04-08-2012, 04:07 PM
Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) Report of the WWDA Telecommunications Survey
Women With Disabilities Australia .doc (Size: 1.9 MB / Downloads: 69)
Introduction
Despite the fact that in Australia, approximately 19% of all women are disabled and more than 50% of people with disabilities are women, women with disabilities continue to be categorised as a special interest group; their experience isolated from the mainstream and marginalised.
Women with disabilities are among the most economically and socially disadvantaged of all groups in society. Over 50% of women with disabilities in Australia live on less than $200 per week, they are more likely to be institutionalised, less likely to own their own home, less likely to be employed, less likely to have completed basic schooling, obtain a university qualification, or successfully move from a rehabilitation program into employment; and less likely to receive appropriate services than men with equivalent needs or other women. Women with disabilities pay the highest level of their gross income on housing, yet are in the lowest income earning bracket. They are more likely to be institutionalised than their male counterparts, and are often forced to live in situations in which they are vulnerable to violence. Women with disabilities are more likely to experience violence at work than other women, men with disabilities or the population as a whole. They are also more likely to be unlawfully sterilised than their male counterparts. Women with disabilities are more likely to live in situations of social isolation than other women, men with disabilities or the population as a whole.
In early 1999, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), the national peak body for women with all types of disabilities, undertook a small survey of its members to identify their experiences of, and concerns relating to telecommunications. There has been a groundswell of opinion and research highlighting the potential for telecommunications to improve living standards for women . However, none of this research has included the experiences and needs of women with disabilities in relation to telecommunications.
About Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)
WWDA is the peak organisation for women with disabilities in Australia. It is a federating body of individuals and networks in each State and Territory of Australia and is made up of women with disabilities and associated organisations. WWDA is a woman centred organisation which works on a collective model. This means that decisions are made using a consensus approach. The national secretariat is located in Canberra. WWDA is run by women with disabilities, for women with disabilities. It is the only organisation of its kind in Australia and one of only a very small number internationally. WWDA is inclusive and does not discriminate against any disability.
WWDA seeks to ensure opportunities in all walks of life for all women with disabilities. In this it aims to increase awareness of, and address issues faced by, women with disabilities in the community. It links women with disabilities from around Australia, providing opportunities to identify and discuss issues of common concern. The objectives of the organisation include:
• to develop a network of women with disabilities throughout Australia to work together for their mutual benefit;
• to advocate for every woman with a disability to have the opportunity for true involvement in all levels of society;
• to develop leadership and the sharing of responsibilities to enable women with disabilities to take their place in whatever section of society they choose;
• to change social attitudes, practices, and power relationships which discriminate against women with disabilities;
• to lobby for the implementation of procedures and enactment of legislation which will advance and benefit all women with disabilities and combat sexism;
• to inform and educate the public with a view to advancing the opportunities for women in the political, creative, civil and social fields.
The organisation is managed by a National Executive Committee, which is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. Each State and Territory of Australia is represented on the National Executive Committee. All programs and activities conducted by WWDA are in direct response to the identified issues and concerns of women with disabilities in Australia. It is at the forefront of advocacy with, and on behalf of, women with disabilities in Australia.
WWDA's major policy and program areas for 1998-99 include: violence against women with disabilities; improving access to telecommunications (including information technologies) for women with disabilities; leadership and mentoring; housing; ageing; health; links with the women’s movement; organisational development; development of State, Territory and Regional WWDA groups; and systemic advocacy.
Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is currently funded on an annual basis under the Commonwealth Department of Family & Community Services Disability Programs Research and Development Grants.
Executive Summary
Traditionally, disability has largely been understood in the context of the bio-medical model. It has been synonymous with personal tragedy, and has tended to concentrate on individuals' medical conditions and/or impairments. An alternative model, and one much more acceptable to people with disabilities, is the social model of disability. The social model of disability views disability as a form of oppression which entails certain restrictions. Oliver argued this point when he said: "all disabled people experience disability as social restriction, whether these restrictions occur as a consequence of inaccessible built environments, questionable notions of intelligence and social competence, the inability of the general public to use sign language, the lack of reading material in Braille or hostile public attitudes to people with non-visible disabilities".
Despite the fact that in Australia, 19% of the population is disabled and more than 50% of people with disabilities are women, women with disabilities continue to be categorised as a special interest group; their experience isolated from the mainstream and marginalised. Disabled women have had little opportunity to portray their experiences within the general culture or within political movements. Their experience is isolated and individualised and the definitions which society places on them focus on judgments of individual capacities and personalities.
In early 1999, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), the national peak body for women with all types of disabilities, undertook a small survey of its members to identify their experiences of, and concerns relating to telecommunications. There has been a groundswell of opinion and research highlighting the potential for telecommunications to improve living standards for women . However, none of this research has included the experiences and needs of women with disabilities in relation to telecommunications. Anecdotal evidence collected by WWDA indicates that access to telecommunications is a major area of inequity for women with disabilities. The Telecommunications Survey undertaken by WWDA was framed within a philosophy of disability rights and the social model of disability. It was not a ‘needs based’ survey, but rather came from a context of rights, which affirms that telecommunications should be available to all, and this includes women with disabilities.
Access
1. Internet Service Providers who are offering Internet Training courses need to ensure that their training is accessible to women with disabilities. Internet Training Providers should ensure that software is available which enables blind and/or visually impaired women to access Internet training.
2. There needs to be an extension of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) to all service providers to cover the need for installation of a second phone line for people with disabilities who are otherwise isolated (eg: rural, remote and socially isolated).
3. A study should be undertaken into the feasibility of establishing state based Telecommunications Equipment Recycling Banks for women with disabilities and women on low incomes.
4. Public venues offering Internet access (such as Internet Cafes and public libraries) need to ensure accessibility for women with disabilities. This would include the need for accessible hours of operation, subsidised access rates, and accessible computers, venues and related equipment.
5. Instructions for telecommunications equipment (including adaptive devices) need to be provided in accessible formats including: in Plain English, on cassette tape, on disc, in braille, in large print. Printed instructions should include the use of diagrams.
Service Provider Responsibilities
1. Telecommunications Service Providers need to develop an awareness and understanding of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. Women with disabilities who are in receipt of the Disability Support Pension should not be made to provide additional 'evidence' of their disability in order to purchase services and/or products.
2. Government departments and private industry using recorded messages and processes, and queuing facilities need to incorporate an option for those people who are unable (for whatever reason) to access these methods.
3. Automatic account payment facilities need a business hours contact where details can be given verbally
4. There needs to be an extension of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) to all service providers to cover the need for installation of a second phone line for people with disabilities who are otherwise isolated (eg: rural, remote and socially isolated).