Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch has thrown her support behind a new website dedicated to information for women with disabilities.
Tesch said Our Site, launched by Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) and including resources and information for all women with disability over the age of 15, was a “huge step in the right direction”.
“Every person with a disability struggles with different issues and overcomes different hurdles but a lot of overlapping issues experienced by women are often drowned out in the conversation,” Tesch said.
“It’s clear there’s even a gender gap in the disability sector with women making up less than 39 per cent of people being supported by the National Disability Insurance Scheme.”
Our Site has information on women’s rights, leading and taking part in activities, life choices, safety and violence advice, body talk and real stories from women with disability, providing guidance through many lived experiences.
Tesch said having someone to relate to is a helpful step on the road to better living.
“Women with disability don’t have to go through these experiences alone.
“However these stories are both heartbreaking and heart-warming at the same time, revealing that there is still a lot of education to do,” she said.
“Heartbreaking because it’s devastating to read about what these incredible women have had to endure and heart-warming because there is a light at the end of the tunnel and these stories will help other women realise that too.”
Tesch said the NSW Government planned to cut disability advocacy funding in July 2018 but as a result of community campaigning the Government extended the funding to December 2020.
“There is no guarantee the funding will be delivered in 2021 and beyond leaving disability advocacy organisations, which are already underfunded, in even more precarious situations,” she said.
Tesch said she was thankful Our Site has been established given the uncertain future of disability advocacy.
“Having wrap around support and advocacy services for disability is crucial for our community,” she said.
“In the absence of a certain future for disability advocacy in our state I’m so thankful Our Site is up and running, trying to fill a gap that may unfortunately soon present itself.
“Despite this I really do hope the NSW Government guarantees disability advocacy funding into the closely approaching New Year to give us all some peace of mind and services we deserve.”
The site can be found at https://oursite.wwda.org.au/.
Source:
Media release, Sep 2
Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch