Promising practices in the response to violence against girls and women with disabilities in Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean
Promising practices in the response to violence against girls and women with disabilities in Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean
September 11, 2021.- Girls and women with disabilities face multiple vulnerable situations that intersect and hinder access to services, and become an obstacle for the full exercise of their rights. Guaranteeing their access to health, education, work, as well as a life free of violence, requires a perspective that integrates the rights of people with disabilities with gender.
In most of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean there are no disaggregated national data that show how many women and girls with disabilities have suffered violence. However, a study by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Management Science for Health (2016) found that people with disabilities are three times more likely to experience physical violence, sexual violence and emotional violence compared to people without disability.
"It is very important that essential services are inclusive. How do women who are deaf or physically disabled, women with visual disabilities, access an essential service if they do not have access to a sign interpreter? (...) women with disabilities tend to be asked to come with another person to assist us, and sometimes the person accompanying may be the aggressor, so how do I report it? And that also has to do with access to the legal system so that I can file a complaint in which I am understood and I can give understand too "
Liliana Zanafria
RIADIS
Publication Advisory Committee
This situation, concerning as it is, is even more so if the data is broken down by gender and by type of violence: estimations show that women with disabilities are up to ten times more likely to face sexual violence. On the other hand, the same study threw that children with intellectual disabilities are particularly vulnerable, as estimates suggest that 40% to 68% of young women with disabilities will experience sexual violence before the age of 18 (UNFPA and Management Science for Health, 2016).
According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the types of violence against persons with disabilities are the following: psychological and emotional violence or abuse, neglect of care, violence or physical abuse, and sexual violence or abuse, which includes any unwanted sexual contact and denial of information or sex education, as well as sterilization or forced abortion and financial abuse or exploitation (IDB, 2019).
While it is recognized that violence against girls and women with disabilities can take different forms, this research focused on:
1) violence and physical abuse and
2) sexual violence and abuse
Both types of violence remain invisible and are areas identified as priority by women with disabilities.
To these types of violence are added others specific to women with disabilities, such as the lack of technical assistance and the physical, communication, attitudinal and economic barriers faced by women with disabilities. This makes it difficult for them to access gender-based violence care services.
“The idea of having essential services is fundamental so that women with disabilities who face situations of violence can be adequately cared for. This implies that the police have gender and disability training throughout the institution, something that we have not yet found in a comprehensive and effective way in the region "
Maria Diaz Figueroa
Lawyer, intersection between gender and disability
Publication Advisory Committee
The Regional Program of the Spotlight Initiative in Latin America compiled, through the alliance between UNFPA and Humanity and Inclusion, and with the collaboration of an advisory committee of women with disabilities and experts on the subject, a series of promising practices to close the gaps care and prevention of violence against girls and women with disabilities.
You can access this series of documents here:
Executive Summary (in English): Promising Practices in Responding to Violence Against Girls and Women with Disabilities
Full Report (in Spanish): Promising Practices in Responding to Violence Against Girls and Women with Disabilities
Short Paper (in Spanish): Promising Access to Justice Practices for Girls and Women with Disabilities
Short Document (in Spanish): Promising Advocacy Practices on Violence Against Girls and Women with Disabilities
Short document (in Spanish): Promising practices of access to prevention services and attention to violence against girls and women with disabilities
