Submissions

To: United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 
Date: October 2025

Purpose

To provide recommendations to the UNCRPD committee on how the UNCRPD can be improved to better support women and girls experiencing discrimination, and to better address intersectionality. 

Summary of DPA submission

We had several recommendations to the UNCRPD committee relating to women and girls with disabilities, particularly around gathering better data relating to disabled women and girls, and to ensure that data is disaggregated. 

The submission explained how disabled women and girls in Aotearoa face multiple, intersecting forms of discrimination, especially relating to healthcare, education and access to services. This particularly effects Māori, Pasifika, LGBTTQIA+, ethnic, and older women. The submission explained how there are still systemic barriers in place for disabled women and girls, and how gaps in data continue to limit full participation for women and girls in society. 

We recommended several amendments to the UNCRPD articles, particularly articles 5 (equality and non-discrimination), 6 (women with disabilities) and 16 (freedom from violence and abuse).