History has been made with the disability pride flag raised in Victoria for the first time.
DRC Advocacy, which held the event with Accessible Victorian Greens and Brimbank council in partnership with local disability advocates – said the flag-raising aimed to honour and celebrate the strength, identity, and diverse experiences of people with disability, while highlighting the need for continued progress in accessibility, equity, and representation.
Local disability advocate Larissa McFarlane spoke at the event and said the flag-raising ceremony was a time “to acknowledge and celebrate that disability is a culture.”
“It’s a force, a community, a history and an identity,” she said.
“It’s a time to challenge those negative stereotypes and to name and resist ableism and discrimination.”
The first disability pride flag was raised in Sydney in 2022.
Ms McFarlane said she hopes the new milestone will encourage more disability pride flag-raising events to be held in the future.
Shannon Meilak, who runs Brimbank Disability Advocacy and Support, also spoke at the event.
She said disability pride is about people with disability representing themselves “authentically and unapologetically.”
“It’s about celebrating what makes us diverse rather than stifling what makes us who we are. It’s about being visible in a way where communities see the real us — not to pity us, not to be inspired by us, but just us as we are,” she said.
“It’s a commitment to listening, improving access, removing barriers, and smashing stigma.”
The flag-raising event was held as part of disability pride month, which takes place each year in July.
