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Invisible victims of sexual violence. Access to justice for women and girls with disabilities in India

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
April 2018

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This report is based on 17 cases of sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities in eight Indian states. It comes five years after The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 (the 2013 amendments) were adopted in India. It follows Human Rights Watch’s November 2017 report “Everyone Blames Me”: Barriers to Justice and Support Services for Sexual Assault Survivors in India, which found that rape survivors still face significant barriers obtaining justice and critical support services because legal and other reforms have not been fully realised.

This report finds that while the 2013 amendments have made significant progress in responding to the widespread challenges that victims of sexual violence endure, they have yet to properly develop and implement support for survivors with disabilities in the form of trainings and reforms throughout the criminal justice system. It highlights gaps in enforcement and calls for concrete measures to address the needs of women and girls with disabilities seeking justice for abuse. 

Everybody Matters: Good practices for inclusion of people with disabilities in sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes

Van SLOBBE, Caroline
November 2017

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This publication provides introductory chapters from two activists who work to create better opportunities for people with disabilities in Nigeria and India. Subsequently, the challenges that organisations worldwide have encountered whilst improving the access to and knowledge of sexual and reproductive health and rights for people with disabilities are presented. Ways in which they managed to find solutions and the results achieved are reviewed. Some cases show the importance of a more personal approach whilst others emphasise the advantage of changing systems and policies. Different regions, types of disabilities and various SRHR-topics are reflected in these stories. All cases provide lessons learnt that contribute to a set of recommendations for improved responses. The closing chapter highlights the challenges, solutions, and ambitions that are presented and lead up to a concise overview of recommendations.  

Good practice examples include:

A shift in SRH programming (Nepal)

Breaking Barriers with performance art (Kenya)

Her Body, Her Rights (Ethiopia)

People with disabilities leading the way (Israel Family Planning Association)

Best Wishes for safe motherhood (Nepal)

It’s my body! (Bangladesh)

Calling a spade a spade (Netherlands)

Four joining forces (Colombia)

Change agents with a disability (Zimbabwe)

Tito’s privacy and rights (Argentina)

Sign language for service providers (Kenya)

Operational guide for implementation of IICCHAA project

INDIAN INITIATIVE OF CHILD CENTRED HIV & AIDS APPROACH (IICCHAA)
2008

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This operational guide provides a broad direction for implementing memory work in India in the field, based on a communication needs assessment carried out as part of the Indian Initiative for Child Centred Approaches to HIV & AIDS (IICCHAA). The guide is divided into two sections: how to roll out the training effectively at field level and some basic information about HIV and AIDS

Disability News and Information Service (DNIS)

DNIS : Disability news and information service

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The Disability News and Information Service (DNIS) is a fortnightly news service on disability in India. It aims to empower people with disabilities by making them, their family members and the society at large aware of their rights. It is available by free electronic subscription and an archive is available on the website

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