Introducing disabled people and tāngata whaikaha Māori Disabled people are members of every gender, ethnicity, culture, class and community of identity or interest.37 The UNCRPD describes a: …human rights model of disability, which recognises that impairment is an important part of human diversity, that disability is created by the lived environment rather than inherent in the person, and that persons with disabilities are rights holders38. disabled people are: …those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Article 1 of the UNCRPD. Disabled people are diverse but share some common experiences Tāngata whaikaha Māori, Deaf, and disabled people share experiences and understandings of the world that are related to their perspective as a disabled person. They also often share experiences of marginalisation in a world that is not constructed to be accessible to them; stigma and discrimination related to misunderstanding of disability; poverty, abuse, lack of voice and agency; and political and institutional processes that do not invite or listen to the voices of disabled people. In relation to disabled women, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities state: • cognitive (the way people think, learn and experience the world) or physical (affecting muscular or mobility function) • sensory affecting vision, such as blindness or hearing such as Deafness which may affect perception, communication or navigation • psychological experience of mental distress/ psychosocial disabilities and/or age-related impairment. Women with disabilities are not a homogenous group. They include: indigenous women; refugee, migrant, asylum seeker and internally displaced women; women in detention (hospitals, residential institutions, juvenile or correctional facilities and prisons); women living in poverty; women from different ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds; women with multiple disabilities and high levels of support; women with albinism; and lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender women, and intersex persons.40 In summary impairments can affect a person’s mobility, senses, moods, physical health and the way the brain functions. Tāngata whaikaha Māori “describes two or more Māori… with a disability. The term… whaikaha means ‘to have ability’ or ‘to be enabled’”.41 An impairment may be serious or mild, singular or multiple, stable or degenerative, constant or intermittent. Some impairments are visible; others, such as deafness, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, mental distress, some physical illness and impairments, or a learning disability, may not be visible. Impairments can be caused by accident, illness, emotional or physical trauma, a genetic condition, aging, or it may be congenital happening from or at birth.39 When used with a capital D, Deaf denotes a group of people who are deaf; who use New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) as their first or preferred language and who identify with the Deaf community. When used with a small d, deaf refers to people who have any degree of hearing loss and includes both people who identify with the Deaf community and those who do not, such as hard-of-hearing people. Impairments can be: Acting now for a violence and abuse free future 23