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People with Disability Australia Incorporated (PWDA) is a national disability rights and advocacy organisation. They are supporting people with disability who may be affected by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
PWDA can provide individual advocacy to those who are affected, and can support you with deciding whether to participate, and they can also support you while you tell your story to the Royal Commission.
They are also running a comprehensive training program across Australia, developing awareness of the sexual and human rights of people with disability.
PWDA will also provide the Royal Commission with policy advice regarding the key dynamics which make children with disability vulnerable to sexual abuse in institutional settings.
New website
The People with Disability Australia (PWDA) Disability Support for the Royal Commission project has a new website: http://rcsupport.pwd.org.au/.
This website has been designed to specifically highlight PWDA’s work supporting people with disability affected by the Royal Commission. It also provides information to people with disability who might like to share their story with the Commission.
We encourage everyone, including people with disability, service providers, advocates, and friends, family members and carers to explore the website. The website also provides a basic explanation of the work of the Royal Commission, and explains the different parts of PWDA’s work: individual advocacy, systemic advocacy, research and a comprehensive training program.
Two year extension
PWDA have told Deaf Australia that the Royal Commission has been given extra funding to extend its work for two more years. This means the Royal Commission will be able to continue until 2017. More people, including people with disabilities, will have the opportunity to tell their story and help prevent sexual abuse of children in the future.
Ambassador program
PWDA is running a new Ambassador program. This program is seeking 100 Ambassadors across Australia to distribute PWDA Disability Support for the Royal Commission information packs to various locations – urban, regional and remote – to help raise awareness about the Royal Commission and the support available.
These information packs will contain brochures and posters encouraging children, young people and adults with disability to share their story. The packs also include a copy of the Advocates’ Toolkit. The Toolkit is designed to support formal and informal advocates and supporters who might be assisting someone to tell their story to the Royal Commission.
To express your interest in becoming an Ambassador, please send your name, postal address and suggestions about where you might be able to distribute information packs to Jess Cadwallader, Advocacy Project Manager, Violence Prevention at [email protected]
Take action
- Check out the website http://rcsupport.pwd.org.au/
- Sign up to the newsletterhttp://rcsupport.pwd.org.au/newsletter-signup.html
- If you have a story to tell, or need individual advocacy support please contact PWDA using the details below.
To learn more about PWDA’s work supporting people with disability affected by the Royal Commission, please visit Disability Support for the Royal Commission website http://rcsupport.pwd.org.au/ or contact Jess Cadwallader, Advocacy Project Manager on 1800 422 015 or email [email protected]
