Grave Concern Over Funding Cut to Women with Disabilities Victoria expressed by WHSN
The Victorian Women's Health Services Network, representing women's health organisations across the state, express deep concern and despair over the Federal Government's decision to not continue crucial grant funding for Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) for the Information Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) program.
This outcome will have a devastating impact on the vital work WDV does to support and advocate for women and non-binary people with disabilities in Victoria and will significantly hinder progress towards achieving intersectional equity in the State.
"Women with Disabilities Victoria plays a critical role in addressing issues that the current government claims to be committed to resolving, such as eliminating violence against women with disabilities, promoting economic empowerment, supporting the rollout of NDIS changes, and implementing the recommendations of the Disability Royal Commission,” says Adele Murdolo, Chair of Victorian Women's Health Services Network.
“This grant outcome announcement is a huge blow to their ability to continue this essential work and will have far-reaching consequences for the pursuit of intersectional equity in Victoria."
Discontinuing this funding will result in the loss of essential programs and initiatives, preventing Women with Disability Victoria from:
Creating opportunities for women with disabilities to be visible and heard in their communities
Building partnerships to deliver the best results
Engaging the community to challenge attitudes and myths
Supporting women with disabilities in achieving leadership and advocacy goals
Improving employment opportunities
Furthermore, the loss of WDV-led statewide forums, resource development, and capacity-building for women's health services will diminish the sector's ability to deliver disability-inclusive primary prevention.
“The work of Women with Disabilities Victoria has been essential in embedding and centring the voices and needs of women with disabilities in project design and delivery, as well as developing local, statewide, and national evidence bases exploring the specific impacts of gender inequality issues for women with disabilities,” says Kate Graham, Deputy Chair of Victorian Women's Health Services Network.
The Women’s Health Services Network call on the Federal Government to urgently reconsider funding for WDV to ensure their critical work can continue beyond June 2024. Immediate action is needed to address the devastating impact on women and non-binary people with disabilities in Victoria.
What can you do?
Call on Minister Rishworth and Minister Shorten to urgently address this funding shortfall. Email the Ministers using the pre-prepared letter here.
About Women's Health Services Network
The Women's Health Services Network has been a driving force progressing and shaping Victoria’s women’s health and equality space for four decades. While our services were established and funded independently of one another, collaboration has been a strong part of our history. Today, the 12 women’s health services funded through the state government’s Victorian Women’s Health Program collaborate under the title the ‘Victorian Women’s Health Services Network’. This enables us to work as a coordinated, mutually-reinforcing statewide network comprising both place-based and specialist services.