In early July 2015, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), a member of the Australian Cross Disability Alliance (ACDA), was invited to participate in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) International Expert Group meeting on the ‘Youth and Disability Policies of Social Inclusion, Gender Equality, Non-Discrimination and Prevention of Sexual Violence’ initiative (2015-2018).
This four-year global initiative – directed at improving the human rights of youth with disabilities – includes the development of an international program to strengthen policies that are inclusive, non-discriminatory, based on gender equality and the prevention of sexual violence. The overall programme goal is the development and implementation of a human rights-based intervention model to address non-discrimination, gender equality and sexual violence prevention, including sexual and reproductive health, for youth with disabilities.
The global programme considers five key areas: state-of-the-art and data, including good practices in terms of social inclusion policies; global advocacy and policy dialogue; the development of human rights standards; capacity development strategies; and costing and evaluation. The programme will build on the available and reviewed/evaluated existing resources and practices at global, regional and country levels.
The four-year global initiative is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and is being coordinated and implemented by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with support from Family Care International (FCI).
WWDA was invited to participate in the development and implementation of the Global Program due to WWDA’s internationally recognised expertise in the area and previous work with the United Nations, including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). In the context of WWDA and PWDA as member organisations of the Australian Cross Disability Alliance (ACDA), and given the close collaborative relationship between WWDA and PWDA, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) agreed that both Carolyn Frohmader and Therese Sands (Co-CEO of PWDA) would attend the International Expert Group meeting on the ‘Youth and Disability Policies of Social Inclusion, Gender Equality, Non-Discrimination and Prevention of Sexual Violence’ initiative (2015-2018).
The International Expert Group meeting on the ‘Youth and Disability Policies of Social Inclusion, Gender Equality, Non-Discrimination and Prevention of Sexual Violence’ was held in Montevideo, Uruguay on September 2nd, 3rd and 4th 2015. Over the three days, Carolyn and Therese facilitated a number of panels and working groups, and also gave presentations regarding the work of WWDA, PWDA, and the WWDA Youth Network. Carolyn and Therese also gave a presentation on the Australian Cross Disability Alliance (ACDA) model, including its work to advance the human rights of children and young people with disability.
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