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Adequacy of the international legal framework on violence against women 2017, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Civil society organizations called for more support for women’s organizations on the ground, underlining that women human rights defenders faced daily threats and harassment, and needed greater protection. At the same time, more regulations addressing violence against particular groups of women, such as women belonging to minority groups; migrants; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; elderly women; women with disabilities; and widows, were also supported.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- LGBTQI+
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- In 1993, the Vienna Conference on Human Rights adopted a declaration and a programme of action, which took into account both discrimination and violence against women. The Conference addressed specific human rights violations suffered by identifiable groups of individuals, including persons belonging to national, racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, indigenous peoples, women, children and persons with disabilities. It also recognized violence against women as a particular human rights violation which required the attention and resources of the United Nations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- In 1989, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women explicitly linked gender-based violence and discrimination against women in its general recommendation No. 12 and called on States parties to include in their reports information on violence and on measures introduced to deal with it. Between 1989 and 1992, the Committee issued a series of general recommendations that addressed some rights violations experienced at the intersection of inter- and intra-gender sex discrimination and violence against women. In 1992 it issued general recommendation No. 19 both to define gender-based violence and to make it discrimination on the grounds of sex within the meaning of the Convention. Much of what is set forth in general recommendation No. 19 is reiterated and refined in the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. CEDAW has also addressed the impact of intersecting forms of discrimination against women and its nexus with gender-based violence. Most recently, in general recommendation No. 27, which deals with the rights of older women, it recognizes that age and sex make older women vulnerable to violence, and that age, sex and disability make older women with disabilities particularly vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Societal beliefs that claim that one group of people is superior to another group can be a form of structural violence. Beliefs that perpetuate the notion that males are superior to females, that whites are superior to blacks, that persons without physical or mental impairment are superior to those with disabilities, that one language is superior to another, and that one class position is entitled to rights denied to another, are all factors contributing to structural violence that have become institutionalized forms of multiple and intersecting discrimination in many countries. For example, women with disabilities face an intersecting confluence of violence which reflects both gender-based and disability-based violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and violence against women 2011, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- Within some countries, identifiable subgroups of women are marginalized on the basis of racial, ethnic, religious, cultural and social ideologies and prejudices which reflect disproportionate impact on or justifiable targeting of subgroups of women. For example, women from particular racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities and poor women, have been the target of forced sterilization and other coercive birth control measures.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women is too often discussed in a theoretical vacuum that focuses only on interpersonal and structural inequalities between men and women, thereby excluding analysis on intra-gender inequalities. It is important to recognize the obstacles faced by women who experience multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, for example women with disabilities, women who belong to ethnic or cultural minorities, women who live in poverty, women who live in rural areas, women who lack citizenship status and older women, among others. This increases the risk that some women will experience targeted, compounded or structural discrimination, in addition to gender-based violence (A/HRC/17/26, para. 17).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Older persons
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Violence against women as a barrier to the effective realization of all human rights 2014, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities experience an intersecting confluence of violence which reflects both gender-based and disability-based violence (A/HRC/17/26, para. 28). Many studies note a substantially higher risk of violence among disabled women than among the non-disabled population. For example, disabled women are especially vulnerable to forced sterilization and other coercive birth control methods. In addition, the European Parliament recently published a report stating that almost 80 per cent of disabled women are victims of violence generally, and that disabled women are four times more likely than other women to experience sexual violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- The 2011 report to the Human Rights Council of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences (A/HRC/17/26) focused on the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that contribute to and exacerbate violence against women, noting that factors such as ability, age, access to resources, race/ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity and class can exacerbate the violence women experience. Although women with disabilities experience many of the same forms of violence that all women experience - when gender, disability and other factors intersect - the violence against them takes on unique forms, has unique causes and results in unique consequences.