On Saturday 12th September, we gathered at Calthorpe Community Garden for the first meeting with our new mentees. It was a good opportunity to meet one another in person, share ideas, and begin thinking together about what the Sisters of Frida mentorship programme could become.
In attendance was Tumu, Eleanor, Svetlana, Niku, Anahita, Grace, Labake, Kavina, Nehemiah and Francesca. We started with introductions, and got to know each other over vegan snacks and drinks.
Eleanor gave a presentation about how Sisters of Frida (SoF) began, introducing the organisation’s founders and its mission. She also talked about some of the events, campaigns and projects that SoF has been involved in over the years. These included a sex and disability event at the University of Leeds in 2014, the Women’s March in 2017, the WOW Festival at London’s Southbank, and work on a CRPD shadow report. Eleanor also spoke about SoF’s documentation of threats to social care during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and work with Stay Safe East. For those new to SoF, Eleanor explained some of the key frameworks that inform SoF’s work, including CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) and the CRPD (the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).
Tumu introduced the mentorship programme and spoke about what mentees can expect from it. We discussed some of the people and organisations that mentees might want to connect with, as well as the importance of creating a programme that can respond to individual interests.
We spoke about allowing the mentorship programme to develop around the interests and ideas of the mentees. For example, Labake spoke about feeling frustrated and angry with London’s transport system and expressed an interest in doing some work around accessible transport in London. We also had the chance to listen to Labake’s amazing music, which is linked in this issue of the e-zine. Kavina talked about disability dance and accessible training, opening up conversations about how dance and movement can become more accessible and inclusive. We also discussed Nehemiah’s artwork relating to endometriosis and the process of exhibiting the work. As a group, we also decided that the mentorship programme could be a space to explore language, terminology and the social model of disability. We spoke a bit about why we use particular terms, where those terms come from, and how language can shape the way disability is understood. These conversations will be an ongoing part of the mentorship programme, giving us an opportunity to think critically about the language we use, and why.
Image description: Kavina from the side, listening, there is a glass door behind with sunlight shining through.Image description: Eleanor, Tumu, Svetlana, Labake and Kavina are around a table with snacks, pens and paper. Tumu and Eleanor are speaking with a PowerPoint presentation behind them, they are both wheelchair users.Image description: Svetlana and Labake at a table listening to someone speaking. There are glass doors behind with sunlight shining through.
Yes, young disabled women can use walking sticks
by Anahita Harding
On Wednesday 5 August, The Times published an article by Kathleen Stock titled Why are young women using walking sticks?
I found the article upsetting because so much of what Stock describes as suspicious or questionable about young women’s use of walking sticks is familiar to me, and brought back difficult memories.
I have been a full-time, non-ambulant wheelchair user for more than twenty years. I cannot walk or stand. Before becoming non-ambulant, I used a walker but mostly a walking stick.
In the 1990s, there was less awareness of disability than there is now. I was a girl rather than a “young woman”, but the attitudes I faced when using my walking stick were similar to those in Stock’s article. I had a walker provided through the NHS, and when I didn’t use that, I used what was technically a hiking stick, bought by my parents from Decathlon. I had several as I grew taller.
Adults repeatedly told me I didn’t need my walking stick. I was told I didn’t need a seat on the bus and should stand. I was told I had more energy than they did because I was young. I was told I could walk up a flight of stairs and didn’t need to use the lift.
They were wrong because I did need my walking stick. When I became tired, I would repeatedly fall over. Other students asked what was wrong with me and with my legs. On one memorable occasion, a supply teacher shouted at me for not walking to the door quickly enough. When I went to pick up my walking stick from the ground, she realised I was disabled and said, “Oh sorry, I didn’t know.”
My walking stick wasn’t an accessory or a prop (as Kathleen Stock suggests is how young women are using their walking sticks), it wasn’t something I used to stand out or look interesting. It just helped me walk and stay upright.
The older I became, the worse my walking became. Yet adults continued to tell me to walk further and that I shouldn’t be tired because I was young. I regularly had plasters on my knees because I repeatedly fell and cut them when I was exhausted. My muscles weren’t strong enough to keep walking, despite older people repeatedly telling me that I could.
Now I cannot walk or stand at all.
This is why Stock’s article matters to me, and to many other young disabled women. She asks why there are apparently so many young women using walking sticks, describes mobility aids as “props”, and suggests that some young people may be influenced by online communities in how they understand their health.
Young disabled women already have experience of having their symptoms questioned or attributed to anxiety; it still happens to me now. Being young didn’t give me an unlimited supply of energy, and being able to walk a certain distance didn’t mean I could safely walk without falling. Being able to walk up stairs on one occasion didn’t mean I didn’t need a lift. Repeatedly falling over wasn’t evidence that I needed to “push through”. It was evidence that I needed support.
One of the most positive things I have seen in the backlash to Stock’s article is young disabled women proudly celebrating their walking sticks, wheelchairs and other mobility aids. That makes me happy. Some things have changed since I was young: disabled people are increasingly able to say publicly, this is my mobility aid, and there is nothing shameful about that.
Instead of writing this article, why not write about why young disabled people struggle to access healthcare and accessible public transport, or why a railway station lift can fail and leave a wheelchair user having to be assisted up the stairs (Kathleen Stock’s problem wasn’t with the lift being broken but the disabled person receiving help up the stairs).
Stock concludes her article writing that some young women need to “ditch the props” and “stand on their own two feet”.
