Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 41

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Paragraph text: Women with disabilities face a number of obstacles in the justice system, including the systematic failure of the court system to acknowledge them as competent witnesses. This exclusion is particularly problematic in cases involving sexual assault or other forms of gender-based violence, in which the complaining witness may provide key evidence necessary for a conviction. Sexual abuse cases involving a complainant with learning disabilities rarely go to court, and if they do, the complainant frequently does not serve as a witness against the accused. The tendency to "infantilize" women with mental disabilities contributes to the discounting of their testimony. Not only are they excluded as witnesses because they may have difficulty communicating with the police, but stereotypes operate to exclude or discount their testimony. For example, in sexual assault cases, the general failure of society to see people with disabilities as sexual beings may result in judges and juries discounting the testimony of witnesses. On the other hand, complaints may be disregarded because of views and beliefs about some women with mental disabilities as hypersexual and lacking self-control.

Body: Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences

Topic(s)

Person(s) affected