Violence against girls and women with disabilities
Today, on International Women’s Day, MDAC calls on European governments to commit to eradicating violence against women with disabilities. This week the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) released a report on violence against women across the EU. The report reveals that women with disabilities are far more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than those without disabilities.
“The important findings from FRA this week should be a wake-up call for governments to prevent and remedy these hidden abuses”, said Oliver Lewis, MDAC Executive Director. “All governments should commit to eradicating violence against all women, including girls and women with disabilities wherever they live.”
FRA conducted the largest ever survey on violence against women. The report from the survey reveals that women with disabilities indicate a higher prevalence of various forms of violence than women without disabilities. The findings are shocking:
· One in three women reported some form of physical or sexual violence since the age of 15.
· Women who consider themselves to have a disability are almost twice as likely (34% v. 19%) to suffer physical or sexual violence from a partner than those who do not.
· Nearly half of all women across the EU who have suffered at least one incident of physical or sexual violence in childhood consider themselves to be part of a disabled minority.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities states that governments need to do everything possible “to protect persons with disabilities, both within and outside the home, from all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse, including their gender-based aspects.”