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Wisconsin

 

Project Name

Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women Project

Partners

Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.disabilityrightswi.org)

Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.wcadv.org)

Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) This link will open a new browser window.
(http://www.wcasa.org)

Overview

The Wisconsin collaboration – formally known as Wisconsin’s Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women Project – represents a partnership among state’s protection and advocacy organization, the statewide domestic violence coalition and the statewide sexual assault coalition. Working together to provide intensive technical assistance, the collaboration seeks to expand alliances and enhance community collaboration among disability, Deaf, domestic violence and sexual assault organizations by encouraging them to overcome their fears, transcend their "turf" and embrace women victims with disabilities and Deaf victims as a reality of their daily services.

The three organizations that make up the collaboration possess unique expertise that positions them to successfully create long lasting change in Wisconsin. Disability Rights Wisconsin (DRW) is the state’s designated protection and advocacy organization for people with developmental, physical, sensory and psychiatric disabilities in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV) is a statewide membership organization of individuals and organizations serves as a central point of contact, technical assistance and support for victim advocates, domestic violence service providers and other professionals. Finally, the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) is a statewide coalition that provides leadership and support to local sexual assault programs, concerned agencies and citizens.

The three collaboration organizations have established long-term working relationships with one another. All three organizations also worked as a collaborative team on two prior, two-year (FYs 02-04/04-06) OVW-Funded Education Technical Assistance Project to End Violence Against Women with Disabilities and Deaf Women. These project grants have involved DRW, WCADV and WCASA working together to plan and design project activities, conduct regional and statewide training, develop a variety of written materials, and team up to provide tailored technical assistance to sexual assault, domestic violence and disability organizations. They created a model process and tool for assessing the accessibility of local domestic violence and sexual assault organizations. WCADV, WCASA, and DRW staff all serves together on a number of statewide workgroups that develop policy and protocols for responding to women with disabilities and Deaf women, including active support of Deaf Unity – a newly-formed victim/survivor advocacy group by and for Deaf.

Wisconsin’s collaboration is building on these past efforts to further their systems change work by replicating model programs and creating comprehensive and meaningful responses for victim/survivors with disabilities and Deaf victim/survivors. Particular emphasis throughout this grant period will focus on the needs of victims/survivors of color and other marginalized communities who have disabilities or are Deaf, and have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking.

Contact Information

Disability Rights Wisconsin

Joan Karan
608-267-0214 (v)
888-758-6049 (TTY)

Amy Judy
608-267-0214 (v)
888-758-6049 (TTY)