Calls for Women with disability to be at the heart of reform.

Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is calling on the re-elected Albanese Government to deliver meaningful reform that puts the rights, needs and leadership of women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities front and centre.

In a statement on the WWDA website, it pledged to continue the fight for gender reform and for the Government to act on the findings of the Disability Royal Commission and NDIS Review.

There are 5.5 million Australians living with disability, and roughly 22% identify as female, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The ABS also states that women with disability are almost twice as likely as women without disability to have experienced physical or sexual violence by a cohabiting partner over a 12-month period, with fewer than one in three reporting incidents to police.

Considering this, WWDA is calling on the government to establish a disability-led gender-based violence working group to inform the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children and change the legal definition of ‘domestic and family violence’ to reflect the realities of violence experienced by women and gender-diverse people with disabilities.

WWDA CEO Sophie Cusworth, believes a shared focus on disability, health, and the NDIS, is an opportunity for NDIS Ministers Mark Butler and Jenny McAllister to better address the current fragmentation between disability and gender-based violence.