Stop the Violence Project

Stop the Violence Project

Resource Compendium: Key Principles for Good Practice in Policy Development and Service Modelling

Australian and international literature on policy development and service delivery for women and girls with disabilities experiencing or at risk of violence was gathered and synthesised for this review. The aim of this exercise was to extrapolate from the literature a set of principles for guiding good policy and practice in the area. Principles emerging from this review are presented and briefly explained with reference to the literature/research that informed them. Suggestions for how these principles might be operationalised through strategies for policy and service improvement are also provided.

Principles / Strategies
Adopting a human-rights approach
Policy work on the issue of violence against women and girls with disabilities should take place within a human rights framework, meaning that the core human rights principles of equality, human dignity, mutual respect, freedom from violence, participation and empowerment, accountability, equity and access are reflected in the strategies, policies and practices adopted to improve family violence services to women with disabilities (Healey et al. 2008:18-19). / ü  Disability and domestic violence are both issues of equality and human rights. As Hague et al. (2007:79) note, there is a two-way policy issue in that:
·  Domestic/family violence and sexual assault needs to be included in all disability action plans, strategies, agendas and frameworks operating within public agencies, local councils and other bodies. It is very important that a) violence features in these, and that b) work is done to raise the profile of this issue for disabled women in the disability sections of any equalities strategies and action plans (Hague et al. 2007:79).
·  Disability needs to be included in all domestic/family violence and sexual assault strategies, agendas and frameworks. Alternatively, these strategies may be part of crime and disorder reduction plans (partnership plans in the future). Clearly, good practice is for the needs of disabled women to feature:
o  in local domestic violence or crime reduction strategies;
o  in priorities for action and in indicators associated with these strategies;
o  in resultant action plans (Hague et al. 2007:79).
ü  Good practice at the strategic level includes:
·  The incorporation of domestic violence and disability into all relevant plans and strategies
·  All local agencies developing domestic violence and disability action plans (including incorporation into relevant local service agreements)
·  The development of domestic violence minimum standards
·  Graded ‘quality marks’ which agencies attain (e.g. on accessibility, training and direct service provision for disabled women) (Hague et al. 2007:80).
Strategies and Recommendations for the Statutory Sector
ü  Legislate a broader definition of family/domestic violence in all states to recognise the diverse domestic arrangements of women with disabilities (Howe 2009:5).
ü  Good practice may include disabled domestic violence activists / consultants participating in disability advisory groups to advise statutory agencies on improving services (as also discussed in a wider strategic framework in the last chapter).
ü  Initially, this work is likely to entail building networks and partnerships between the relevant statutory and voluntary sector agencies, followed by negotiating definitions of domestic violence for disabled women for statutory agencies to work to.
ü  In good practice, such definitions are likely to include the fact that intimate violence is a common occurrence for disabled women; is sometimes perpetrated by family members in a carer situation or by PAs; may be experienced by a range of women (e.g. women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and lesbians); and may particularly include financial abuse and sexual and psychological violence. Thus, the definitions of domestic violence used for non-disabled women may need expanding.
ü  Domestic violence against disabled women is often not recorded adequately by statutory agencies. The next stage in addressing it, after agreeing definitions, is likely to be agreeing better methods of recording and monitoring. For example, the Disability Independent Advisory Group of the Metropolitan Police has been able to suggest, and work towards the implementation of, improvements in recording practice on disabled women.
ü  Thirdly, in good practice, the provision of services and of guidance within the statutory sector (possibly on a multi-agency basis) is required. These should be developed with input from disability advisory groups and agency partnerships.
ü  This guidance may be able to build on the No Secrets (2005) national guidance on the needs of vulnerable people, sensitively adapted by local authorities in terms of disabled women experiencing domestic violence.
ü  However, it is important also to be aware that ‘vulnerable adults’ may not always be the right framework in which to provide services for disabled women who have been exposed to violence. Separate dedicated support services are likely to be more appropriate.
