“PDF has long advocated that to achieve full equity and rights for people with disabilities, there needs to be increased and intentional focus on addressing systemic barriers and lack of supports that prevent people with disabilities from participating equally with others.  At PDF we call such policies and programs ‘Preconditions to Inclusion’. We outline the Preconditions to Inclusion as an interwoven framework addressing assistive technology, support services, community-based inclusive development, accessibility, social protection and non-discrimination.

We have prepared this series of Issues Papers to assist the sector’s understanding of:

• What PDF’s Preconditions to Inclusion framework is and why it is important.
• What is involved under each of precondition areas, within the Pacific context.
• The current progress regarding each of the precondition areas in the Pacific.
• Key issues in the Pacific under each of the precondition areas, for stakeholders to consider if we are to achieve full rights and equity for persons with disabilities in our region.

The development of these issues papers has been funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with technical support from CBM Australia Inclusion Advisory Group. The views expressed in this publication are the Pacific Disability Forum’s alone and are not necessarily the views of the Australian Government.”

1. Introduction to Precondition Framework Issues Paper – Download PDF version, Download Word version.
2. Preconditions Issues Paper PDF Complete Series – Download PDF version, Download Word version. 
3. Accessibility PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.  
4. Assistive Technology PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.
5. Social Protection PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.
6. Support Services PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.
7. Non discrimination PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.
8. Community Based Inclusive Development PDF Preconditions Issues Paper. Download PDF version, Download Word version.

2022

WGSS stands for Washington Group Short Set on Functioning. The WG-SS is intended for use in censuses and surveys. The WG-SS obtains information on difficulties a person may have in undertaking basic functioning activities that apply to people in all cultures and societies and of all nationalities and so are universally applicable. The final set of questions includes difficulties seeing, hearing, walking or climbing stairs, remembering or concentrating, self-care, and communication. The questions are designed to collect information on the population aged 5 years and above. The sample used as a precedent for Pacific Disability Forum can be downloaded in two formats: 

(i) In a PDF version: Template of basic WGSS Set up 

or (ii)  In an accessible Word version: Template of basic WGSS Set up

2019

Report on the Design of a Situational Analysis of the Experience of Deaf People in the Pacific emanates from a research project funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia and which was managed by the Pacific Disability Forum and conducted jointly by Dr. Elena Jenkin, Philip Waters, Krishneer Sen and Dr. Robert Adam.

Download: PDF Version in English

2017

The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) along with other regional stakeholders released a new PRIF research report on improving accessibility in transport infrastructure for people with disabilities – Improving Accessibility in Transport Infrastructure projects in the Pacific Islands’.

Download: PDF Version in English

2025

CEO Ms Sainimili Tawake’s video presentation at the First Pacific Child Wellbeing Summit.

Link to Video: https://pacificdisabilityforumorg-my.sharepoint.com/:v:/g/personal/sainimili_tawake_pacificdisability_org/ETHZRC3oRfhHnasHR5RoRLoBDwQDYHu0KQNVS0Oht38Cdg?e=hzLWsf

2022

15 Pacific Island countries have launched the new Pacific Regional Inclusive Education Review yesterday to ensure all children, including those living with disability and out-of-school children, have equal access to quality learning.

The Review was designed to advance understanding of the situation of inclusive education in the Pacific, foster cross-country learning and sharing, as well as strengthen partnerships, planning, decision-making and action at both regional- and country-levels.
This was achieved by taking stock of policies, plans, investments and practices in inclusive education, as well as gaps, positive practices and recommendations for making education fully inclusive.

Download Report PDF version:   Inclusive Education Review 2022

2016

Development of the Pacific Indicators for Disability-Inclusive Education (PacificINDIE) was funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade under an award titled ‘Developing and testing indicators for the education of children with disability in the Pacific’. 

