The Royal Commission has released an Overview of responses to an Issues Paper into the violence and abuse of people with disability that occurs at home.
The Issue Paper was released last December, inviting the public to share information with the Royal Commission to help it better understand violence against, and abuse, neglect, and exploitation of, people with disability at home.
Respondents have proposed a wide range of changes including:
- The legal definitions and scope of domestic and family violence should be altered to include abuse by support workers, unpaid carers, housemates, co-residents, prisoners and wider First Nations kinship networks
- Further funding should be provided to domestic and family violence services so they can better accommodate and support people with disability
- The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) should prioritise requests for people with disability who need urgent support where safety is an issue, and
- Education programs for people providing support to people with disability (both paid and unpaid) so they can recognise, report, and prevent violence and abuse.
The commission was told violence and abuse at home is often perpetrated by a range of people including partners, parents, carers, support workers and co-residents. Respondents also stated that while people with disability are disproportionately impacted by violence in the home, these incidents are commonly hidden from view, misunderstood and mischaracterised.
Respondents also told the commission about some of the barriers people with disability face when seeking help. These include places of shelter being inaccessible by not accommodating an assistance animal, a lack of wheelchair accessibility or an absence of interpreting services.