Constructions of women with disability experiencing family and domestic violence

Background

Women with disability are impacted by interlocking systems of oppression, including sexism and ableism, which can contribute to and compound experiences of family and domestic violence. The extent of violence against women with disability is considerably higher than for the general population, yet it is largely invisible in mainstream coverage of FDV. Women with disability often have their needs ignored or are seen as a homogenous group in policy and practice responses to FDV. This understanding formed the basis of a Western Australian doctoral research project.

Aim

The project explores the ways in which FDV against women with disability is constructed by documenting the perspectives of women with disability as well as identifying discourses and how policies and practices impact and respond to FDV against women with disability.

Methods

The study will employ:
1. Foucauldian discourse analysis
2. photovoice interviews with women with disability who have experienced FDV
3. structural intersectional analysis.
The Foucauldian discourse analysis will identify how women with disability experiencing FDV have been constructed over time. This will be complemented by photovoice interviews with up to 10 women from Western Australia and Queensland, to listen to their voices and spark critical dialogue. The structural intersectional analysis of Royal Commission testimonies and national strategic plans in the FDV and disability sectors will investigate if and how policies and practices sustain and replicate inequality.

Significance

The research will employ a novel methodological approach for understanding and addressing FDV against women with disability, investigating the issue at multiple levels – individual, organisational, societal and political. An anticipated outcome of the study is a theoretical framework for understanding the invisibility of FDV against women with disability through the combination of methodologies which allow for multiple perspectives on the issue. The project will also provide rich qualitative data evidencing the lived experience of FDV of women with disability, and identify how findings can be translated to improve understandings and responses to women with disability experiencing FDV.

Funding Body

Curtin University

Project start date

January 2021

Expected completion date

January 2025