Download: PDF version in English

2025: 

Fact sheet on Disability Gender Based Violence

• An estimated 1.3 billion people – or 1 in 6 people worldwide or 16% of the global population – experience a significant disability today.[1]
• World Report on Disability indicates that the women with disability prevalence rate is 19.2 per cent, whereas it is 12 per cent for men.[2]
• Around one in five women worldwide is a woman with a disability.[3]
• In low and middle-income countries, women with disabilities comprise 3/4 of all disabled people in these countries.[4]
• 65-70 per cent of women with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries live in rural areas.[5]
• Girls and young women with disabilities face up to 10 times more gender-based violence than those without disabilities. Girls with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence.[6]
• Women with disabilities being 2–4 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence than those without disabilities.[7]
• For women with disabilities, gender-based violence is often compounded by disability-based discrimination.[8]
• Women with a disability are often considered weak and are often in isolation which forces them to be in vulnerable situations and therefore face a heightened disability and based violence. [9]
• Women with disabilities face double or multiple forms of discrimination because of their gender and disabling conditions.[10]
• Women with disabilities also face unique forms of violence results from the intersectional challenges they face.[11]
• In the Pacific, UNFPA findings and assessment show that women and young people with disabilities face widespread stigma and discriminatory attitudes relating to SRHR and GBV.[12]
• Women and young people with disabilities living in Fiji face significant barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. They are prevented from fully realizing their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and their rights to legal capacity and to be free of gender-based violence.[13]
• Women and young people with disabilities in Samoa experience a range of restrictions to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) services on an equal basis with others and to realizing their rights to SRH legal capacity, and freedom from violence. [14]
• Due to the limited implementation of the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the national legal and policy frameworks on gender and disability rights, persons with disabilities living in Vanuatu experience extreme forms of marginalization and significant restrictions to their autonomy and self-determination.[15]
• A study in Tonga, Kiribati and Solomon Islands found that violence increased during pregnancy, which puts the health and well-being of both the woman and the fetus in jeopardy. The situation analyses found that women with disabilities require more support when they experience violence and also need support when they seek assistance.[16]

[1] or 16% of the global population – experience a significant disability today.

[2] https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2021/07/panel-1-violence-against-women-and-girls-disabilities

[3] https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/women-and-girls-with-disabilities

[4] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2019/10/Making-SDGs-count-for-women-with-disabilities.pdf

[5] https://punarbhava.in/index.php/resources/women-with-disabilities/women-with-disabilities-article-3-and-6

[6] https://blogs.worldbank.org/sustainablecities/five-facts-know-about-violence-against-women-and-girls-disabilities

[7] https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health

[8] https://add.org.uk/sites/default/files/Gender_Based_Violence_Learning_Paper.pdf

[9] https://add.org.uk/sites/default/files/Gender_Based_Violence_Learning_Paper.pdf

[10] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/issues/women-and-girls-with-disabilities.html

[11] https://add.org.uk/sites/default/files/Gender_Based_Violence_Learning_Paper.pdf

[12] UNFPA (2022), Needs Assessment.

[13] UNFPA (2022), Needs Assessment.

[14] UNFPA (2022), Needs Assessment.

[15] UNFPA (2022), Needs Assessment.

[16] UNFPA (2013), Study. 

Download: Word Version in English

Download: PDF Version in English

2024:

Women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities often see their rights to equal recognition before the law and their legal capacity restricted, and face a lack of accommodations throughout judicial proceedings. 

There is a justice gap faced by women with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities globally, including in Asia and the Pacific. Despite guarantees in domestic laws and the obligations contained within the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons (CRPD) and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), significant barriers to accessing justice for women with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities remain.   

In 2022, the University of Galway was commissioned by UN Women to conduct a survey of the legal needs of women with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities in Fiji, Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines. The Pacific Disability Forum facilitated this Survey and worked with Organisations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs) in Fiji. Below are the links for the Surveys undertaken:

Download PDF versions of the surveys by clicking on the items below:

• Know your Rights Poster
• Final Report – Closing the Justice gap
• Summary of Report – Closing the Justice Gap
• Fiji Report – Closing the Justice Gap
• Indonesia Report – Closing the Justice Gap
• Nepal Report – Closing the Justice Gap
• Philippines Report – Closing the Justice Gap

2022:

1.  The Pacific Disability Forum in partnership with Women Enabled International (WEI) and the UNFPA have  released three separate documents featuring a Sexual Reproductive Health and Persons with Disabilities Survey carried out in three countries – Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. The Reports gives first hand insights to the lives of persons with disabilities and the issues they face in accessing basic health services.