Unfortunately I know what those words can mean, when you are being told that you should walk further, and try harder, when you physically can’t and no-one seems to believe you because you are young. I hope we can move forwards from this article, and provide disabled people with accessibility and respect rather than suspicion.
This is written from my personal experience and perspective, in solidarity with the work of Sisters of Frida.
Accessing cancer screening services: barriers for disabled women and gender diverse people.
by Anahita Harding
For many disabled women and gender-diverse people, accessing cancer screening services can present significant barriers. These barriers can be physical, emotional and related to communication, and they can make what should be a routine appointment much more difficult.In England, the NHS is working to improve cancer screening, but it is still inaccessible for so many disabled women and gender diverse people.
Firstly, trauma can be a significant barrier to cervical screening. People who have experienced sexual abuse, PTSD, or have had previous negative experiences of medical procedures may find cervical screening particularly difficult. This can also affect whether someone feels able to attend. This is why it is important that screening is delivered in a trauma-informed way, with healthcare professionals listening to the individual and giving them control over what happens during the appointment.
Physical accessibility can create barriers even before a screening begins. This could include a lack of step-free access, lifts or accessible toilets, but it can also involve the equipment used during the screening. Examination beds and chairs may not be suitable for every disabled person, and alternative positioning or additional support may be needed. Breast screening can also create physical barriers when someone can’t physically position themselves for a mammography.
Communication is another important part of making screening accessible. People may need information in formats such as Easy Read, large print, BSL or audio, depending on their individual communication needs. Screening services should also make sure that patients understand what will happen during an appointment. Healthcare professionals should explain each stage of the procedure clearly, check understanding, and take concerns about pain, distress or trauma seriously. People should not feel that their fears or experiences are being dismissed.
There can also be additional barriers for trans men and non-binary people. Whether someone is invited for screening can depend on the information recorded on their GP record, meaning that some people may not receive an automatic invitation. This makes clear and respectful communication particularly important. Screening services need to make sure that people understand whether they are eligible for screening and can access it without being made to feel uncomfortable or judged.
There are potential solutions that could make screening more accessible. One example is HPV self-sampling, where an eligible person collects their own vaginal sample using a swab. This could provide an alternative for some people who find clinician-led cervical screening difficult or traumatic, although it does not replace clinician-led screening in every situation.
Healthcare providers also have legal responsibilities to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Accessibility should not be something that is only considered once a patient arrives at an appointment. Screening services should ask people what adjustments they need, make those adjustments available, and communicate with patients beforehand wherever possible.
I don’t think accessibility should mean having to repeatedly explain your disability, ask for basic adjustments, or accept an improvised solution once you are already in the examination room. Cancer screening should be something that disabled and gender-diverse people can access with dignity, safety and choice. For me, improving screening isn’t simply about encouraging more people to attend. It is about making sure that when people do attend, the healthcare system is ready and able to meet their needs.
Where is care in what we give to and receive from one another?
Image: Jamie Hale in Quality of Life is Not a Measurable Outcome by Shona Louise Photography
by Jamie Hale
JUN 23, 2026
Content notes for discussion of care fundings and systems and the violence they enact on disabled people
Social care is described in a series of buzzwords: support, enabling independence, person-centred, and yet in practice, it can be anything from that to quite the opposite. I am lucky that most of the social care I have had has been through direct payments. With this model, I can recruit, train, and manage the people who provide my care, rather than receiving them from a care agency or another provider, though there are many challenges with this.
Needing care I didn’t expect to need care growing up, and I didn’t choose to need care. I remember when I started receiving care, I went from: eating one meal every few days (because that was all I could manage) to eating a meal daily, showering every week to showering as I needed, living in, well, a pit, to living somewhere cleaner and more organised
And yet, I felt I was giving up something very fundamental about my life and independence when I allowed someone else into it like that. Care feels like one of the most intimate relationships and simultaneously one of the most bureaucratised relationships one can have.
Systems and care Social care seems to be designed around administrative convenience rather than the needs of the person receiving it. Assessment processes reduce life to a list of tasks. Can you wash? Cook? Dress yourself? It is a list of domains (your breathing, your pain, your mobility, your continence) where they then assign or reduce hours based on those areas. It is built around what the system will fund rather than what you actually need. The person who arrives to provide care may be yet another representative of that system or someone you have been able to arrange for yourself. Regardless, they feel intimately tied to a system that exerts institutional violence on you, one that treats you like your basic needs are too expensive to meet and leaves you feeling subhuman.
Care language There are so many different words that people use to apply to the people who provide them with care. Is someone a care worker, a carer, a support worker, or a personal assistant? The language shifts depending on who is speaking and what they want to emphasise. Care is something done to you, and the word ‘care’ carries a warmth that it frequently doesn’t deliver. For me, the word care speaks to being looked after by somebody, and I am not interested in being looked after. The phrase ‘support worker’ implies a goal of some kind of independence: that they are supporting me in doing things, but that I am the one doing them. I tend to stick to the phrase ‘personal assistant’ because, fundamentally, this person is assisting me in the ways that I need. However, that is often misunderstood by people who assume that a personal assistant refers entirely to an administrative job. I hate the word ‘carer’, though. I hate it partly because I hate receiving something that is called care and yet doesn’t feel caring.
