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Resources
FACTOID:
19% of the working age population in the UK are disabled women
- Source: Key
indicators of women's position in Britain, Nov 200251% of disabled women
in the UK are economically inactive
46% of disabled women in the UK are employed
3% of disabled women in the UK are unemployed
- Source: UK
National Statistics, "Economic activity status of disabled people: by sex,
2002.
Here are some resources on, for and about disabled women. You can find details of other useful organisations on our Links page.
Please let us know about other resources that we can list here (the website is updated monthly).
CATEGORIES:
Gemma Letter- and tape-based friendship groups for disabled and non-disabled lesbians and bisexual women. BM Box 5700, London WC1N 3XX. Email: gemmagroup@hotmail.com.
Frida Network Self-help group
supporting disabled women with a wide range of health issues. Ideas for the
future include: rights-based accessible information; workshops and conferences;
website and newsletter; training for health professionals. The Frida Network
e-group has been set up as an open forum for disabled women. To join, please
email: fridanetwork-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
or visit www.health.groups.yahoo.com/group/fridanetwork/
Manchester Disabled Lesbians Social Group Meets on the last Tuesday of each month at 7pm at the Kath Locke Centre in Hulme. Also runs workshops in self-defence, relaxation, creativity etc, and weekend socials. Contact Emma Decent, Lesbian Community Project, Kath Locke Centre, 123 Moss Lane East, Manchester M15 5DD. Tel: 0161 455 0212. Fax: 0161 455 0213.
London Women's Asperger's Group Support group meeting on the last Thursday of the month from 2-3.30pm at Autism London, 1 Floral Place (off Northampton Grove), London N1. For more information, contact Gill on 020 7704 0501 or email gill@autismlondon.org.uk.
Loving Me Confidential support group for women who have experienced or are experiencing same-sex partner abuse. Contact in confidence: Loving Me!, c/o Lesbian Community Project. Tel: 0161 273 7128. Email: mail@manchesterlcp.org.uk. Website: www.manchesterlcp.org.uk/groups/loving me
Boadicea Bi-monthly newsletter for disabled women, published by Greater London Action on Disability (GLAD). For more information, visit the GLAD website.
EtCetera A free email magazine about international disability arts news and opportunities, published weekly by the National Disability Arts Forum (NDAF). To receive a copy, email: EtCetera-subscribe@topica.com
Manchester Disabled Lesbians Group has produced a set of postcards following two cartooning workshops that attracted disabled women from Cambridge, Leeds and Cheshire as well as from Manchester. The group worked with artist Julia Keenan to produce the images, which aim to raise awareness and challenge the discrimination that disabled lesbians face in the Lesbian and Gay Community as well as the Disability Community. The cards also challenge the assumption that disabled women are asexual. A member of the group said "The prejudices that we face are complex but also humorous at times - this is what we tried to capture in the postcards." Images of the cards and details of how to order can be found at http://www.manchesterlcp.org.uk/news/postcards.htm
It's My Life: A Guide for Women with HIV For all HIV-positive women, the booklet looks at the issues that affect women living with HIV and provides information on how to get help, the side-effects of treatments, sex and relationships, families and children, and pregnancy and contraception. Call the THT helpline on 0845 1221 200 to order a copy, or contact Publications Orders, Terrence Higgins Trust, 52-54 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8JU. People living with HIV can order three health promotion publications free at one time from the Trust, so check the website for other useful information at www.tht.org.uk.
They said what? Some common myths about disabled parents and community care legislation This booklet is made up a series of questions and answers which identify and explain some of the common misconceptions about the assistance and equipment available to assist disabled parents look after their children. At the end of the booklet is a list of legislation and government guidance, and details of how to get hold of them. There is also information about orgnisations that can provide advice and further information. For a copy contact the Disabled Parents' Network, National Centre for Disabled Parents, Unit F9, 89/93 Fonthill Road, London N4 3JH. Tel: 08702 410 450. Textphone: 0800 018 9949. Fax: 020 7263 6399. Email: information@disabledparentsnetwork.org.uk.
Call for contributors: My name is Helen Aveling and as a disabled woman I am researching the portrayal of disability in children's fiction, specifically books written for, and read by, girls, in the last hundred years for a book that I am editing. I will be editing chapters written for this book by other disabled women, but I am also contributing a chapter. To be published early in 2006 by Bettany Press, the intention is that the book will be of interest to the world of Disability Studies, Children's Studies as well as collectors of children's books. The book, as yet unnamed, is to be divided into three sections: Role Models, Inclusion/Separation and Good vs. Evil with a date range of Early (1900-36), Middle (1936-1970) and Modern (1970-2001) within each section. Please contact me at helen_a@blueyonder.co.uk if you are interested in finding out more info (there is a deliberate gap in my email address to attempt to foil spam spiders!).
