Alison Barrett writes:
Ahead of the delivery of the final report of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, the Federal Government is being urged by People with Disability Australia to enact national human rights legislation to address long-standing inequalities.
President of PWDA Nicole Lee said in a statement “our laws must change so that disabled people have equal access to human rights just like everyone else”.
As well as addressing inequalities, the release of the report presents an opportunity for all Australian governments to ensure people with disability are treated with dignity, respect and fairness, according to Lee.
Following a four-and-a-half-year inquiry, the report is set to be delivered to the Governor-General this morning (Thursday 28 September) and will contain recommendations “aimed at creating a more inclusive society that supports the independence of people with disability and their right to live free from violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation”, according to a statement by the DRC.
After the Federal Government has tabled the report, it will be made publicly available on the DRC’s website (Croakey will update this article with a link once it is available).
The report is the culmination of evidence from 32 public hearings, 700 community engagement events, 12 policy roundtables or workshops and 7,944 submissions, half of which were from people with disability
“Throughout the Disability Royal Commission, we heard thousands of stories of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability, including my own,” said Lee.
“We know that just because the Royal Commission has finished, it doesn’t mean the violence and abuse has stopped. It’s clear that Australia’s human rights protections are inadequate.”
Full representation needed
“Our experiences as First Nations people with disability deserve full representation in the DRC’s final report. Unfortunately there hasn’t been enough – we need to be heard,” First Peoples Disability Network Australia said on X/Twitter.
They will address the report and advocate for necessary actions once the report has been made publicly available.
Also on X/Twitter, All Means All Australian Alliance for Inclusive Education said that the DRC Final Report “must recommend a pathway out of this never-ending abuse cycle that long preceded NDIS, to end segregation of people with disability – it is discrimination and it leads to violence, abuse and neglect”.
Recommendations
PWDA has outlined 10 actions Australian governments must take in response to the DRC, including:
- Address the drivers of and end segregation of people with disability in all settings and contexts
- Ensure all people with disability enjoy legal capacity and equality before the law
- End all forms of forced treatments and restrictive practices, including seclusion and restraint
- Ensure people with disability, particularly women and girls, enjoy their sexual and reproductive rights on an equal basis as others
- Urgently address indefinite detention and deprivation of liberty of people with disability, particularly First Nations people with disability, people with intellectual disability, and people with psychosocial disability
- End discrimination against migrants and refugees with disability
- Urgently address the over-representation of people with disability living in poverty and ensure an adequate standard of living and social protection
- Ensure full participation of people with disability, including through their representative organisations, in all matters that affect them
- Implement a full Disability Royal Commission Redress and Reparation Scheme
- Undertake reform of Commonwealth, State/Territory laws to ensure compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
PWDA believes a comprehensive, coordinated, and intergovernmental approach to address these issues and ensure the protection of the human rights of all people with disability in Australia is the only acceptable response to the Disability Royal Commission.
“What we heard throughout this Royal Commission should never have happened. We need all levels of government to commit to reforming our laws so they recognise disabled people’s human rights and provide effective remedies when our rights are infringed. That is how we will end the violence and abuse once and for all,” Lee said.
Video
Watch this short video here to find out more about PWDA’s call to improve human rights in response to the Disability Royal Commission.
Further reading
Calling for a long-overdue end to the institutional abuse of people with disabilities
Royal Commission issues ‘statement of concern’ about impact of Omicron on people with disability
From Twitter
See Croakey’s extensive archive of articles on human rights.