Care and independence The purpose of social care is to make the disabled person – the dependent person – into an independent person, as cheaply as possible and offering as little support as possible. But what if dependence is not a problem? Why should we lose agency, lose authorship, just because we need support in our lives? And why should we be aiming to do things on our own when that is difficult, painful, unsafe, and impossible? This system creates a dependence on it that it claims to treat. It claims to be providing support to make people independent, but by making that support conditional and precarious, and by requiring us to constantly prove incapacity, it instead creates more and more dependence. It becomes paradoxical that the system makes you more dependent the more you need it. The power imbalance of care And care comes with a very complicated set of power imbalances. I might be the employer and therefore hold the power to hire and fire in accordance with insurance and the law, but in the day-to-day, the people who provide my support hold a huge amount of power over my daily life: my body, my home, my routines, and my privacy. They can easily betray my confidence by talking about my care needs to others, or restructure my days simply because people are going about their tasks slightly more slowly than usual. There’s nothing I can do about this. When it is so difficult to recruit, there is no option but to risk making trouble. Fighting is not worth the cost. You have to just accept what’s being done to you. That power imbalance, the knowledge that they could do anything and I would have little recourse, shapes every interaction, even the positive ones. Care, privacy and intimacy Care requires such a high degree of sharing and intimacy. It involves people knowing my body in ways that would usually only be reserved for those I love. Indeed, when I am interviewing new carers, they watch me stark naked in bed having a wash, because I need to know that they are going to be comfortable doing that. All of the rhythms and parts of my life are witnessed by people – and not people I have chosen to be there, or even people who have chosen to be there themselves, but people who are there because they are paid to be. They know all of these details about me and hand them over from one to the next. There is a real loneliness that comes with that intimacy: the fact that I am close in proximity to people and yet not in relationship with them. There could be a huge amount going on in my life, and often is, that they know nothing about. I need that closeness and intimacy because my bodily needs have to be met, but I simultaneously resent it. It is something I want to spare and share only for my loved ones, not something I want to be constantly engaged in with new strangers.
Care can work Care can be good. I work with people who actually see me as a person with a personality, a history, a sense of humour, a job, preferences, and a life that isn’t just my care needs. That helps. It is not just having the practical support; it is also about the way that restores some dignity and ease, the sense that my time and comfort actually matter. However, it is also rare to have that degree of support in place, not least because it is a lot of emotional labour to ask from the person supporting me when they may well be working in a minimum wage job. Good care, I think, is in some ways a form of disability justice – something that we cannot live in a just world without. It is something that should be a standard rather than an exception.
Crisis of care The challenges I have with care are worsened by the current workforce crisis. Care work is often done at minimum wage and under poor, pressured conditions, despite a high degree of responsibility and expectation. It is frequently performed by women from the global majority, and especially migrant women. The pay and conditions the sector offers say a lot about how much we value this work, as well as how we value the people who need it and the people who provide it. Care is feminised, racialised, and undervalued; the more that happens, the more the people being cared for are also devalued. In this model, the people providing care are often failed by the system just as badly as those of us receiving it. Care and mutuality I often talk about care within disability communities and mutual aid as a response to this: finding and making those informal networks, and finding the people who understand how to support you without being told. I greatly value that in disability spaces, but I strongly feel that it cannot and will not substitute for the kinds of formal care and support that people like me require. Ultimately, there is a huge training burden and a high level of responsibility involved. While I would love to live outside transactional relationships of care and inside relational ones, I cannot find the latter when I cannot put the expectations for meeting my needs on anyone. I think I would just like to see care not as a service delivered to me, but a relationship between people with mutual obligations. It should be reliable, respectful, and responsive to both of our needs, funded adequately and valued appropriately, and structured so that the people who are providing the care are themselves properly supported
Ultimately, who is responsible for care? There is a constant political will to make the answer to that: “not us”. Not central government, not the NHS, not local government; only unpaid friends and family. But ultimately, no system takes full responsibility for providing that care. When you look at care, you can hold it up to society as a mirror. What does our social care system reveal? What does society actually believe about disabled lives? That we are too expensive, that we are a waste of resources, and that our needs cannot and should not be met. Actually, it could be different. The system could be different, and our experiences could be different. Just by embedding disabled people into the process, and disabled knowledges about solidarity and community. And by giving it the budget it needs to offer proper care, support, and in(ter)dependence.
Fancy roads that look like a path Somebody was having a laugh- but not me Glass doors and glass floors Yet another building that ignores- the needs of people like me
Sloping steps with no clear edge or a rail. Why do designers fail, to see- me Computers that have a mouse and keys -are not easy – for me And the cafes that put mugs on top of saucers – are not my cup of tea.
As I struggle through the crowd The conversations around me become Increasingly loud- so I flee Bumping into one thing then tripping over Something- that is right in front of me
Mind the gap- too late I’ve gone But there is nothing wrong- with me Dys life is the making of society.
We’re excited to share this wonderful album by one of the participants of our mentorship programme, Labake Sabbath. You can listen to her album Metal Madness online here.
Image description: an album cover with a black thick outline, with religious imagery of crucifixes in green and orange in the centre. Overlaying this it says Metal Madness in red text on a white background, and underneath it says Labake Sabbath in thick black capital letters.
Applications Open: Sisters of Frida Mentorship Programme
We are now accepting applications for the Sisters of Frida Mentorship Programme.
This two-year programme supports Disabled women and gender-diverse people who are engaged in, or beginning, activism and organising. The programme is rooted in disability justice, intersectional feminism, and collective liberation, offering space for learning, mentorship, and collective action.
