Calls to end forced sterilisation of women with disability unanswered.

Speaker 1 00:00

First up today, women and girls in Australia living with disability can still be forced into sterilisation after the Disability Royal Commission failed to act on calls from the body representing people with a disability to bring an end to this practice.

Speaker 1 00:15

Women with Disabilities Australia has described it as another form of gender -based violence that women living with disability are facing and that an end to the practice was only accepted by two state governments in yesterday's governmental response.

Speaker 1 00:31

CEO of the organisation Sophie Cussworth claims their call for it to be ratified by the federal government means it's in breach of the UN's Convention on the Rights of People with Disability. The UN has been making recommendations to Australia to enact legislation to prohibit forced sterilisation since 2005.

Speaker 1 00:50

Sophie Cussworth shared her frustrations with The Wise contributor powered media's Emma Meyers.

Speaker 2 00:57

I guess when we talk about gender -based violence against women with disabilities, we need to think about the unique forms of violence that women with disabilities disproportionately experience. And that includes things like forced sterilisation, which remain lawful in Australia.

Speaker 2 01:11

And in our submissions to the Royal Commission, we called for nationally consistent legislation to be enacted to prohibit the sterilisation of children and the sterilisation of adults without their prior fully informed and free consent.

Speaker 2 01:26

And the recommendations in the final report of the Disability Royal Commission fell short of this, but they did recommend that all jurisdictions amend or enact legislation that would prohibit non -therapeutic procedures that resulted in permanent sterilisation subject to some exceptions.

Speaker 2 01:42

And the government response that we've seen today has failed to commit to this, with only two state governments accepting the recommendation in principle, and the Commonwealth stating that this is the responsibility of states and territories.

Speaker 2 01:55

But what we know is that United Nations Treaty monitoring bodies, which monitor Australia's implementation of international human rights obligations, have clarified that delegating responsibility and government power doesn't negate the obligation that rests on a state party like Australia to enact national legislation consistent with the obligations under an international convention like the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Speaker 3 02:27

Speaking of the rights of people with disabilities, what's your stance on the government not taking into consideration the recommendation to establish a disability rights act?

Speaker 2 02:41

So we have called for better legal protection of the rights of people with disabilities through translating the United Nations Convention into Australian domestic law. Our organisational position has been in support of a national human rights act rather than a disability rights act.

Speaker 2 03:00

And the choice between a human rights act or a specific disability rights act really involves balancing the need for broad and inclusive human rights protections with the need to address specific issues faced by people with disabilities.

Speaker 2 03:15

And while the Royal Commission's recommendation for a disability rights act provides an opportunity for really targeted protection for our community, it wouldn't reflect the fundamental principle that human rights are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.

Speaker 2 03:32

And so as the National Women's Alliance and Disabled People's Organisation for Women, Girls and Gender Diverse People with Disabilities, we called for a human rights act because we represent people who experience inequality, discrimination and violence at the intersection of both disability and gender.

Speaker 2 03:51

And we really need to see human rights legislation that reflects these experiences and protects against intersectional equality. So we're really disappointed that we don't have a commitment on a comprehensive National Human Rights Act.

Speaker 2 04:06

And we're really, really hopeful that we'll see that strong commitment to human rights legislation in light of the national inquiry into Australia's human rights framework.

Speaker 3 04:16

And just quickly, going slightly left to field here, but at the moment there's a public senate inquiry into menopause. How does menopause affect women with disabilities?

Speaker 2 04:34

We know that women with disabilities have unique experiences of menopause and so often health care settings and services are not accessible to us or do not truly understand the interaction between our disabilities and our health needs.

Speaker 2 04:52

We know that autistic women in particular and autistic gender diverse people have experienced a higher rate of menstrual conditions including PMDD and also experience additional complications around menstruation and I think one thing that we often miss when talking about the autistic community and menstrual conditions is that when you're menstruating that's associated with so many sensory experiences.

Speaker 2 05:21

We made a brief submission to the inquiry and we're really hopeful that they report many outcomes are genuinely inclusive of women's health needs for women and gender diverse people with disabilities.

Speaker 2 05:35

We've also been calling for a process to embed the voices of people with disabilities through establishing a disability reform implementation council to guide these critical changes and to keep people with disabilities at the centre of these reforms that we have.

Speaker 1 05:51

so critically need.