Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association Release Report

The Multicultural Disability Advocacy Association of New South Wales, Australia (MDAA) have released a report titled: ‘Violence Through Our Eyes: Improving Access to Services for Women from non-English Speaking Backgrounds with Disability Experiencing Violence’ Project.
The report is the culmination of advocacy work, several consultations with women from non English speaking backgrounds (NESB) with disability and carers who have experienced domestic violence and roundtable discussions with key policy makers and service providers.

The report acknowledges the interaction of disability, culture and violence which places women from NESB in very disadvantaged positions. Its aim is to provide a voice to women from NESB with disability who have experienced domestic violence.

The report provides analysis of key issues and concludes with six recommendations:
Women from NESB with disability should be included in all aspects of policy and programme development and delivery. Women should be invited to participate in strategy development, service planning and review.
Invest in research regarding violence against women from NESB with disability and carers.
Develop training courses about domestic violence and its impact on women from NESB with disability. Explore opportunities to adapt existing courses being delivered through the NSW Education Centre Against Violence (ECAV) and the Centre for Community Welfare Training (CCWT). These courses should involve women from NESB with disability where possible.
Service providers should conduct audits of their policies, service provision models, staff skills and networks to ascertain their accessibility to women from NESB with disability.
Develop integration and co-ordination between government departments in relation to policy development and service delivery for women from NESB with disability experiencing violence.
Funding is made available to provide training and support for women from NESB with disability and carers to making presentations to service organisations at conferences, meetings and workshops about their experiences.
A copy of the full report is available via the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse at: http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Violence%20Through%20Our%20Eyes...