Participants will take part in shared learning sessions, practical skills-building, and one-to-one mentorship in the second year, culminating in a final symposium showcasing their work.
Click here for more information and to access the application forms:
Application forms are available in Easy Read, PDF, and Word formats.
Access support
If you have any questions, access needs, or require the application in an alternative format, please contact admin@sisofrida.org. Please also let us know any access needs for the interview process.
Deadline
The deadline for applications is 22 June.
Interviews will be held on Zoom on the evenings of 14 and 15 July, and during the daytime of 18 July.
The programme is collaborative, participant-led, and grounded in solidarity, care, and collective action.
This programme is funded by the City Bridge Foundation.
New resource available: Accessible venues in London
We’re pleased to share a new resource on accessible venues in London. This report was written as a guidance for accessible venues in London as researched and explored by Sisters of Frida and funded by the Mayor of London.
This resource brings together insights on accessibility, highlighting the importance of inclusive facilities and venue design.
In honour of Alice Wong, Sisters of Frida would like to gather in community to celebrate her life.
Sisters of Frida will be hosting a community gathering to watch the livestream of Alice Wong’s celebration of life memorial from the United States. We invite you to come together to celebrate her life, her work, and the wisdom she shared with the world. Alice Wong remains a powerful voice for Disability Justice; a comrade in struggle who through her writing, activism, and leadership fought for a world in which all beings are free. Alice cherished friendship, community and storytelling and in the days after her passing, a message she had prepared was shared widely. In her own words: “I’m honoured to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”
Where: Calthorpe Community Garden, London, England
Disability History Month in the UK takes place from the 20th November to the 20th December. At Sisters of Frida, we look at the experiences of disabled women and gender diverse people, as our stories are usually overlooked in disability spaces, or feminist spaces.
We discuss topics people don’t always acknowledge: isolation, relationships, sexuality, and our safety as disabled women. There’s also the emotional and practical labour we do, as many disabled women are also mothers and/or carers.
This Disability History Month, we’re celebrating the solidarity of disabled women and gender diverse people. We hope that more people pay attention to understand the issues we face, and support the work that we’re doing.
As the year draws to a close, we want to celebrate the stories and creativity of disabled women and gender diverse people. Wishing you warmth, connection, and solidarity, from Sisters of Frida.
Welcoming our new Co-Director, Svetlana Kotova
We’re excited to announce our new Co-Director, Svetlana Kotova. A founding member of Sisters of Frida, Svetlana is a Disabled lawyer who has spent many years fighting for the rights of Disabled people. She has worked in a range of advice and policy roles, supporting Disabled people to advocate for their rights locally and internationally. Svetlana is passionate about ensuring Disabled people have equal rights and can use the law effectively to challenge discrimination and social injustice. She is also a coach and looks forward to supporting others in that role.
Alice Wong a pioneering writer and disability rights activist, passed away on Friday, 14th November, in San Francisco.
Wong became a powerful voice for disability justice, challenging systemic ableism through her writing, activism, and the Disability Visibility Project. Known for her sharp humour, she authored Year of the Tiger and edited collections such as Disability Visibility, earning a MacArthur “genius grant” in 2024.
In the days after her passing, a statement she had written for social media resonated widely, celebrating friendship, community, and storytelling while sharing her journey toward self-acceptance and calling for more stories from disabled people.
In her own words, “I’m honoured to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don’t let the bastards grind you down.” Her legacy of advocacy, courage, and wit will endure.
Why Changing Places are important for disabled people
The more we research into accessible venues, the more we realise how important it is to have Changing Places toilets in order to be inclusive.
For those who do not know what Changing Places toilets are, they are toilets with extra space and equipment such as hoists and an adult changing table for people who has less mobility and need extra help to access facilities. Standard size ‘accessible ‘ toilets are too small to accommodate helpers and do not have the equipment.
Equipment found in Changing Places includes:
A height adjustable adult-sized changing bench
A tracking hoist system, or mobile hoist
What makes Changing Places Accessible?
Enough space for a disabled person and two carers
A centrally places toilet with room both sides for a wheelchair to maneuver
A privacy screen or curtain
A wide tear-off paper roll to cover the adult changing bench
A large waste bin provided
Non-slip flooring
Without Changing Places toilets, many disabled people are restricted in being able to travel, attend events or work. When it comes to disabled people who menstruate, there is that added urgency.
At Sisters of Frida, we try to locate venues that has Changing Places toilets or have them nearby. We also need to ascertain that they are well maintained and functional.
We are delighted to share that the City Bridge Foundation has awarded Sisters of Frida a significant grant over two years through its Bridging Divides Programme. This generous support represents an important milestone for our organisation and will play a crucial role in advancing justice for disabled women and gender diverse people in London. The funding will strengthen community-based knowledge, enhance cross-sector collaboration, and ensure full participation and access support for all our members and wider contributors. It will also provide vital resources for consultancy work and the development of a pilot research project.
The Women’s Resource Centre will act as our host organisation on behalf of Sisters of Frida throughout this period. In addition, this grant enables us to expand our team. We are delighted to welcome Anahita Harding as our communications, outreach, and relationship management officer and Niku Gupta as our new administrator. They will be working on Tuesdays and Thursdays and can be contacted at admin@sisofrida.org and comms@sisofrida.org respectively.
We are deeply grateful for this invaluable support and look forward to the opportunities it will create for strengthening our work and amplifying the voices of disabled women and gender diverse people across London.