Sick Chicks and Twisted Sisters, a feminist website by and for disabled women and girls, would like new contributors. Submissions to Jen at selfevident@care2.com
Out of Place A new novel by Lois Keith, Out of Place tells the story of a disabled child who is saved from death at the hands of Nazi doctors by a Jewish teenager, and follows their plight when they come to live in Britain. Crocus Books, £7.99. ISBN 0-946745-47-1
You can't do and you can't be . . . Report of a survey of over 150 disabled parents' views about getting help and support, published by the Disabled Parents' Network. £4 from The National Centre for Disabled Parents, Unit F9, 89-93 Fonthill Road, London N4 3JH. Tel: 0870 241 0450. Minicom: 0900 018 9849.
Encounters with Strangers: Feminism and Disability Edited by Jenny Morris, The Women's Press, London, 1996.
Able Lives: Women's Experience of Paralysis Jenny Morris, The Women's Press, London, 1989.
Pride Against Prejudice: Transforming Attitudes to Disability Jenny Morris, The Women's Press, London, 1991.
Alone Together: Voices of Single Mothers
Jenny Morris, The Women's Press, London, 1992.
Musn't Grumble Edited by Lois Keith, The Women's Press, London, 1993.
With Wings Edited by Florence Howe and Marsha Saxton, Virago, London, 1988.
Disabled women informing inclusive design principles and policy Women’s Design Service, £18 (£14 community organisations and registered charities). From Women’s Design Service, 52/54 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8RT. Tel: 020 7490 5210. Fax: 020 7490 5212. Website: http://www.wds.org.uk
Telling Our Own Stories: Reflections on family life in a disabling world Edited by Pippa Murray and Jill Penman, Parents With Attitude, £8. This is a collection of personal accounts of disability, both from disabled people and from parents of disabled children, divided into “Stories from the Past”, “Stories of People and the System”, and “Stories of Personal Reflection”.
The
Art of Dis/appearing: Jewish Women on Mental Health Edited by Leah Thorn,
£3, ISBN: 0-9537950-0-4.
Incurably Human Written and illustrated by Micheline Mason, published by Working Press, price £7.99. ISBN 1 870736 38 9. Available from the publishers (add £2 p&p) at 47 Melbourne Avenue, London N13 4SY.
Take Up Thy Bed and Walk: Death, Disability and Cure in Classic Fiction for Girls Lois Keith, The Women’s Press, £11.99.
Cathy has Thrush, Period Problems - what you can do, Hysterectomy - Is it right for you?, Hysterectomy - Having the Operation Illustrated booklets created in close consultation with disabled women with learning difficulties, together with The Elfrida Society. Free to individual women and £1 a copy for professionals. To order copies and/or to get a copy of Women’s Health’s publications list, which covers all gynaecological and sexual health issues, contact Women’s Health, 52 Featherstone St, London EC1Y 8RT. Tel: 020 7251 6580. Minicom: 020 7490 5489. Website: http://www.womenshealthlondon.org.uk
Feminist Audio Books (FAB) Taped book service for blind, partially-sighted and print-impaired women. Contact FAB, PO Box 83, Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 9UL.
Loud, Proud and Passionate: Including Women with Disabilities in International Development Programs Edited by Jill Crawford, Cindy Lewis, Susan Sygall Second Edition (323 Pages). A valuable resource for international development organizations, women’s and disability organizations, International Studies and Disability Studies programs, and for any reader who wants to learn from disabled women from around the world. For ordering information including in alternative formats, email Mobility International USA (MIUSA) at info@miusa.org.
Pregnancy and birth – a guide for Deaf women Sabina Iqbal, RNID in association with NCT, ISBN:1-904296-04-1. Written by a Deaf woman and supported by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT), the book aims to be a helpful resource, empowering women, as well as highlighting those areas where increasing levels of Deaf awareness should be a priority. As part of their Access to Health Campaign, the RNID is also campaigning for the NHS to reinstate compulsory Deaf Awareness Training, which highlights what is needed for hospitals and other services providers to meet the standards stipulated in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) which states that it is unlawful to treat disabled people less favourably than other people for a reason related to their disability.
