, a member of the NNWD Steering group, was one of seven women who took part in a telephone conference. The teleconference was part of a consultation process, requested and funded by the Attorney General, Phillip Ruddock, regarding Australia's response to the provisions of the proposed United Nations Convention on the Human Rights of Disabled Persons. The group had a lively, but respectful discussion about the following points:
The discussion group generally agreed that women with disability were significantly more disadvantaged than males with comparable levels of disability. The full text of the report to the Attorney General is available on the website of People with Disability Australia, www.pwd.org.au, under the heading United Nations Disability Rights Convention. (The contribution of women with disability can be found at point 3.2 Women on page 24). More information on the work towards a UN Convention on the rights of people with disability can be seen at; www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable/index.html Charm for the Modern WomanEti brings us the finer points in the world of etiquette. What IS etiquette? Is it custom? Is it manners? Is it kindness? Is it common sense? Is it a set of rules made specifically for the Social Set? Or maybe a mixture of all that and more. Etiquette comes from an old french word meaning 'ticket', it later came to mean 'prescribed routine' especially in court circles. Meeting ScheduleGet involved Find your voice Make yourself heard Women are meeting regularly in various places every month. Sometimes the venues and times can change a little at short notice so it's a good idea to give us a call if you're planning to come along (just in case some of the details have changed). Gordon (first Monday) Campbelltown (first Friday) Penrith (Second Monday) Coffs Harbour (Second Tues) Burwood (Second Friday) Newcastle (Second Sat) Steering Group Meeting (Last Monday) Kogarah (fourth Wed) Wollongong (Last Friday) Sydney City (every 6 weeks) Progress of Reviews of the Position of Women in Australia(By Therese Sands at PwD) Some of you participated in the Our Rights, Our Voices women's forum held on 30 March 2004. Some of you participated in the Women Acting Locally and Globally Women's Human Rights Court and Workshop held from 15 to 19 June 2004. And some of you participated in both events. What has happened with the issues you raised at these events? The issues you raised and talked about at these events are being used for 3 reviews: 1. The review of the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) It is 20 years since it was introduced in Australia. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) will use what women have talked about to plan their future work. See; www.humanrights.gov.au for information about the work of the Sex Discrimination Unit at HREOC. 2. The review of Australia's progress against the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) The Australian government has to report on its progress to the United Nations in July 2005. The issues you raised are being used by the Women's Rights Action Network Australia (WRANA) to produce a report, called the Shadow Report. This report will say what women think about the Australian government's progress. It will go to the United Nations as part of its review of progress against CEDAW by the Australian government. WRANA are also producing a Community Report that can be used for lobbying and advocacy activities in Australia. You can find out more at http://home.vicnet.net.au/~wrana The NSW Council of Social Services (NCOSS) has also used the information from the Our Rights, Our Voices Forum in March to produce a NSW Women's Report that will say what women in NSW, specifically, think about the NSW government's progress on women's rights. This report, Our Rights, Our Voices is being launched on 10 December 2004. Women who participated in the 30 March Our Rights, Our Voices forum have been invited to this event. 3. The ten year review of the Beijing Platform for Action The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) is reviewing the progress of governments around the world on implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action - this Platform sets out actions that governments should take to progress women's human rights in 12 critical areas. The issues raised at the Our Rights Our Voices Forum in March were given to the Centre for Refugee Research (CRR) and the Australian National Committee for Refugee Women (ANCORW) and used, along with the issues raised during the Women's Human Rights Court and Workshop held in June to assist in the development of a draft outcomes document and a number of resolutions about what women want in the Pacific sub-region (the United Nations divides the world into 5 regions and a number of sub-regions; the Pacific sub-region includes Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands). You can see what has been developed so far by CRR and ANCORW by visiting www.beijingplus10.org At this website you can also see the Statement endorsed by young women and the Statement from the women of Bougainville. At the Women's Human Rights Workshop held in June, women with disability also endorsed a Statement from Women with Disability that set out our specific issues in relation to women's rights. This Statement can be viewed on www.beijingplus10.org and www.pwd.org.au The draft outcomes document and resolutions from the Pacific sub-regional event were taken to the Asia Pacific regional non-government women's meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand from 30 June to 3 July 2004. PWD sent the Statement from Women with Disability to the Asia Pacific Women with Disability Network and asked them to represent and lobby on our views and issues during the Bangkok meeting. Another outcomes document and set of resolutions will be produced to take to the UN CSW international