Are You Comfortable Yet? Disability Arts Online zine review
This review, written by Mike Layward for Disability Arts Online, explores Are You Comfortable Yet?, a zine created by our new comms team member, Anahita Harding. The piece examines how the zine engages with disability and performance, and how live performance can be translated into zine form.
Eleanor Lisney. Photo taken from University of Greenwich
We are delighted to announce that our director, Eleanor Lisney, has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Art by the University of Greenwich in recognition of her outstanding contribution to disability rights and culture. A globally respected campaigner and writer, Eleanor co-founded Culture Access and Sisters of Frida, has influenced national legislation, and has represented disabled communities on international platforms, including at the European Parliament.
Since 2018, she has played a pivotal role at Greenwich, pioneering the first Disability Culture Festival, contributing significant research, and leading a UKRI-funded project at the University centred on disabled people’s lived experiences. Her dedication to disability rights, her insistence on an intersectional framework, and her commitment to amplifying marginalised voices continue to inspire.
Disabled, Queer, and Broody
We’re grateful for this piece from our anonymous contributor. Thank you for your continued support:
Anon
“I don’t want kids. I can’t afford kids. I don’t have enough energy to take care of me, sometimes. I wouldn’t be a good parent. And I really don’t want to be pregnant, ever.
And yet, I got broody. Again. Every time I’m in a good relationship, I start to want to cuddle stuff, and start crying when I see anything I find adorable that I can’t cuddle if my hormones are a bit higher than average. Fluffy animals are a particularly high cry risk.
“Get cats!” or “Get IVF!” are what some of my friends have suggested. These options are both unaffordable in money and spoons.
I know there are more options, like being a step-parent, or fostering, or adoption. I know many disabled people make it work, but I don’t think I could do it; I wouldn’t be able to be the kind of 24/7 or consistent pattern parent that I would want to be.
I could be great as an only sometimes, but I don’t have siblings who need a niblet-sitter.
But I have energy that’s going to find somewhere to go, and my younger PAs are already getting smothered.
Trying to think what I realistically want is tricky. Anything I write sounds like a cheesy advert from the 90s:
Do you need encouragement to do something scary? Having a bad day? Got something to celebrate? Perfect, I will lean my head on your head and say supportive things, if you put your head on my shoulder. I can also make comforting noises and pasta! If you’re a grown human who needs some extra warm vibes just occasionally; this Disabled, Queer, and Broody might be for you! T-rex arms and positioning hairband included!
If I had the money, I’d build a queer-safe flat block for adults who need to get away or have been kicked out of their previous home.
Everyone has their own space and everything they need to live, but also knows that there is a friendly person just down the hall who has made extra potatoes, and will tell you that your new shoes look great, and ask how you’re doing and mean it! You need to know how to plait your hair or mend something?: just ask! Your home comes with a Disabled, Queer, and Broody neighbour! (Spoon levels not guaranteed).
At the moment, I have houseplants. They’re not very cuddly – particularly the cactus – but they’re well-fed, well-watered, and having babies of their own.
Plants included!
I haven’t found the solution. I don’t know what realistically that might be. There might not be one.
But right now, I think a lot of disabled people and a lot of queer people need some hugs, so just yell if that’s you and either I or someone else who feels like this will appear in a cloud of glitter and carbs.”
Thanks.
OpenOut
Photo courtesy of OpenOut.
A warm and merry Christmas from OpenOut (formerly Open Barbers) Hair. Many of us have been welcomed into their salon over the years, and they’ve generously offered home haircuts for disabled people when needed. E-cards can be bought in store, and merchandise from their online shop. All proceeds go toward helping low-income clients access affordable haircuts
ezine “We are Sisters of Frida” (8)
In this ezine, we have some artwork from Culture Access. They worked together as a group and individually. These have been in an exhibition and will be housed, hopefully, more permanently in an art gallery when it opens in the summer.
Culture Access
Culture Access CIC, a collective of Deaf and Disabled people, had an exhibition of their joint artwork at Woolwich Centre Library. It is a pan-disability group and Deaf, Blind and Visually impaired, neurodiverse people all worked together. Many of the group had not produced any artwork before and here are some of their graphic and tactile examples. They have an offer of a longer exhibition in a couple of months in south-east London, to be announced later.
Here are the artists’ comments on their artwork:
Anahita Harding: “this collage weaves together green fabric knots with a variety of colours and textures— inviting hands and eyes to explore.”
Eleanor Thoe: “Durian is a favourite fruit from East and South East Asia. It is a strong and pungent fruit and has a spiky exterior. But the delicious creaminess is unbeatable. It brings back memories and reminders of my heritage as an immigrant here.”
Kamila Miri: “Music has charms to soothe the savage beast and always brings people in peace and harmony.”
Sajida Shah: “I don’t need vision to see my artwork, I can feel it and it’s just as good.”
Sue Elsegood and Kate Brown: “When diverse threads weave together they become stronger & create something uniquely beautiful”
Commission on the Status of Women Parliamentary Briefing
Eleanor and Kym went to the briefing at Portcullis House for Sisters of Frida.
2025 is the 30th anniversary of the last UN World Conference on Women held in Beijing and the ‘Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action’ (BPfA) which stated commitments of participating countries. The BPfA remains a foundational document for advancing towards equality of women and men. 30 years on, the BPfA has not been fully implemented anywhere in the world.