ü  Overall, attention to the needs of disabled women who have experienced domestic abuse needs to be ‘mainstreamed’ in the statutory sector, to be written into work targets and to become integral to all relevant budgets and policies. (At the moment, it is usually tacked on or overlooked until a disabled woman needs help.)
ü  Both services provided and related guidance (as well as training and publicity) need to give the disabled woman experiencing abuse as much control as possible, and to balance protection and risk assessment with an empowerment approach.
ü  Disabled women should never feel at risk of, or be threatened with, institutionalisation, if they report abuse. They should never be placed in residential institutions as a solution to domestic abuse (unless they wish this outcome).
ü  Welcoming and accessible temporary accommodation and homelessness provision is particularly required to enable abused women to leave violent situations. Ideally, women also need support to get there, and facilities should be advertised so that disabled women are aware that options exist under the homelessness legislation (Hague et al. 2007:88).
Improving Existing Policy Strategies and Service Models
ü  This human rights approach involves a three-part strategy to improve the access of women with disabilities to family/domestic violence sector services throughout the state:
·  The incorporation of issues facing women with disabilities into all aspects of the family violence service system.
·  The resourcing of specific initiatives to address issues for women with disabilities that can serve as ‘beacons’ of good practice.
·  The resourcing and further strengthening of existing specialist, disability and family violence advocacy services and peak bodies (such as VWDN AIS, DVRCV and DV Vic) to expand their capacity to provide advice, secondary consultation and education to the family violence service response system (Healey et al. 2008:18).
Specific Initiatives...
A national audit of SAAP-funded services (including women’s refuges, shelters, outreach and support services) be conducted with a particular focus on accessibility for women with disabilities experiencing violence (Healey et al. 2008:23).
The Commonwealth Government’s homelessness strategy should give recognition to the high level of homelessness for women with disabilities experiencing violence (and people with disabilities, more generally) (Healey et al. 2008:23).
Women with disabilities should be resourced to represent their concerns and actively participate in key policy and decision-making bodies in respect to violence against women at national level, in accordance with the human rights principles of equality, equity, access, participation, empowerment and accountability (Healey et al. 2008:23).
State level Community Services and Health Care Complaints Commissions should widely advertise that there are complaint mechanisms for residents who have a disability living in group homes, boarding houses, and other institutions (Mulder 1995:3).
Relevant Commonwealth bodies should liaise with the United Nations Commission on Disability and other relevant international bodies to obtain information on international initiatives which address issues relating to violence against women with disabilities from a gendered perspective (Cattalini 1993:36)
Pursuing New Strategies
ü  A national strategy on violence against women with disabilities be developed that would include:
·  Raising community awareness about violence against women with disabilities in diverse domestic and residential settings. This should be underpinned by a consistent definition of family violence across Australian jurisdictions that include carers as potential perpetrators of violence.
·  That a national research project be undertaken in order to: ascertain the prevalence and extent of violence against women and children with disabilities in the full range of residential settings; and understand the help-seeking experiences of women with disabilities living with violence and the experiences of family violence workers in supporting women with disabilities.
·  The continued dissemination of information in a range of alternative formats at national, statewide, regional and local levels.
·  Professional and educational development in universities and TAFEs across all relevant sectors.
·  A national research and service mapping project about the needs of women with disabilities living with violence to identify gaps for additional resources.
·  The establishment of national monitoring and evaluative processes to measure the prevalence and nature of violence against women and children with disabilities.
·  The establishment of a national data collection snapshot to provide data on women with disabilities within domestic and family violence statistics (Healey et al. 2008:23).
ü  A research methodology, that provides a model to capture data inclusive of women with disabilities and their concerns, should be developed and promoted to relevant data collection and research bodies, for example Australian Bureau of Statistics (Healey et al. 2008:23).
ü  The above recommendations should be overseen by a national working party on violence against women with disabilities and linked to the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children (Healey et al. 2008:23).
