Everyday harm experienced by people with disability from Myanmar communities in Australia when accessing community services

People with disability from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are at high risk of experiencing various forms of violence, abuse, harm and neglect, including everyday harm. Everyday harm refers to negative consequences that arise from actions, omissions and attitudes (Robinson et al., 2026). As everyday harm is familiar, subtle and normalised in nature, it is often difficult to identify. This PhD research explores everyday harm experiences of people with disability from CALD backgrounds in Australia, from the perspectives of people with disability from Myanmar communities.

Guided by the intersectionality framework, this study investigates how the combined factors of intersecting identity categories influenced participants’ experiences of everyday harm. It employed an interpretive phenomenological design and used co-design methods. This thesis contributes to the literature of disability, cultural and linguistic diversity, harm and intersectionality by revealing the everyday harm experiences of a marginalised community that can be overlooked by service systems.