Every year at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the annual UN event to monitor progress on the BPfA, participants fight to hold the line against a roll-back on the rights for women and girls globally.
This March, a sizeable UK NGO delegation participated in the 69th Session of the CSW and were active in all areas of the Commission. The UK Government endorsed and helped negotiate the CSW69 Political Declaration, which improved on the Political Declaration made 5 years ago. Yet it is not the robust document that women and girls need.
In the photo are Kym Oliver, Eleanor Lisney and Zarin Hainsworth (NAWO)
Green Paper ‘Pathways to Work’
Welfare Not Warfare
We are much concerned, as are other DDPOs and Disabled people, with the government’s Pathways to Work Green Paper. Some of us took part in the marches on 26th March.
Mass Lobby on 21st May
There is much happening to fight against the cuts.
The next big event is on 21st May, when there is a mass lobby in parliament. It’s a powerful opportunity to speak with one voice.
If you can make it, please come and meet with your MP, and tell them to vote against these harmful cuts.
There will be information provided on the day to support you, as well as volunteers from many Disabled-led organisations helping attendees.
You can also get funding to travel to Westminster and stay in a hotel if needed (see image below).
Sisters of Frida is working with the Women’s Budget Group to research the impact of cuts on Disabled women.
Many thanks to the generosity of those who responded to the questionnaire – we will keep you posted on the outcome of this research.
The questionnaire was described like this:
“The Women’s Budget Group (a feminist economics think tank) and Sisters of Frida (a Disabled women and non-binary people’s collective) are conducting analysis of how the changes to disability benefits and work support announced by the Government in March 2025 will affect Disabled women specifically. We will use the findings from this research to put pressure on MPs, politicians and policymakers, to reconsider these reforms and protect Disabled women, and Disabled people in general, from poverty and socio-economic hardship.
We are using national statistics to describe the impact these reforms will have on Disabled women. We are also doing interviews with women with lived experience of disability to better understand how these reforms will affect their lives, and the effects the announcement of cuts is already having on women’s health and wellbeing.
If you agree to take part, we will ask you to share your experiences of disability and state support by answering the questions below. Your participation is voluntary, and you do not need to answer any questions you don’t want to, and you can stop completing the survey at any point if you wish to.
Your responses will be used to illustrate how disability reforms are expected to impact Disabled women. We may use excerpts of your answers in our briefing. It will be anonymised so that the information cannot be linked to you.”
QUESTIONNAIRE: The impact of the Government’s proposed reforms to disability benefits announced in March 2025
Please help with this questionnaire – to contribute with data crunching against the Green Paper: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working. This is one response to show the impact on Disabled Women and non binary folks with the cuts. We collaborated with the Women’s Budget Group on this. We know many of us will be affected – apart from online or otherwise protests, this is another way of showing what this will cost us as a community. There’s a questionnaire – please fill it and return to sara.reis@wbg.org.uk by Wednesday 7 th May. Apologies for the short time but its to fit it into the consultation timescale.
Join us for the third SoF social, 30th March, 2 – 4pm.
It is Easter weekend, we will celebrate together with this social. Our friends celebrating Ramadan will be able to take the food with them. We will have a discussion on what intersectionality means, led by Tumu Johnson. The venue is accessible, with level access and automatic doors.
For those who have not registered yet, please send an email to eventadmin@sisofrida.org. It will be at Greenwich Peninsula, on the Jubilee Line, North Greenwich station. We will give full address with registration. We hope to see you there.
Help us improve how we work
Sisters of Frida is carrying out a survey to understand our impacts of our work. This survey will help guide the way we operate. It will also give us an insight into the needs of disabled women & non-binary people. With this, we hope to get a better idea of our demographics, your interests and needs, to help improve the way we work.
Can You Help Shape the Future of Sisters of Frida?
We need a new steering group to decide where we go next
Sisters of Frida is unique. We are the only collective of disabled women and non-binary people in the country. We create a space for disabled women and non-binary people that DDPOs don’t provide – in fact, nowhere else provides it.
Sisters of Frida formed from a need for disabled women to have a voice within the wider women’s and disabled people’s movements. We are led by ideals and strong principles.
We build community, a space where we want to lift ourselves and each other up, to centre us in thought and action, to celebrate ourselves with pride, to amplify our voices, to share our skills, to challenge power and privilege, and to pursue avenues of change for disabled women and non-binary people. We are a diverse movement committed to an intersectional approach to our work and collective liberation. We’ve impacted national and international conversations about disabled women within both the feminist and disability rights movements. We are committed to radical politics and cross-movement solidarity work.
Like many communities and organisations, the pandemic (and life, more generally) has stretched the capacity of the current directors to its limit. But more importantly, movements can’t flourish without change and evolution. Sisters of Frida needs new energies, directions, ideas, drive, and most importantly, people.
Our new steering group will decide where we go next. We want you to be a part of it.
Previous priority areas have included combating violence against disabled women and girls, and disability and sexuality. Most recently, we’ve conducted research on the impact of the pandemic on disabled women and gender non-conforming people. In all these areas, we’ve shaped conversations nationally and internationally to centre the rights and experiences of disabled women and non-binary people. We’ve often been one of the very few groups speaking from and for these perspectives.
Our future priorities will be up to you.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved, but we know there are voices that have been missing from the conversations we’ve been part of that we haven’t been able to represent. Similarly, we as a community have mutually built and shared skills and knowledge necessary to sustain our efforts but we’ve also learnt that there are other strengths needed to take Sisters of Frida even further.
