Acknowledgement Of Country

We respect First Nations peoples and their enduring connection to country – to the land, air, waterways, oceans, animals and plants – and recognise the wisdom and culture that has seen them thrive for thousands of years. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded, and, with humility and courage, wholeheartedly commit heads, hearts and hands to a path of healing, restitution and justice, embracing the wisdom of those who can guide us. We will fulfil our responsibility with honesty and integrity, we will challenge injustice, and - in all of this - we will hold ourselves accountable.

Here We Are Project

Published: September 30, 2021

Women with Disabilities

In mid-2018 Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW) took up the chance to partner with leading disability organisation Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV) for the rollout of the Here We Are Project (HWA). The mission of the project is to look at how women with disability are engaging with the community and how the community can better work to engage women with disability leading to greater input and ultimately greater satisfaction. Coming aboard the WHWBSW team for the HWA Project our Community Engagement Officer has worked to build upon WHWBSW’s existing relationships within the disability space and increasing our reach throughout the disability community, particularly with project partners WDV and local Barwon organisations. As a result WHWBSW have begun work on several strategies, including a targeted social capital survey, that will actively work to empower women with disabilities in the community and give local businesses, organisations and community members the right tools to better engage with women with disabilities in long lasting and meaningful ways. Focussing on WHWBSW’s key priority areas the HWA project has joined well with WHWBSW’s existing output and has laid the ground-work to ensure WHWBSW is an accessible and inclusive organisation going forward for woman of all abilities.

 Downloadable Resources:

‘Here We Are’ Project Toolkit

The goal of this work was to develop a toolkit to help guide WHWBSW towards the ultimate goal of inclusion for women with a disability ion the region. It can be put to use to guide other organisations

WHWBSW Social Capital Survey: Women with Lived Experience of Disability AND the Community Report (2018)

The survey posed questions to women with a lived experience of disability around the overall quality, enjoyment and satisfaction they experience throughout their communities and day-to-day lives.

WHWBSW (2018) Report on ‘Art (as) Medicine Event for Women With A Lived Experience of Disability

This unique event in November 2018 provided women with a lived experience of disability with the opportunity to participate in an event that was creative, peaceful and fun.