Women, disability and violence: creating access to justice

This project is being undertaken to produce knowledge of the experiences of women with disability in terms of violence – especially sexual assault and intimate partner violence – and pathways and barriers to accessing support and justice responses to such violence. It is a key part of this project to produce the research in partnership with People with Disability Australia (PWDA) which is working with women with disabilities in order to ensure the validity, efficacy and potential for meaningful application of the research project.

Researchers will interview women with disability with partner PWDA in focus groups in urban and regional locations across both Victoria and New South Wales. Women’s voices will be augmented by interviews with stakeholders across the two states. This approach will allow for a full and detailed exploration of women’s experiences of seeking access to justice when they have faced violence and/or sexual assault either inside or outside their relationships.

Project outcomes will focus on developing a training module with PWDA to support services and staff interacting with women with disability. A range of practitioner reports will be produced alongside academic outcomes.

Chief Investigators Assoc Prof JaneMaree Maher, Dr Claire Spivakovsky, Professor Jude McCulloch

Funder Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS)

Other Partners People with Disability Australia (PWDA)

Date of Award 2016-2018