Australia’s UPR 2015
NGO Coalition Factsheet
Issue
Violence and abuse of persons with disability in institutions and residential settings.
Background
Violence against people with disability in institutional and residential settings1 is a national epidemic, with
people with disability frequently experiencing sustained and repeated episodes of violence in such settings.2
Women and girls with disability are at far greater risk of violence, particularly sexual violence, and experience
significantly higher levels of all forms of violence by a greater number of perpetrators compared to their
peers.3 Children and young people with disability experience violence and abuse at approximately three times
the rate of children without disability.4
This violence is very difficult to detect, investigate and prosecute, due to the ‘closed’ nature of institutional
settings.5 Lack of reporting and cover up by staff and management, is a widespread problem and a significant
factor in the lack of investigation, prosecution and conviction of perpetrators.6
Legislative and Policy Protections
The primary response to addressing violence against women in Australia, including women with disability, is
through the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.7 Although the
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has recommended that the National Plan
be operationalised in a human rights framework,8 it is only linked to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and focuses only on sexual assault and domestic/family
violence in the context of intimate partner violence. Violence perpetrated against women and girls with
disability in institutions is rarely characterised as domestic violence and rarely are domestic violence related
interventions deployed to deal with this type of violence.9
Australia’s ten-year National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (NDS) is the national policy framework to guide
Australian governments to meet their obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
‘Institutional and residential settings’ are broadly defined to include the types of institutions that people with disability often
experience, including, but not restricted to: residential institutions; boarding houses; group homes; respite care services; day centres;
recreation programs; mental health facilities; hostels; supported accommodation; prisons; schools; out of home care; special schools,
boarding schools, school buses; hospitals; juvenile justice facilities; disability services; aged care facilities.
2 See, eg, National Cross-Disability Disabled People’s Organisations, Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia (2014).
3
Frohmader, C., and Sands, T., ‘Fact Sheet: Violence Against People With Disabilities in Institutions and Residential Settings’ (Fact
Sheet, November 2015), Women With Disabilities Australia & People with Disability Australia
<http://www.pwd.org.au/documents/orgdocs/FS-Violence-PWD2014.doc>
4 See, Robinson, R. Enabling and Protecting: Proactive approaches to addressing the abuse and neglect of children and young people
with disability. Issues Paper. This publication has been prepared by Children with Disability Australia. 2012 p:7; and Robinson, S. &
McGovern, D. (2014) Safe at School? Exploring safety and harm of students with cognitive disability in and around school. Lismore,
Centre for Children and Young People. Report completed for the NSW Law and Justice Foundation. P:7
5 Phillip French, Julie Dardel and Sonya Price-Kelly, People with Disability Australia, Rights Denied: Towards a National Policy
Agenda about Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of Persons with Cognitive Impairment (2009).
6 See for example Director of Public Prosecutions v Vinod Johnny Kumar [20 November 2013] VCC. See also Victorian Equal
Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, Beyond doubt: The experiences of people with disabilities reporting crime – Research
findings (2014).
7 Available at: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-toreduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children
8 See: UN Doc. E/C.12/AUS/CO/4.
9 Frohmader, C. & Swift, K. (2012) Opening minds & opening doors: Re-conceptualising ‘domestic violence’ to be inclusive of
women with disabilities in institutions. CDFVRe@der, Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 7-8. Available at:
http://www.noviolence.com.au/public/reader/readerdec2012.pdf
1
1
Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).10 Although the NDS recognises that people with disability are ‘more
vulnerable to violence, exploitation and neglect’, the NDS contains very limited measures to address this, and
does not provide gendered strategies for addressing violence against people with disability in institutions and
residential settings.11
The National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020 includes a very limited number of
initiatives that specifically focus on protecting children and young people with disability from violence and
abuse. Only two of the five initiatives have a national focus, and none provide a comprehensive approach to
identifying the incidence, prevention or response to violence, abuse and neglect experienced by children with
disability.12
There have been numerous UN recommendations to Australia to address all forms of violence against people
with disability, including violence in institutional settings and, in particular violence experienced by women
and girls with disability.13 However there has been limited action to address these recommendations.
In 2013 a Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was established to
investigate sexual abuse of children in institutional settings.14 This investigation does include the experiences
of people with disability but is limited in scope.15 In February 2015, the Australian Senate commenced an
inquiry into violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability in institutional and residential
settings.16 However, this inquiry is not an independent inquiry with the broad powers of a Royal Commission,
and its findings can be ignored by Australian Governments.
Proposed Recommendations
Australian should commission a National Independent Inquiry into Violence and Abuse Against People
with Disability and Mental Illness in Institutional and Residential Settings. The National Inquiry
should have specific and broad powers to compel witnesses, undertake a comprehensive investigation of
all forms of violence and refer matters to law enforcement agencies.
Australia should establish an independent, statutory, national protection mechanism that has broad
functions and powers to protect, investigate and enforce finds related to situation of violence,
exploitation and abuse experienced by people with disability, and that addresses the multiple and
aggravated forms of ill-treatment that result from the intersection of ‘disability’ with other
characteristics, such as gender, age, indigenous status and racial, cultural or linguistic status.
10
See: https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/disability-and-carers/program-services/government-international/nationaldisability-strategy
11 Frohmader, C. (2014) ‘Gender Blind, Gender Neutral’: The effectiveness of the National Disability Strategy in improving the lives
of women and girls with disabilities. Prepared for Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), Hobart, Tasmania. ISBN: 978-09585268-2-1. Available at: http://wwda.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/WWDA_Sub_NDS_Review2014.pdf
12 Council of Australian Governments, Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s
Children 2009–2020 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009) 21.
13 Committee against Torture, 53rd sess, UN Doc. CAT/C/AUS/CO/4-5 (3–28 November2014); Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, 46th sess, UN Doc CEDAW/C/AUS/CO/7 (12 – 30 July 2010); Human Rights Committee, 106th sess,
UN Doc CCPR/C/AUS/6 (15 October–2 November 2012); Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 10th sess, UN Doc
CRPD/C/AUS/CO/1 (2-13 September 2013); Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 34th sess, UN Doc
CEDAW/C/AUL/CO/5 (3 February 2006); Committee on the Rights of the Child, 60th sess, UN Doc CRC/C/AUS/CO/4 (29 May–15
June 2012); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Thematic study on the issue of violence against
women and girls and disability, 20th sess, Agenda items 2 and 3, UN Doc. A/HRC/20/5 (30 March 2012); Rashida Manjoo, Special
Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences, 67th sess, provisional Agenda Item 28, UN Doc. A/67/227 (3
August 2012).
14 http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/
15
http://rcsupport.pwd.org.au/
16 www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Violence_abuse_neglect
2