Women with disabilities are among the most socially and economically marginalised in the community. As an example, women with disabilities pay the highest level of their gross income on housing yet are in the lowest income earning bracket. Women who have physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities are discriminated against and excluded by barriers that society creates. These barriers are informational, attitudinal and physical.

Women with disabilities, like their non-disabled counterparts are wives, girlfriends, daughters, sisters, lovers, carers and mothers and regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or class, women with disabilities are assaulted, raped and abused at a rate of at least two times greater than non-disabled women.

Many women with disabilities are subject to the control of others, for example, women who are dependent on carers. This power imbalance increases the vulnerability of women with disability to emotional and psychological control and all forms of violence. Women with children who flee violent situations also run the risk of losing their children because Child Protection authorities may question their ability to care for them alone. The challenges women face when they endeavour to establish a life for themselves and their children are further compounded for women with disabilities by ignorant stereotypes and by unjust power dynamics that are reinforced by the community.
‘Women with disabilities face a number of unique obstacles regarding disclosure or help seeking in relation to family violence.
Of particular importance are:

1. Their greater isolation;
2. The impact of previous help-seeking experiences;
3. The difficulty many experience in being believed or taken seriously;
4. The sheer practical obstacles they face in obtaining information or assistance, a lack of awareness and skills on the part of service providers in dealing with women with disabilities who experience domestic violence; and
5. A lack of coordination and cooperation across services regarding these women’s needs.

Children with a disability, particularly a severe disability, may be unable to understand or report occurrences of physical or sexual assault. In addition, depending on the severity and type of disability, they may not be able to protect themselves from direct or indirect exposure to family violence.

The Australian Disability Discrimination Act 1992 identifies that disability, in relation to a person, means:

1. Total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions;
2. Total or partial loss of a part of the body;
3. The presence in the body of organisms causing illness or disease;
4. The presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease;
5. The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of part of the person’s body;
6. A disorder or malfunction, which results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction;
7. A disorder, illness or disease which affects a person’s thought processes, perceptions of reality, emotions or judgement, or which results in disturbed behaviour;
8. A disability that previously existed but no longer exists or may exist in the future.

A Framework for Influencing Change - Responding to Violence Against Women With Disabilities: 2007-2009

(Courtesy of The Victorian Women with Disabilities Network - Advocacy Information Service)

* Also see Resources and Links in our Accreditation Section for more information.

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