'There are so many barriers for disabled women,' says Waterford campaigner

Tue, 23 May, 2023 - 02:00

Niamh Griffin, Health Correspondent

Barriers preventing disabled women from entering politics and academia need to be removed, said a member of the Irish delegation to the European Parliament of Persons with Disabilities (EPPD).

The parliament’s fifth sitting takes place in Brussels on Tuesday, with 700 participants expected.

Aoife Price, living in Waterford City, is one of the 13 Irish delegates calling on Irish MEPs to support implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

Ms Price is a disability researcher, academic, and activist.

“There are so many barriers for disabled women,” said Ms Price. “Accessibility is a huge thing when it comes to movements that aren’t the disability movement, access is a huge issue that affects participation.”

She said representation for disabled women is a key issue.

“We don’t have disabled women represented in politics, and I think that is really important to create change and for providing role models.

I want to go into academia, but you don’t see many disabled or openly disabled people, some might have invisible disabilities, working in third-level.

"I would like to see more disabled women in all aspects of life.”

She welcomed the recent focus on remote learning.

“Disabled people have been calling for years for online classes, all over Europe, and it was always said it couldn’t happen.

“Then, obviously, it was able to happen with covid.”

On Wednesday, the delegation will meet the 13 Irish MEPs.

Ms Price hopes to raise these issues, and the heightened risk of experiencing violence which faces disabled women compared with their able-bodied peers.

“I think that will be really great to get the Irish perspective and let them know what we are looking for, and how they should represent us.

“The UN CRPD is a brilliant framework for promoting our human rights. It’s unique in that disabled people and their organisations were involved in writing that as well.

“It’s a very practical piece of legislation, and it is really critical to us.”

Disability Federation of Ireland CEO John Dolan described the delegation as a “strong and committed team of disabled persons with diverse perspectives and lived experience”.

“The themes we will be looking at as part of the EPPD give us a very strong focus for our participation at the parliament and, more importantly, for our work over the next year prior to the European Parliament elections,” said Mr Dolan.

“We will be bringing the learnings back home to maximise the involvement of disability activists along with our membership over the next year.”