Going home? A study of women with severe learning difficulties moving out of a locked ward. Katherine Owen. The story of the search for a better quality of life by eleven women whose needs have been ill-met by the state for most of their lives. From The Judith Trust, 5 Carriage House, 90 Randolph Avenue, London W9 1BG. Tel: 020 7266 1073. Fax: 020 7289 5804. Email: Judith.Trust@lineone.net
It doesn't happen to disabled children: child protection and disabled children, £10, NSPCC, ISBN 1842280406. Shows that disabled children are at increased risk of abuse, yet are being failed by the services meant to protect them. From Publications and Information Unit, NSPCC, Weston House, 42 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3NH. Tel: 020 7825 2775.
Troubled Inside: Responding to the Mental Health Needs of Women in Prison Dora Rickford, ISBN 0 946209 64 2. Exposes the gap between improved policy and unchanged practice, and offers a set of detailed recommendations together with a ten-point action plan. Price £9 from Prison Reform Trust, 15 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0JR. Tel: 020 7251 5070. Fax: 020 7251 5076. Email: prt@prisonreformtrust.org.uk. Website: www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk.
What Women Want: Women Users/survivors of the mental health system talk about the issues that affect them and how mental health services can best meet their needs. Aimed at those working in medical, health, social care and social policy fields, the video highlights the importance of service providers listening to women. Price £74.95 or £44.95 for organisations with less than 10 employees. Available from Mental Health Media, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA. Tel: 020 7700 8171. Fax: 020 7686 0959. Website: www.mhmedia.com
Disbelief: Video and workshop pack on issues facing disabled women experiencing violence from men they know £40 from Leeds Inter-Agency Project, c/o Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds LS7 1AB. Tel: 0113 234 9090. Minicom: 0113 245 8402. Fax: 0113 234 3620.
The Stella Project: Separate Issues, Shared Solutions - Exploring positive ways of working with domestic violence and substance misuse. Report from the Launch of the Stella Project 2 December 2003. The Stella Project, a partnership between the Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance and the Greater London Domestic Violence Project, aims to support organizations to work effectively with domestic violence and substance misuse. The Stella Project was born out of concerns expressed by many agencies about the need for improving cross-sector thinking, networking and action. The launch of the Stella Project marks the beginning of a co-ordinated attempt to achieve this. Contact Rachel Carter, Domestic Violence Development Officer (Voluntary Sector), Greater London Domestic Violence Project. Email: rachel.carter@london.gov.uk Tel: 020 7983 5772.
Genes are Us, Attitudes to Genetics and Disability Available from RADAR, 12 City Forum, 250 City Road, London EC1V 8AF. Tel: 0171 250 3222. Minicom 0171 250 4119. Website: http://www.radar.org.uk
The New Genetics and Disabled People - a discussion document Available from the British Council of Disabled People (BCODP), Litchurch Plaza, Litchurch Lane, Derby DE24 8AA. Tel: 01332 295551. Minicom: 01332 295581. Website: http://www.bcodp.org.uk
Rough Justice in the Russian Federation: The Treatment of Children with Mental Disabilities Amnesty International UK Briefing, 2003. Available from 99-119 Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4 RE. Website: http://www.amnesty. org.uk
See also our News and Old News sections
Manifesto
by Disabled Women in Europe
Information for disabled women about getting help to tackle violence and abuse An online version of the Women's Committee's information pack
Paper prepared by the Ontario Human Rights Commission (Canada) on addressing multiple grounds of discrimination in human rights cases: http://www.ohrc.on.ca/english/consultations/intersectionality-discussion-paper.shtml
For details of relevant websites, visit our Links page.
There are more than 600 disability-related egroups listed with www.egroups.com, and many more hosted by academic computers worldwide. As always with the Internet, the majority are based in the US, but many of these have international members. Some disability egroups are topic-based, some impairment-related, some Social Model, and still others simply social. www.egroups.com is the largest host of egroups, and registration is simple and straightforward. Some of the following groups hosted by egroups.com may be of particular interest: disability-film (hosted by London Disability Arts Forum); disability-awareness (Disability Awareness in Action’s egroup on disability and human rights); disability-uk; disability-campaigns; disability-events; disability-news; disability-arts; disability-world; Disabled-witch (on disability and paganism!); self-advocacy; disability-studies; disabledinliterature.
Images courtesy of the CHANGE Picture Bank
