Women with disabilities have been described as being doubly marginalised on account of their disability and their gender. They may be more vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion, and often have limited social, political and economic opportunities and lack of access to basic services. Women with disabilities may also be at greater risk of sexual and physical violence and abuse. Girls with disabilities often experience discrimination, for example in education and family life.
However, to address these issues it is necessary to understand the social roles of and between women and men both with and without disabilities. The exclusion experienced by women and girls with disabilities is not simply a womens issue or a women with disabilities issue, but a social issue that requires active participation of women, men, girls and boys. This can be described as a gender and development, rather than women in development, approach.
Both mainstream policies and programmes and initiatives aimed specifically at people with disabilities should have a cross-cutting gender component to ensure the inclusion and empowerment of women and girls with disabilities. This is supported by Article 6 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
This Key list includes introductory resources on gender and disability, as well as experiences and country studies which describe the situation of women with disabilities and gender-related initiatives. Practical resources for those working with gender and disability, key policy and rights documents, and information relating to sexual health and violence issues are also highlighted. We welcome your suggestions: please send comments or suggested additions to sourceassistant.uk@hi.org.
Selected resources
Gender and priority setting in mine action
A health handbook for women with disabilities
Sterilization of women and girls with disabilities : a briefing paper
An assessment of the factors of risk and vulnerability of women and men with disabilities to sexual and gender-based violence
Making it work initiative on gender and disability inclusion : advancing equity for women and girls with disabilities
Violence against women with disabilities
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