Database • Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

Sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and young women with disabilities 2017, para. 35

Paragraph text: Evidence on sexual and gender-based violence against girls and young women with disabilities is robust. Studies from across the globe show that they are at increased risk of violence, abuse and exploitation compared with those without disabilities, and with boys and young men with disabilities. Overall, children with disabilities are almost four times more likely to experience violence than children without disabilities. However, the risk is consistently higher in the case of deaf, blind and autistic girls, girls with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities and girls with multiple impairments. Belonging to a racial, religious or sexual minority, or being poor, also increases the risk factor for sexual abuse for girls and young women with disabilities. Humanitarian crises and conflict and post-conflict settings generate additional risks of sexual violence and trafficking that affect girls with disabilities.

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Paragraph text: Furthermore, in many parts of the world, girls and young women with disabilities are often entirely excluded from the education system, or otherwise isolated from their communities at home or in institutions, and are without any access to sexuality education. The lack of equal access to inclusive and quality education affects, in particular, girls and young women with disabilities in conflict, post-conflict or other humanitarian situations, especially those who are refugees, internally displaced, migrants or asylum seekers; deprived of their liberty in hospitals, residential institutions, juvenile or correctional facilities; or homeless or living in poverty. Girls and young women in such situations are at heightened risk of being subjected to physical or sexual abuse and contracting sexually transmitted infections.

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Paragraph text: The Special Rapporteur will join the disability community in advocating for disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction ahead of the third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, to be held in March 2015, and engage in the process leading to the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 in the light of article 11 of the Convention, which calls for measures to ensure the protection and safety of persons with disabilities in situations of risk, including situations of armed conflict, humanitarian emergencies and the occurrence of natural disasters. She will also engage in efforts to ensure that the rights of women and girls with disabilities are adequately reflected in the process of the 20-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and its outcome.

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