We are looking for up to 8 people to form Sisters of Frida’s new steering group, to decide our next directions and develop our new organisational strategy. We’re looking to ensure Sisters of Frida can continue and is sustainable.
To do that, we need people with a diverse array of experience, formal or informal, including around fundraising, finance, strategic planning and organisational development.
If you think you can help shape the future of Sisters of Frida we’d love to hear from you.
To find out more about applying to be part of our new steering group, you can find our application documents linked below. They’re available in plain text and easy read format.
What can you expect from the Application process?
We will close submissions at 5:00pm on 3rd March 2024.
If you have any questions at any point in the application process, you can get in contact via sisofrida@gmail.com.
Responses from one of our part-time workers will come as soon as possible, on Wednesdays and Fridays.
After submissions are closed, we will be in contact shortly afterwards to arrange access for interviews.
a white lace piece, of an insecta white lace piece, selfie
She can be found on Instagram @e.j.parkes
With gratitude for sharing with us
Article by Simone Aspis
I will just begin by introducing myself before setting out my position on Heidi Crowter’s court case, the legal challenge to the Abortion Act on disability discrimination and human rights grounds. Heidi Crowter is currently applying to have her case heard by the European Court of Human Rights after the Supreme Court have refused permission to appeal during May 2023.
I am firstly a disabled feminist who identifies herself as a member of the LBGTQAI+ community. And yes I am Jewish and Yes I am a paid up member of a progressive synagogue and Queer Yeshiva. Nope I am not a pro-lifer or anti-abortion either. I have spent the past 25 years fighting for disabled peoples’ rights across a whole range of issues, anti-disability discrimination, human rights, inclusive education, independent living and medical ethics at the beginning and end of life whilst working for various disabled peoples led organisations and campaigns. I have also been involved in developing the BCODP’s bioethics training pack as well. If you would like to know more about myself click https://www.simoneaspis.co.uk/.
Whilst I no longer support Heidi herself because disability equality has been used to peddle anti-abortion agenda, nevertheless the principle of promoting non-disability discrimination or more broadly non-trait discrimination throughout reproductive decision making is one that needs further debate, and it should not be simply argued away by a woman’s pro-choice rights to abortion. Heidi’s court case raises a bigger question, which is to what extent is it a pregnant woman’s right to choose the traits of her child to be born.
For me there are two very distinct questions that arises from Heidi Crowter’s court case.
The first one is, should a woman have a right to an abortion if she/they do not want children per sue for whatever reason? My answer is a definite Yes.
My second question is, do individual women have the right to decide the human traits of a future child to be born? My answer is No.
Human traits selection of a future child covers disability, race, sex and other traits viewed generally as being desirable or undesirable by our society. Male, white and non-disabled are valued traits of children society generally values. On the other hand female, colour and disabled are not valued traits of children society generally values.
I do not think it should be for pregnant women to make the decisions about the type of future child they want to give birth to. Such decisions have an impact upon the future of our society and the constitution and diversity of any subsequent populations.
States have tried to strengthen the position of women that includes access to education alongside providing financial incentives to positively encourage women to give births to female children who otherwise would had been aborted. In the global South, states have offered financial inducements to encourage the birth of more female babies as they are considered as a drain on family finances. Whilst, feminists have contested the status of girls and religious traditions (including financial customs), such challenges are insufficient to deal with the in-trenched view of women within patriarchal societies that continue to favour males. One of the unintended consequences is that individual women who decide to give birth to a male baby, think through what would be best for themselves and their individual family unit. I do not expect individual women to consider the cumulative impact of individual women making similar decisions elsewhere in choosing the sex of their child. I have the expectation that the state may well need to intervene to ensure that there is a sufficient diversity reflected within our population. So, the state does have a role in ensuring there is no skewing of male births by making sex-selection abortion unlawful with the aim of maintaining appropriate sex ratios that allows for population replacement and growth. Whatever reproductive technologies are used, there is no getting away from the need to have both male and female births to ensure that the human population exists.
So where does this leave disability because one can argue that there is no need to have disabled people, like you need women and men to guarantee the continuation of the humankind. Not only do we need a society to reflect biological sex diversity, but also one that encompasses individuals with a diversity of human traits including those with physical, sensory and intellectual abilities. After all, we need a population consisting of individuals with a whole range of human traits to have a functioning society. Society is not going to function if we do not have those with all sorts of traits that encourages caring, artistry, paying attention to detail when it comes to health and safety alongside the accountants, lawyers and all the other roles that are needed and where some of those human traits are commonly (not exclusively) associated with a disability diagnosis.
Despite disabled people having all sorts of human traits needed to create a healthy diverse society, we know there is a very high rate of disability-related abortions because women are too aware of the disablist environment that makes bringing up disabled children a big challenge when there is minimal support systems in place and where everything is deemed to be a struggle. Even if we have all the incentives and a brilliant inclusive systems in place I do not believe that alone would encourage the birth of disabled babies. Just like with the incentives for raising female birth rates, such incentives do not necessarily encourage women to raise and give birth to disabled babies. Just like with women who opt for sex-selection abortion, they are thinking what is best for themselves and their families. Like with sex selection I do not expect women to consider the cumulative impact of individual women who are making the same decision to terminate disabled babies. So, if we accept individual women’s right to select the human traits of their child is a private matter, then that removes society’s response to our population skewing towards a future without disabled children such as Downs Syndrome or Autism with associated types of human traits. If we view that abortion is simply a woman’s right and nothing else, then we move eugenics from the public to the private sphere that goes beyond public debate and state intervention to ensure we have diverse future population. A population reflecting individuals with diversity of human traits would require state intervention, hence making human trait selection abortion unlawful. If I remember rightly, one of the arguments used by the Conservative Party for not needing anti-disability discrimination laws back in the early 1990s is that we can rely on education, persuasion and good will to ensure disabled peoples inclusion is promoted, even during the time when services were better funded than they are currently. It took the introduction of anti-discrimination legislation, the Disability Discrimination Act, now the Equality Act to bring about change that viewing disabled people and disability equality as a rights based issue.
