Ending violence against women with disabilities

To coincide with Disabilities Rights Day on 3 December, Komnas Perempuan is highlighting the prevalence of violence against women with disabilities and pushing for strategies to protect these women.

Experts from disability sectors reviewed Indonesia’s implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities and discussed ways the legal justice system can protect these women from violence at a conference held in Jakarta on 6 – 7 December 2012.

Opened by Agung Laksono, Indonesia’s Minister for Social Welfare, and with a keynote address by Graeme Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner from the Australian Human Rights Commission, the conference was funded by the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice.

“This conference aims to find a common understanding amongst government and civil society organisations on disability rights and to develop a plan to address violence against women with a disability,” said Rachael Moore, Governance and Social Development Counsellor from Australian Aid.

Laksono added, “We hope there will continue to be efforts from the disabled community itself to seek improvements [in government protection of disability rights]”. He emphasised the importance of cooperation between government and disabled persons organisations, citing the ‘nothing about us without us’ motto for the empowerment of disabled people in strategy and policy planning.

Innes affirmed the motto and said, ‘The only way that we in Australia and Indonesia can seriously address this issue is by putting women with disabilities at the centre of our discussions.”

The $50 million five-year Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice is supporting Indonesia’s efforts to make its legal system more transparent, accessible and inclusive. This is critical for democracy and a priority for Indonesia.