Humanity Platform

When I started working with the Disability Services Commission (DSC) Capacity Building Team we had the daunting task of making complaints sexy and I believe we succeeded. I was very proud to be a part of such a unique organisation because Victoria was the first state in Australia to have a separate disability complaints body.  This allowed people with disability's voice to be separated from the crowd and amplified so we could be heard out loud.  The DSC and I were able to make people with disabilities and disability service providers see that complaints were a positive thing and not a negative.  It was incredibly gratifying to see the amount of complaints going up each year. I know that sounds weird to say but to me it meant people with disabilities were speaking up more.  The Disability Service Commission didn't just use pretty words, the culture within the office was also inclusive as a matter of fact for the first time in my life I felt truly equal with all my DSC...

In my years as a disability sexuality advocate I have been taught the importance of making sure disabled people of all sexuality backgrounds are represented. This is what has made me a LGBT+ ally.  Every year I am asked to speak to disability organisations, universities, and more about the topic of sexuality; and although I do not know what it’s like to be a part of the LGBT+ community, my disability has given me an insight into some of the negativity around sexuality that exists in our society.  I have been told: 'How dare I be attracted to an able bodied woman? Shouldn’t I just stick to my own type?’  In my life I have had many friends with disabilities from the LGBT+ community and a number of them have been told that their disability has made things complicated enough, why would they want to add the extra complication of being gay on top of it?  Sexuality is not a choice. It is simply a fundamentally human instinct and disability or not we all deserve the right to...