Disability Rights Archives

A graphic highlighting the importance of the UK General Election for women's health equality, particularly in Wales. The text directs to ftwww.org.uk for more information. Icons include a ballot box and megaphone.

What’s Wales got to do with it? Why the UK General Election Really Matters for Women’s Health Equality – and why Welsh Voices Count

July 1, 2024

A FTWW Blog As the UK General Election fast approaches, many of FTWW’s followers might be thinking that, as the NHS is devolved in Wales, there’s little that any new government in Westminster can do to address health inequities experienced by those we support. Partly, of course, they’d be right – the Senedd elections are incredibly important to us as an organisation focused on female health equality in Wales. But that’s not to say that the UK Government hasn’t got a huge amount of influence over our health-related experiences more generally. The Office for National Statistics reports that women may…

The Disability Pride flag. A black background with red, yellow, white, blue and green stripes moving diagonally from top left to bottom right.

Disability Rights Taskforce Newsletter – Spring 2024

March 21, 2024

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FTWW is a member of The Welsh Government’s Disability Rights Taskforce, and our staff, Trustees and Volunteers also represent the charity on the various working groups that feed into it. We’re delighted to share the Taskforce’s latest newsletter, which details progress made with their work since issuing the Winter newsletter in 2023. Disability Rights Taskforce Newsletter – Spring 2024 Vision for Wales: Improving outcomes for disabled people. We want to ask your views on our idea for communicating our co-produced work and our vision for equality for disabled people in Wales. The idea builds upon the hard work and…

Disability Rights: Report finds worsening violations of disabled people’s rights

September 26, 2023

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UK Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations last week launched a scathing report evaluating the government’s performance seven years on from a United Nations finding of grave and systematic violations of disabled people’s rights due to austerity and welfare reform. Read our post here.

Update from the Welsh Government’s Ministerial Disability Rights Taskforce

September 26, 2023

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We’re delighted to bring you an update from the Disability Rights Taskforce, in which FTWW and our volunteers regularly participate. The Taskforce sends a big thank you to members of the working groups which have now concluded their deliberations, all of which have been Chaired by people with their own lived experience of disability. The working groups saw people with lived experience and expertise, disabled people’s organisations, and Welsh Government policy leads coming together to hear about the things that are important to disabled and chronically ill people and to think about how to remove barriers affecting their lives. Recommendations…

Disability Pride – is disability something to be ‘proud’ of? We say, ‘yes’ – and here’s why.

July 31, 2023

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Disability Pride Month was born in the USA in 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed to prevent discrimination against disabled people. It is now a global act of celebration – and an act of protest: the first Disability Pride Parade in the UK took place in Brighton in 2016. Disability Pride Month exists to change the way people think about and define disability (and, yes, that can also include people living with chronic and recurrent health conditions)! It also aims to end the internalised ableism experienced by many disabled people, and to promote the knowledge across…

#EmbracingEquity in female health – Our blog for WCVA

March 8, 2023

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Thanks to WCVA for featuring our International Women’s Day blog, which explores the need to #EmbraceEquity in Health in Wales. FTWW’s members describe many & varied barriers to accessing optimum healthcare; our aim is to raise awareness and offer solutions! Read it here: https://wcva.cymru/views/embracingequity-in-female-health/

Disability History Month – Taskforce representation

November 25, 2022

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16 November – 16 December is Disability History Month, and this year’s theme is Disability, Health and Well Being. The Covid Pandemic has demonstrated across the UK and around the world just how fragile the Rights disabled people have secured for themselves are, and this was of course highlighted in the Locked Out report. We are pleased therefore to continue our representation on Welsh Government’s co-produced Disability Rights Taskforce, representing members across a number of working groups – including Independent Living: Health and Wellbeing, which held its first meeting on 23 November and was Chaired by our very own trustee, Willow.

Disability Rights Taskforce

October 31, 2022

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As part of the work of the Ministerial Disability Rights Taskforce, two working groups met this month, ‘Understanding and Embedding the Social Model of Disability’, and ‘Access to Services’. At FTWW, we know that widespread understanding and usage of the social model would help many of our members living with chronic health conditions feel better equipped to ensure their rights are upheld. Meanwhile, key points raised at the ‘Access to Services’ group included the need for inclusivity in all things, starting with businesses’ accessibility information. For more information on the Disability Rights working groups, including opportunities to get involved, please…

A screengrab from the online meeting of FTWW, BHF and the Senedd's Health and Social Care Committee

FTWW Gives Evidence on Women’s Health to Senedd

March 11, 2022

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Thursday March 10th saw representatives of both FTWW and British Heart Foundation Cymru called upon by the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee to give evidence in support of a women’s health plan for Wales. FTWW and BHF Cymru have been co-facilitating a third sector coalition, made up of a number of Royal Colleges, specialist charities, and patients, in developing a vision for women and girls’ health in Wales which has a holistic, life-course approach and encompasses a range of physical and mental health issues, all which have a particular impact on women. On behalf of that Coalition, our two…

Welsh Government Job Opportunities to Support the Disability Equality Task Force

December 20, 2021

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The Welsh Government is seeking to recruit 3 managers for the interface between the Disability Taskforce, Welsh Government policy and statistical / data analysis teams, disability organisations, the Disability Equality Forum and other interested groups. They will work closely with the Chairs of the Taskforce and Taskforce members. The roles will also support the Taskforce by managing the work of the Taskforce and any sub-groups. The Disability Taskforce was set up in response to the Locked Out Report, which highlighted the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Disabled people. You can find out more by downloading the adverts below. SEO-…

International Day of Disabled People

December 2, 2021

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On Tuesday 30 November, Jane Hutt MS, the Minister for Social Justice, delivered a speech to the Senedd regarding the United Nations International Day of Disabled People, which falls on Friday 3 December. The theme for 2021 is ‘fighting for rights in the post-COVID era’. The Minister acknowledged the work of the Disability Task Force, of which FTWW is a member organisation, following the Locked out report, which highlighted the devastating impact of the pandemic on disabled people in Wales. She also reaffirmed Welsh Government’s commitment to the social model of disability, saying, “We know that it is our society’s…

Welsh Government Publishes Report on Impact of Covid-19 on Disabled People

July 12, 2021

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Today, Welsh Government has published ‘Locked out: liberating disabled people’s lives and rights in Wales beyond COVID-19‘, a report about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people here in Wales. The hard-hitting report also highlights recommendations to be implemented moving forward. FTWW was a member organisation of the Disability Equality Forum Steering Group, which was involved in coproducing the report, and was delighted to have the opportunity to represent the views of Disabled* women and those assigned female at birth (AFAB). In response to the Report’s publication, the Steering Group has released the statement below: ‘As the Disability…