Pacific Disability Forum

Women

Since its inception in 2007, the Pacific Disability Forum's Women’s Committee has provided a regional voice for women with disabilities.  The committee oversees disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management women’s development programme and ensures that women and girls are included in the Pacific Disability Forum’s policies and projects.  The committee meets quarterly by teleconference and annually in person.   

Women’s Regional Forum

The Pacific Disability Forum holds a Pacific Regional Forum for Women with Disabilities.  This forum runs alongside our biennial Pacific Regional Conference.  This 1 day event brings together women representatives of Disabled People’s Organisations from around the Pacific Region to talk about issues affecting women and girls with disability.  Each forum has a different theme. 
 
The first forum was held in Auckland in 2007, and it has been held every 2 years since.  Representatives are nominated by their National Disabled People's Organisation and the cost of attendance for these representatives is covered by the Pacific Disability Forum. 
 

Projects

Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities in Fiji.

Women with disabilities are at higher risk of all forms of violence than men and women without disabilities, and men with disabilities.  To tackle this issue, UN Women has funded a project to assist in the prevention of violence against women and girls with disabilities.  This violence prevention project works with men and women across Fiji to eliminate violence against women and girls with disabilities at the grassroots level.  It is funded by UN Women and run by the Pacific Disability Forum in association with the Fiji Disabled People’s Association, Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team. 
 
The first phase of this project is training male and female members of local Disabled People’s Organisations around Fiji.  Participants are trained in basic counselling skills, data collection, referrals, policy, legislation, laws and reform by our project partners.  The trainees then return to their organisations to collect data on violence against women and girls with a disability in their region.  This data is then incorporated in an advocacy toolkit participants will use to educate their community.  
 

Income generation and skill building for women with disabilities

The Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation has given the Pacific Disability Forum financial support for 2 projects to provide income and job opportunities to women with disabilities in Fiji.  As part of the funding, 10 women with disabilities will be trained as nail technicians at the South Pacific Academy of Beauty Therapy in 2013.  Seed funding for women with disabilities to start their own income generation projects has also been provided. 
 
If you would like more information on the Pacific Disability Forum’s women’s programs contact our Gender and Youth Officer at gender@pacificdisability.org