Kat Reed is the new leader of Women with Disabilities ACT (WWDACT) and they intend to double-down on the existing gendered advocacy for Canberraโs 41,000 women, girls, female-identifying and non-binary people with disability.
Mx Reed said WWDACT is a โprogressive organisation based on feminist principlesโ, working to create a supportive community and develop policy to eliminate systemic disadvantage at the intersection of gender discrimination and disability discrimination.
Statistics for women with disabilities ACT
Women with a disability make up more than 50% of the ACTโs disabled population, yet only 34% of local NDIS recipients.
In line with national trends, women with disabilities in the ACT have significantly lower labour force participation than men with disabilities (65% compared to 80%).
They are 40% more likely to be victims of domestic violence and experience sexual victimisation at rates four to 10 times higher than women without a disability.
Disabilities and leadership
Although Mx Reed has only been CEO of WWDACT since last November, they are not new to the organisation, having already produced a showcase of the artistic talents of Canberraโs women with disabilities.
Her advocacy began at university when her own lived experience with mental health led to disability activism, politics, and attendance at the Disability Leadership Institute.
โAt the moment, people who are disabled arenโt seen as people who can lead,โ Ms Reed said.
โItโs one of those weird dichotomies where weโre seen as inspirational but also not qualified to be in positions of leadership in conventional ways.
โFor ages I didnโt realise you could identify as a person with a disability because of mental health.
โAs time went on and my mental health didnโt exactly suddenly improve, I began to see it as a chronic illness that I deal with on a regular basis.
โAt uni I was needing to apply for special consideration so I kind of felt like I had experience navigating my mental health, and needing a workplace and study environment that took that into account was really important.โ
WWDACT membership and programs
WWDACT have around 160 members and are working on expanding their multicultural involvement.
Mx Reed said diversifying their membership base was โcomplexโ due to the tendency for some people from a multicultural background to not identify with the word disability.
โWe need to educate people and destigmatise the word so more people feel empowered to use it and use it to describe their experience, rather than see it as a hindrance,โ they said.
โOur membership definitely needs that diversity, along with more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.โ
WWDACT run various programs including their successful parenting group, which Mx Reed hopes to continue.
They said a significant number of their members โfeel shamedโ by the medical profession for wanting to be parents.
โA lot of women feel encouraged by doctors not to have children and donโt feel supported by their doctor when they do. They are seen as not being capable to be mothers.
โThere is still this idea that a disability is a bad thing, therefore why would you want your children to be brought into the world, if itโs a possibility.โ
Visit wwdact.org.au for more.
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