International human rights frameworks commit to ensuring the equal treatment of parents with disability. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) 2006 is intended to guarantee the right to family in various ways for people with disability. The right to family is manifested through the right to marry, rights of reproduction, a right to retain fertility, a right to rear children, and have a united family unit on an equal basis with the rest of the community. CRPD also states that “a child shall not be separated from his or her parents against their will” on the grounds of parental or child’s disability. However, the situation in Australia presents a different picture, in which women with disability are frequently denied the right to parent, and to be supported to do so.

[1] In situations of domestic and family violence, mothers with disability need to be supported to maintain their parenting role, rather than being assumed to be incapable. 

 

In this video, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) members talk about why the right to parent and be supported to do so, is a fundamental human right for all women, including women with disability. 

 

For more see WWDA’s Toolkit http://wwda.org.au/papers/toolkit/

 

  References cited: 

[1] Law Council of Australia (2017) The Justice Project. Consultation Paper ‘People with Disability’; Law Council of Australia (2017) The Justice Project. Consultation Paper ‘People Who Experience Family Violence’; Robyn Mildon et al, Understanding and Supporting Parents with Learning Difficulties (Victorian Parenting Centre, 2003) 4.