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The present report aims to deepen the findings of the OHCHR study and further examine the manifestations, causes and consequences of violence against women with disabilities. In addition, the report briefly examines relevant international and regional legal frameworks and provides recommendations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- Social sanctions relating to poverty, race/ethnicity, religion, language and other identity status or life experiences can further increase the risk of group or individual violence for women with disabilities. Women with disabilities who also belong to (or are perceived as belonging to) disfavoured or minority groups may face compounded violence and discrimination based on several factors simultaneously. The recognition of that reality - variously referred to as intersectionality, multidimensionality, and multiple forms of discrimination - is important to any examination of violence against women with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Indigenous women with disabilities often experience multiple forms of discrimination and face barriers to the full enjoyment of their rights, based on their indigenous status, their disability and their female identity. The incidence of violence against them is heightened by factors, such as living in a context of high levels of alcohol and substance abuse, which leads to violence against them; cultural and linguistic barriers; lack of education services for children with disabilities in native communities; and systemic poverty. They may also encounter barriers resulting from the use of conflicting or complex traditional and contemporary justice and service systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Undocumented women with disabilities may be at higher risk of violence because of the aggressor's control over immigration status; language barriers; distrust of the police force; and barriers to social and public services.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- The forced sterilization of women with disabilities remains a global problem. Women with disabilities who elect to have a child are often criticized for their decision and face barriers in accessing adequate health care and other services for themselves and their children. Although society's fear that women with disabilities will produce so-called "defective" children is for the most part groundless, such erroneous concerns have resulted in discrimination against women with disabilities from having children. There is a dichotomy between the notions, on the one hand, that motherhood is expected of all women and, on the other, that women with disabilities are often discouraged, if not forced, to reject motherhood roles, despite their personal desires. Research shows that no group has ever been as severely restricted, or negatively treated, in respect of their reproductive rights, as women with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women with disabilities occurs in various spheres, including in the home, the community, as violence that is perpetrated and/or condoned by the State and as violence against women in the transnational sphere. The forms of violence to which women with disabilities are subjected can be of a physical, psychological, sexual or financial nature and include neglect, social isolation, entrapment, degradation, detention, denial of health care, forced sterilization and psychiatric treatment. Women with disabilities are twice as likely to experience domestic violence as non-disabled women, and are likely to experience abuse over a longer period of time and to suffer more severe injuries as a result of the violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are at high risk of violence based on social stereotypes and biases that attempt to dehumanize or infantilize, exclude or isolate them, and target them for sexual and other forms of violence. Violence also has the consequence of contributing to the incidence of disability among women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In domestic violence situations, women with disabilities may fear reporting or leaving an abuser because of emotional, financial or physical dependence; they may also fear losing custody of their children. Barriers to accessing justice further complicate their ability to seek redress and protection, thereby allowing for the continuation of the abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities experience rape and sexual abuse at home, at work, at school or on the street (see A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr.1). Others experience rape and sexual abuse within institutions, both state and non-state.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities are often treated as if they have no control, or should have no control, over their sexual and reproductive choices. They may be forcibly sterilized or forced to terminate wanted pregnancies - under the paternalistic guise of "for their own good". This is done sometimes with the sanction of partners, parents, institutions or guardians. There is a long history of socially and even legally sanctioned forced and non-consensual sterilization of women with disabilities. Despite legal prohibitions in some countries, involuntary sterilization is used to restrict the fertility of some persons with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disabilities. Sterilization also has been used as a technique for menstrual management.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In institutional settings, women with disabilities are subjected to numerous forms of violence, including the forced intake of psychotropic drugs or other forced psychiatric treatment. Furthermore, forced institutionalization itself constitutes a form of violence. People with mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities are sometimes subject to arbitrary detention in long-stay institutions with no right of appeal, thereby robbing them of their legal capacity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Women in institutions who need support services are usually more vulnerable. Vulnerability, both in institutions and in community settings, can range from the risk of isolation, boredom and lack of stimulation, to the risk of physical and sexual abuse. Evidence suggests that people with disabilities are at higher risk of abuse for various reasons, including dependence on a large number of caregivers and also because of barriers to communication. One study found that the majority (68 per cent) of psychiatric outpatients in a hospital had experienced major physical and/or sexual assaults therein, a higher frequency than in the general population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Violence against women may be permitted by law or carried out under the authority of the State. States may fail to fulfil their obligation to respond to and prevent violence against women with disabilities either through the adoption and implementation of laws and practices that directly violate rights, or by failing to adopt and implement laws and practices that uphold rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 41