review meeting to be held in New York in March 2005. To see what happened at the Forum, the Statement released by the participants and what has been developed so far go to http://ap-ngo-forum.isiswomen.org/ What is happening now? In Australia, PWD is working with WRANA to produce the Shadow Report and the National Community Report on CEDAW. We are also following the review process for the Beijing Platform of Action ten year review. Regular updates on these processes will be provided in PWD's e-bulletin. PWD is also a member of the Women with Disabilities Pasifika Network. From 25 to 27 July, this Network held its second Forum in Fiji immediately before the Pacific Disability Forum (28 to 30 July). Women from Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Nauru, Kiribati, Fiji, Cook Islands and Australia participated. The women endorsed a Statement, called the Tanoa Statement that urges Pacific governments (which includes the Australian government) to take action on women's rights and urges the Pacific Disability Forum to be inclusive of women with disability in its planning and activities. This Statement is available on www.pwd.org.au. Want More information? Contact Therese Sands at PwD, Freecall: 1800 422 015; TTY Freecall: 1800 422 016 E-mail: tsands@pwd.org.au Hearing Loss (by Yvonne Batterham)The importance of our ears, how they work and the significance of how they define us as a person is greatly underestimated. The ability to hear or not hear can have a profound impact on the way we communicate which, in turn, affects the way we live. So overall, the actual process of hearing is very much taken for granted unless something happens to bring attention to our ears. A hearing loss is unseen so it can go undetected for many years in some cases, both in children and adults. However this does not happen so often these days, with the introduction of new screening techniques for babies. In adults it can be very different. The onset of a hearing loss can be misinterpreted as an age thing, or lack of concentration, leading to misunderstandings within the family. A hearing loss can be mild, moderate, severe or profound and anywhere in between. Regardless of severity, it almost always has an impact on the our ability to communicate in some way. It will also have an affect on our confidence and feeling of self worth as well as the interactions we have with other people. Deaf/ hearing impaired people can and do lead rich and fulfilling lives. However there are many of us who struggle on a daily basis to achieve basic human rights. For example equal access to information that affects our daily lives. This is mainly due to lack of consideration of our needs from the hearing community. Hearing loss is a very complex condition. No hearing loss is the same, it is unique to the individual person and we each manage our particular hearing loss in our own way. As human beings it is important for all of us to have satisfactory outcomes when we are communicating, as we live out our daily lives. To achieve this it takes an effort from all participants regardless of the situation. Successful interaction with fellow human beings is based on basic good manners, which includes eye to eye contact. For a person with a hearing loss being face to face with people is a must if the communication is to have any chance of being successful. Suggestions for the deaf/ hearing impaired person to think about when communicating with others
Suggestions for people who are communicating with deaf/hearing impaired people
Want More Information? For more information there are many organisations that you can contact depending on your needs. To name some of them, Deafness Resources 1800 555201 (technical devices) Deaf society of NSW Email nswad@bigpond.com Better Hearing Australia Email bhasyd@ozemail.com.au (lipreading/support group) Yvonne Batterham Email yvonneb@midcoast.com.au Phone 9879 7337 Women with Disability Australia - WWDA(from the WWDA Website - www.wwda.org.au) 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. WWDA is run by women with disabilities, for women with disabilities 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. For more information about WWDA, you can check out the website at; www.wwda.org.au Or call them on; 03 62448288 The Chaperon [A Gloomy word](Charm for the Modern Women by Eti) When we think about chaperons one pictures instinctively a humorless tyrant whose "correct" manner plainly reveals her true purpose, which of course is to take the joy out of life. We never imagine that she can be - and often is - sympathetic with an unselfish desire to smooth the path for someone who is the darling of her heart. Nothing alters the feeling of gloom at the mention of the word "chaperon." There are many occasions when a chaperon is unnecessary! It is considered perfectly correct for a young girl to drive a motor by herself, or take a young man with her, if her family know and approve of him, for any short distance in the country. She may play tennis, golf, go to the Country Club [if near by], sit on the beach, go canoeing, ride horseback, and take part in the normal sports and occupations of country life. Young girls always go to private parties of every sort without their own chaperon, but the fact that a lady issues an invitation means that either she or another suitable chaperon will be present. NSW Network of Women with Disability
Get involved
The NSW Network of Women with Disability meets regularly every month. To find out a meeting near you, give us a call! For more information or to get involved, contact; Sharon at Physical Disability Council of NSW Phone: 02 9552 1606 NSW Network of Women with Disability is facilitated by Physical Disability Council of NSW and Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association and is funded by the Office for Women, NSW Premier's Department
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