ü  State Departments overseeing disability portfolios, through their Community Service Grants Program, should set aside money and call for tenders for the establishment of support groups for women with disabilities who are survivors of sexual violence (Mulder 1995).
ü  State Departments overseeing housing/homelessness portfolios allocate specific resources to ensure that appropriate housing – including short, medium and long term accommodation and emergency accommodation – is provided for women with disabilities who have been subject to violence (Mulder 1995:7).
Promoting empowerment through participation
Women with disabilities with expertise and knowledge about violence against women and girls with disabilities should be actively involved in the planning of strategies, policies and programs that affect their lives. / ü  Groups (including women with disabilities) should be provided avenues to actively participate in policy and decision-making bodies in respect to violence against women be respected and upheld by the appointment of at least one woman with disability to each violence-related policy and decision making body (Healey et al. 2008:18-19).
ü  Women with disabilities should be resourced to represent their concerns in key advisory, governance and planning forums at national, state, regional and local levels, in accordance with the human rights principles of equality, human dignity, mutual respect, participation, accountability, equity, access, empowerment and freedom from violence (Healey et al. 2008:18-19).
ü  Intensive case management should be promoted as a method of working with women with disabilities within practice forums (Healey et al. 2008:18-19).
ü  Continue representation on key statewide advisory and governance committees and explore further opportunities to represent the needs of women with disabilities at 5 regional or sub regional family violence integration committees (Howe 2009:5).
Removing barriers
Human and welfare services should be appropriate and accessible to women and girls with disabilities experiencing or at risk of violence. / ü  All relevant Government bodies which fund training in the area of violence against women should be required to include as an outcomes standard, issues of accessibility and relevance to women with disabilities, and that this requirement be part of any funding agreement for these projects (Cattalini 1993:38)
ü  Provide advice and information to the statewide and regional family violence integration committees about the needs of women with disabilities who experience violence (Howe 2009:5).
ü  An audit of crisis accommodation (refuges, shelters, outreach and associated support services) should be undertaken to establish accessibility and service issues regarding women and children with disabilities (Healey et al. 2008:18-19).
ü  Secure, affordable, long-term accommodation should be made available to women and children with disabilities experiencing violence (Healey et al. 2008:18-19). It is important to be aware that abused disabled women may need higher levels of focussed support than non-disabled women, and greater advocacy, telephone contact and outreach to sort out issues before they are ready to leave home for alternative accommodation (e.g. a refuge organisation). Floating support workers can be particularly effective to support abused disabled woman who wish to stay in their own home (Hague et al. 2007:83)
ü  An emergency supported care fund could be established for women and children with disabilities when their caregiver is arrested or removed from the home (Healey et al. 2008:18-19).
ü  Additional funding under the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program for training of workers in emergency accommodation and support services to assist in the removal of all barriers to access for women with disabilities (Cattalini 1993:39)
Strategies for the State Attorney-General’s Departments:
ü  Draft legislation that will enshrine a right to an interpreter/communication translator to all people before the court as witness or accused;
ü  Enshrine that Witness Assistance Services in State Offices of Public Prosecutions employ a person with expertise and skills in the area of disability awareness;
ü  Ensure that State Evidence Bills be adopted into law, after further revision, to address the problems experienced by witnesses with intellectual disability giving evidence (Mulder 1995:6)
Strategies for State-based Health Care Interpreter Services and Ethnic Affairs agencies:
ü  Ensure that all sign language interpreters are trained in the issues of sexual and domestic violence and in interpreting in these situations;
ü  Ensure that female interpreters are available when sexual assault and domestic violence issues are involved;
ü  Ensure that the same interpreter is made available for a woman who is having long term counselling;
ü  Ensure that more interpreters are recruited and trained;
ü  Ensure that professional debriefing is provided for interpreters after sexual or domestic violence work (Mulder 1995:7)
Protocols should be developed for the training of police in all aspects of responding to women with disabilities who are subjected to violence, from initial complaint through to court appearance including the use of trained advocates, where available (Cattalini 1993:36).