December 3 is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.  This day aims to promote an understanding of disAbility issues and mobilize support for the rights and well-being of persons with disAbilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of the oppression and barriers that people with disabilities face each and every day.

Here are some facts about women with disAbilities in Canada that highlight WHY this is such an important issue:

• 16% of all women have a disAbility
• DisAbled girls are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted.
• The unemployment rate for Women with disAbilities is 74% and the most inescapable reality for Women with disAbilities is poverty. The median employment income for a disabled woman is $8,360 (Canadian). The median employment income for a disabled man is $19,250. (Health and Activity Limitation Survey, Statistics Canada.)

The 2011 theme for this day is “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.” We believe everyone has a role to play in advocating for the rights of people with disAbilites, including Nellie’s.  For the past year, Women and Accessibility has been our theme for service improvement.  Some of the steps we’ve taken to improve accessibility at our organization include:

1) Completed extensive training on Inclusion and Access: What Does This Mean for Nellie’s with Springtide Resources. We learned how the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) and Customer Service Standards apply to our work at Nellie’s and we discussed practical strategies for making space and programs more accessible for women with disAbilities and deaf women.

2) Wrote a position paper on Women and Accessibility, which provides a framework for staff when working with women with disAbilities and deaf women.  It will also provide context and understanding of the social barriers that oppress women with disAbilities.  It is our hope that the position paper will be used as a resource for other organizations working with women with disAbilities.  It will be available on our website in 2012 – stay tuned!

3) Facilitated our Women & Accessibility Group for  women with disAbilities who have experienced violence.  Held in partnership with Springtide Resources at our accessibile Community Support & Outreach Office, women met once a week for 8 weeks this summer to discuss issues of violence and oppression and to develop strategies to eliminate barriers to the full inclusion of women with disAbilities in society. Participants in this group enjoyed peer support and an opportunity to network and we are excited to run this group again in 2012.

(Our Women & Accessibility Group enjoying an outing to the movies)

Today marks the International Day of Persons with DisAbilities. Please reflect on the facts and commit to our role in supporting accessibility.  For more information, including statistics, visit the DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN).