April 2004

Women take the lead as advocates on disability

Two women with intellectual disabilities have used International Women’s Day to tell their stories and discuss their roles as leaders.

With help from government agencies, forty-something women Heather Forsyth and Maureen Badrock have been able to develop and maintain advocacy roles.

They hope their stories will inspire others.

Ms Forsyth received a Women’s Community Leadership Grant last year to help continue her leadership work with the Victorian Disability Advisory Council.

‘I worked for a self-advocacy organisation for about 10 years as a self-advocate project worker,’ Ms Forsyth said.

‘The organisation helped me come out of my shyness and made me stand up for my rights and support my peers to stand up for their rights.

‘I would like to let you know that my supports are my husband Doug, my husband’s family and my foster family.

‘Without the support of both families I would not be what I am today.

Ms Forsyth said she was using the skills she learned because of her leadership grant to support people with an intellectual disability and to make sure other people thought about the needs of people with an intellectual disability in the community.

‘I would like to let people know they should look at my ability not my disability.’

Maureen Badrock said she knew she was capable of achieving from an early age.

She taught herself to read and write just by copying pages and pages of words from books and magazines that she found around her home.

She is now attending a TAFE course once a week as well as Monkami (an adult training support service).

Ms Badrock lives with her niece Sam and has been invited on to a range of committees to make decisions about supporting other people with intellectual disabilities.

In her spare time she writes poetry.

Chair of the Disability Advisory Council of Victoria Karen Howe said leadership was about women with disabilities expressing their views—standing up and having an opinion whether they are asked for it or not.

She said this group was often doubly disadvantaged because of gender and their disability.

Ms Howe said leadership for women with disabilities held the same qualities of passion, integrity and power for positive change as it did for other people in society.

Telling their stories was an important step in encouraging other women.

• Heather Forsyth and Maureen Badrock’s stories are at www.disability.vic.gov.au.