The untold stories of Victorian women with disability brought to light

Key points

• From the Outskirts has a planned launch for September 9, 2023, across podcast streaming platforms

• The series is intended to highlight the lived experience of women with disability across rural and regional Victoria

• An event will be held in Bendigo on September 9 to mark the official launch of the podcast

From the Outskirts host and radio star Liz Wright has pioneered a new podcast series that aims to address the unheard and often powerful stories of women with disability. Already, peak advocacy body, Women with Disabilities Victoria’s Chief Executive Officer Nadia Mattiazzo said the 12 women featured on the podcast were awe-inspiring.

“Women with Disabilities Victoria is an organisation dedicated to empowering women with disabilities and sharing the stories of women in our community,” the CEO shared.

“We acknowledge that for some of those women who live and work across regional and rural Victoria, there are often additional barriers they may face. 

“I am so pleased to present From the Outskirts: a podcast series that has created [an] opportunity for regional and rural women with disabilities to be seen and heard. 

“Listening to the podcasts or reading the transcripts and learning the stories of these 12 unique voices, with their diverse interests, lifestyles and backgrounds has been a privilege — one that all of us at [WDV] are proud and excited to share with the world.“

Liz Wright sat down with Talking Disability journalist David McManus to explain the significance of hearing from rural and regional women, as opposed to metropolitan advocacy.

“There’s a commonality among their determination and enthusiasm to have good lives and support each other and to also challenge some of the systemic advocacy issues that are abound [sic] in regional areas,” she said.

“I’ve learnt that people are incredibly resilient in terms of getting places […] in small towns with poor transport; if you’re not working and you’re living on some sort of supported income you have to prioritise what you use your money on.

“I think it’s going to be an eye-opener, because the diversity of the women in the podcast series is extraordinary. We’ve got the CEO of DeafHub, Bendigo, who is obviously deaf, but travels miles because there’s a lack of support for deaf and hard-of-hearing people, both metropolitan and in regional areas.”

Ms Wright explained the power of amplifying voices which were rarely heard, even in media coverage on marginalised groups.

“I’m probably a typical person who came from a family where social justice was a huge thing. My mother was very instrumental in talking to us about equality, equity and being fair — that everyone deserves a fair go,” Liz explained.

“Typically, I would say that I was probably an embarrassed young disabled woman and didn’t want to have a disability and was uncomfortable in my own skin. Then, I just got to the point where it was, like, ‘this is my life, I’m going to have a good life, I’m going to take some control of it.’

Ms Wright shared that her own personal journey and lived experience led her to interview others and find out the individual journeys of others.

“So, then I worked in local Government for a while, working with families and children, then opportunities arose for me to move across to the disability sector which I hadn’t focused on. I’d tried to always be inclusive of people with disability and then I just learnt a lot more about the politics of disability, I learnt a lot more about self-determination and I started taking control back.

“Instead of feeling shy and embarrassed, I started feeling kind of motivated and excited to challenge the status quo.”

In addition to the podcast launch across streaming platforms on September 9, transcribed magazines will detail each conversation for those that enjoy reading or find it easier due to disability.

For more information about From the Outskirts, check out Women with Disabilities Victoria to learn more about the launch. Will you pick up a copy? Let the team at Talking Disability know which podcasts you love!