My position is supported by the UN Convention Rights Of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD and Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) committees that do not support human trait selection abortion, in this case sex and disability.
There are a number of ethical questions that we need to debate by disabled women.
What type of society do we want to live in?
Who should decide on the type of society we will have, which will impact upon the present and future populations.
Should any section of our population become sole decision makers about the kind of future society? I.E. Pregnant women in this case?
By Simone Aspis (Changing Perspectives)
Treasure
A wheat pillow. Chocolate. A cuddly toy. Jewellery. Homemade dinner. Artwork. Clothes. Books. Mugs.
These are some of the material gifts I have received from other disabled people over the past few years. Having pre-made dinner ready to go when you don’t feel well is brilliant, and wearing clothes and jewellery from someone you might not have been able to see in a while feels like being closer to them, somehow.
Good jokes. Bad jokes. Listening. Laughing. Sitting silently side by side. Heckling politicians side by side. Motivation. Backup. Interesting challenges. Opportunities. Protection. Genuine caring. Harsh truths. Acceptance. Understanding. The quest for knowledge, and the relay between those who know and those who need to know. Pockets of peace.
These are some of the non-material gifts I have received from other disabled people over the past few years. These are more important. Knowing that you won’t be ridiculed or punished for who you are allows you to figure it out, if you’ve not had that opportunity. Joining in the fight for legal rights to be upheld and extended is much easier when you’re not fighting alone.
Last year, I had a health issue which required use of a new device for a few weeks. I didn’t have much knowledge, and it had been attached to my body in a way that did not work. Another disabled person sent me a video of how it should work and what they thought had happened. I was sleep-deprived, in pain, feeling awful, and not able to concentrate. They explained everything step by step, patiently, in clear language with a calm and caring voice, without judgement or shame for me not knowing something so simple. It felt like a hug. If I could download how to do that into the brains of every NHS professional, it’d be wonderful. It’s easier to get used to something new when someone with lived experience can talk you through.
A friend made me cry last night. We don’t speak often, as one or the other of us might have a last-minute disaster or just not have the energy. WhatsApp and Messenger just have to do in between. We laughed about recent news, and talked about something personal. She remembered the context that I’d told her a long time before, and spoke of it in a caring tone. To hear something understood and cared about that I’ve had to defend against people who don’t believe it was wonderful.
These things are more valuable, and I treasure these memories.
Take care of each other. You will be treasured.
by Anonymous
Social meetings after lockdown
Sisters of Frida had 2 social meetings this year. We will be having 2 more next year. The meetings are generally to meet as disabled women in London, about SOF, and for us to get to know each other. Please send an email to Eventadmin@sisofrida.org to register an interest.
Photo below of the first meeting in North Greenwich
A Tribute to Lisa Ellwood
Photograph of Lisa
Lisa passed away on May 11, 2023. She was only 57. I was shocked and saddened by the news. Though we had never physically met, we had many long conversations on the phone. I was hoping to meet her one day in Edinburgh when she moved there from rural Wales. She gave me encouragement and solidarity on being a disabled woman of colour and gave me lessons on intersectionality. She told me of the discrimination she faced from some disabled people here not because she was a Native American but because she was also autistic, with mental health issues and not afraid to speak out about suicide or domestic violence. She inspired me with her passion for disability rights and taught me to embrace my different identities. She was strong – a feminist warrior – in spite of being hampered by her disability and impairments.
She was also a strong supporter of Sisters of Frida and was in the Steering Group for a short while. She helped in getting news about us at the UN CRPD and CEDAW in Geneva. She believed strongly in having a voice/platform for disabled women and helped us in every capacity. This is her profile in LinkedIn:
A strong communicator with a distinctive voice, Lisa J. Ellwood is an Autistic Lenape and Nanticoke Native American currently resident in the UK.
Ms. Ellwood is a Freelance Journalist & Writer and an active member of the Native American Journalists Association, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Union of Journalists (UK). She has a B.A. Degree from Temple University with a major in Journalism and Advertising and minors in Marketing & French. Her specializations include Data Journalism & Visualization, NDN Country, Disability Rights, Mental Illness and Autism.
Lisa’s Disability Rights & UK Politics blog, The Creative Crip, has been featured in Society Guardian many times. She was a freelance Correspondent for Indian Country Today Media Network from September 2015 until its hiatus from active operations September 2017 as well as a Contributing Editor and Features Writer for The Promota Africa Magazine. In September 2011 the Left Foot Forward Political Blog cited her effective use of social media and blogging in its “Nomination for most influential left-wing thinker: The disabled rights community” feature. She has also been interviewed for Grazia Magazine (Australia) & appeared on radio shows internationally including Native Trailblazers.
