Work underway to support response to domestic and family violence against people with disability
Following the release of the Not Now, Not Ever report, a Review to address the impacts of domestic and family violence on people with disability (PDF) was conducted to provide a blueprint to ensure mainstream domestic and family violence reforms are as inclusive of people with disability as possible.
Queensland’s Plan to respond to domestic and family violence against people with a disability (PDF) provides a cross-government approach focusing on four key areas; raising awareness, building sector capacity and capability, implementing practical responses and building the evidence base.
Agencies are working with frontline workers to support the implementation of actions under the Plan. Key actions already delivered include:
- the participation of disability advocacy organisations and relevant disability service providers in place-based integrated service responses to domestic and family violence
- the involvement of disability service providers in High Risk Team safety planning (where appropriate)
- Renewed practice standards for working with people affected by domestic and family violence and will include elements relating to best practice for working with people with disability. The standards were publically released on 1 July 2020.
- the provision of training across the domestic and family violence sector to improve capacity of domestic and family violence services to recognise and respond to the needs of women with disability and their children
- the inclusion of additional guidance in the Queensland Health Domestic and Family Violence Toolkit of Resources to support health staff working with and responding to people with disability experiencing domestic and family violence
- supporting the Queensland Police Service Domestic and Family Violence Coordinator Network (including the delivery of integrated domestic and family violence services for people with disability), and examining opportunities to strengthen this integrated service delivery model with key partner agencies.
Key actions underway include (but are not limited to):
- designing and implementing an inclusive and accessible communication and engagement response to raise awareness in relation to people with disability impacted by domestic and family violence and their human rights
- the development and delivery of domestic and family violence training and resources to build capability in the disability workforce to better support women with disability to recognise signs of domestic and family violence and link them to appropriate support
- the development and delivery of domestic and family violence educational and awareness resources to women with disability
- providing accessible information about community advocacy services to assist people with disability with supported decision making, including in regional and remote areas of Queensland.
For more information about Queensland’s plan to respond to domestic and family violence against people with disability please visit the End DFV website.