Download PDF versions of the: Fiji Needs Assessment, Samoa Needs Assessment & Vanuatu Needs Assessment

2021:

The Pacific Disability Forum together with WEI, UNFPA and the Australian Aid  have developed a set of Know Your Rights guidelines that contain resources and information relating to the right of women, girls and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities to lead a life free of gender-based violence during crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download: PDF version in English

2014:

Toolkit on Eliminating Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities in Fiji. This is a result of the joint partnership between the Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation and Pacific Disability Forum, supported by financial and technical assistance from UN Women, with primary funding from Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Download: PDF version in English

The Toolkit on EVAW was also produced in Kiribati and Samoa. This is a result of the joint partnership between Te Toa Matoa (OPD) of Kiribati and Nuanua O Le Alofa (OPD) of Samoa, supported by financial and technical assistance from UN Women, with primary funding from Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Download: PDF version in English, PDF version in Kiribati

Download: PDF version in English, PDF version in Samoan 

2025

5th March;

The Pacific Disability Forum (PDF), in collaboration with UN Women Fiji
Multi-Country Office (MCO), launched the Pacific Disability Inclusive Resilience
Development Strategy 2025-2035.

Pacific Disability Inclusive Resilience Development Strategy – Download in Word Version

Pacific Disability Inclusive Resilience Development Strategy – Download in PDF Version

2022

1. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 aims to achieve the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years. The Framework was adopted at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.

Download : PDF Version in English, Word version in English, PDF version in French, Word version in French

2. The Pacific Disability Forum as part of the Asia Pacific Ministerial released a Mid Term Review statement on the work being undertaken by Governments and stakeholders, providing an insight into areas that need improvement.

Download: PDF version in English, Word version in English,  PDF Version in French, Word version in French

3. The Pacific Disability Forum in partnership with the International Disability Alliance (IDA), and CBM Global’s Inclusion Advisory Group, have released a series of resources to to help disability-inclusive DRR become a reality. The work prioritizes of the diverse range of persons with disabilities in relation to disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

As a result of this, a report titled “Our Lessons” delivers findings and recommendations from the Region (Pacific) to inform governments, the development and humanitarian sectors, and other actors involved in disaster policy, mitigation, and response.

Download: PDF version in English.

For accessibility purpose, an Easy Read and a Short Report has also been produced.

Download: PDF of the Easy Read Version in English, Word Version of the Easy Read Version in English

2021:

1. The Pacific Resilience Partnership (PRP) Technical Working Group Report on Localisation links to realising the Framework of the Resilient Development in the Pacific (FRDP) an integrated approach to addressing climate change and disaster risk management in the Pacific, specifically on goal 3 on ‘strengthened disaster preparedness, response and recovery’. 

Download: PDF version in English, Word version in English

2013

1. The “Fiji Disability Inclusive Community Based Disaster Risk Management Toolkit” is  part of the pilot project in partnership with the Pacific Disability Forum which is fully funded by the Australian International Development Agency (AusAID) from 2011 – 2013.  It  is adapted from the Disability Inclusive Community Based Disaster Risk Management Toolkit for South Asia developed  by Handicapped International (HI), a network partner in Disability Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction Network for Asia and Pacific Region. 

Download: PDF Version in English

2012:

The Incheon Strategy goals cover development areas including poverty reduction, employment generation, political participation, ensuring accessibility in comprehensive terms, social protection, early intervention, education, and disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction.

Download: PDF Version in English, Word Version in English

2022

1. The Disability and Climate Change in the Pacific – Study done by PDF.  The study was funded by the Australian Government with technical support from the Australia Pacific Climate Partnership and conducted in three Pacific Island countries: Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Tuvalu.  

Download: PDF Version in English

Effective Pacific Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) are critical to the achievement of inclusive Pacific societies and efficient economies. They know and understand disability issues better than any other group. They are needed by Governments and communities as advocates, experts to inform policy development and also as providers of some services for people with disabilities.

To this regard, PDF in partnership with the Australia Pacific Islands Disability Support released a report focusing on the Capacity of Organisations of Persons with Disabilities.

Download: 2013 Capacity Development (PDF version)