- 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
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Law enforcement and legal agencies may dismiss complaints since they see women with disabilities who require assistive communication or accommodations, as well as women with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, as lacking credibility. There may also be a tendency for judges to require more corroborating evidence of an assault in cases involving women with disabilities than in other cases, and evidence about prior mental health treatment may be used to discredit the testimony of such witnesses. Women with cognitive disabilities may have more difficulty with remembering the sequence of events, which may make them appear less credible on the stand. The failure to afford the testimony of women with disabilities due respect is problematic in gender-based violence and sexual assault cases, where the testimony of the parties and the credibility of the witnesses are exceptionally important. Women with disabilities face violence at least one and one-half times more often than other women. Thus, excluding them from the witness stand denies the reality that they face violence to a disproportionate degree.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Fear of unjustified termination of parental rights may cause women with disabilities to remain in abusive relationships. The denial of legal capacity, which includes restrictions on the right of women with disabilities to testify in the courts, the failures of the justice system to respond to the abuse of women and girls with disabilities, and/or the inability to see them as credible witnesses, perpetuates and reinforces abuse. Thus, eliminating such discriminatory practices is essential to addressing violence against women with disabilities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- The discrimination and violence faced by women with disabilities in society tends to be exacerbated by prison environments. In the Handbook on Prisoners with Special Needs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) recognized that women prisoners with disabilities were at a particularly high risk of manipulation, violence, sexual abuse and rape and that prisoners with physical disabilities might be actively targeted or suffer the effects of having their special needs, including safety needs, neglected. Furthermore, according to the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 of the United States of America most prison staff is not adequately trained to prevent or respond to inmate sexual assaults, and prison rape often goes unreported and untreated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- As regards violence against women with disabilities in the transnational sphere, women and girls with disabilities are at risk of being trafficked and forced into prostitution. The four major risk factors for susceptibility to trafficking are poverty, ignorance, minority status and being female. Women and girls with disabilities may fit into one or more of these high-risk categories. Further, because of the misguided belief that sex with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS, and the stereotype that women with disabilities are virgins, they can be targeted for trafficking as sex workers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- In some contexts, because of stereotypical views of the value of disabled female children and the lack of support available to parents with children with disabilities, parents may see trafficking of their disabled daughter as their only economic option. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports indicate that in certain countries in the Asia-Pacific region proprietors of brothels have specifically sought out deaf girl children and adolescents, with the idea that such young people will be less able to communicate their distress or find their way back to their homes. One report notes that the proportion of child prostitutes who had mild developmental disabilities was six times greater than what might be expected from the incidence in the general population.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- The causes of violence against women with disabilities originate in social norms about the nature and type of disability and gender roles. Women with disabilities face many barriers to escaping, resisting, preventing or obtaining redress for violence. Such barriers include, but are not limited to, emotional and financial dependency on the abuser; unwillingness to be stigmatized; fears regarding child custody or single-parenthood; inaccessibility or unavailability of violence prevention programmes and facilities; fear or loss of assistive devices and other supports; concerns about being believed when disclosing the abuse; and reluctance to take any action that may escalate the violence. Also when they seek assistance from police or other members of the community, their complaints may not be taken seriously or may be disbelieved, due to stigma and stereotyping.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Persons with physical disabilities may be more dependent on attendant care and more dependent on the abuser, physically, emotionally or financially, for care than other groups (see A/61/122/Add.1 and Corr.1). In addition, persons with disabilities are traditionally and incorrectly seen by society to be asexual. This can lead to greater levels of sexual violence as they are less likely to be believed when they report such violations. Some women with disabilities may be unable to defend themselves, lack access to self-defence training or be unable to physically flee the site of violence. They may therefore become particularly "easy" targets for perpetrators of violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Violence against women with disabilities 2012, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Women with disabilities face specific discrimination and targeted violence primarily because of their disability status, owing to bias among individuals and communities. For example, in some cultural and religious traditions disability is viewed as a symbol of "evil" or "sin" committed by the person or family members, thus justifying violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph