Nothing About Us Without Us: Establishing Good Sexual Violence Laws for Survivors with Disabilities  

“In sexualized violence, the victim is herself is considered to be blamed for what happened to her,” explained an anonymous survivor of sexual violence from Eurasia as part of Equality Now’s global survey. These words echo the reality of countless individuals whose voices often go unheard, particularly when they belong to marginalized communities.

“I sometimes feel hopeless,” expressed a survivor with disabilities from Asia, highlighting the profound despair experienced by survivors who try to navigate the daunting landscape of the justice system, especially when compounded by the challenges of living with disabilities.

These survivors’ stories are not isolated anecdotes but stark reminders of the systemic failures that perpetuate injustice against survivors, particularly those with disabilities. As highlighted by an activist from North America, “the lack of adequate support services during court proceedings exacerbates [survivor] trauma and diminishes their chances of obtaining justice.”

According to research by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sexual & Reproductive Health Agency, between 40% and 68% of girls with disabilities experience sexual violence before the age of eighteen, including by family, intimate partners, caregivers, and institutional facilities. 

Earlier this year, Equality Now hosted an event alongside The Follow-up Mechanism to the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) and UNFPA during The 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which served as a platform to amplify these voices, shedding light on the urgent need for comprehensive legal frameworks that address the intersecting realities of disability and sexual violence. It underscored the imperative of convening stakeholders from diverse sectors to collaborate on crafting comprehensive laws that are inclusive, accessible, and survivor-informed so that governments and other political officials can take positive action to improve access to justice for all survivors, including the most marginalized.

Addressing Sexual Violence Against People with Disabilities 

Survivors of sexual violence who also live with disabilities face multifaceted barriers, from physical accessibility to communication challenges and societal stigma. These barriers not only impede their ability to report incidents but also exacerbate their trauma throughout the legal process. 

Making improvements to treaty body reporting including the use of disaggregated data was one of the highest recommendations by Ana Peláez, the President of the CEDAW Committee, during the CSW conference. “One in five women live with a disability. We are talking about more than 800 million women and girls around the world. Reporting on the situation of women and girls with disabilities when particularly the CEDAW Committee is, for example, examining the implementation of CEDAW in a State party, is essential.” 

Convening experts on disability rights, survivors, legal professionals, policymakers, and representatives from governmental agencies to address these challenges gains a comprehensive understanding of the difficulties faced by survivors with disabilities and promotes essential collaborative work to develop legislation that reflects their needs and experiences.

“In my country Guatemala, there is no way to have a consensual relationship as a woman with disabilities because we are not believed to be able to provide our consent,” shared Silvia Quan, President of Coletivo Vida Independente de Guatemala and a consultant at Disability Rights International during the CSW roundtable. “ Forced sterilization is socially accepted and recommended by judges and psychologists who believe that this is the way to protect women and girls with disabilities,” she concluded.

The intersectionality of disability and sexual violence presents unique challenges that cannot be adequately addressed without having in the room with an equal seat at the table those who are most impacted. At Equality Now, we know that ending sexual violence everywhere requires: good laws, good implementation, an intersectional analysis, and an ecosystems approach. 

“It is extremely important to implement measures, increase resources that are available, and increase the political will that is available to address these issues and protect women and girls with disabilities from sexual violence,” said Gloria Camacho, President of the Committee of Experts, MESECVI noted during the event. 

The ecosystems approach recognizes that sexual violence against individuals with disabilities is not just a legal issue; it’s a societal issue that requires a multidisciplinary response. It involves not only enacting laws but also implementing support services, raising awareness, and shifting cultural attitudes towards disability and sexual violence.

True Leaders on Disability 

Experts on disability rights play a crucial role in ensuring that the laws are inclusive and accessible to all individuals with disabilities. This involves addressing issues such as providing accommodations for communication and testimony, ensuring physical accessibility to legal proceedings, access and support to attend medical screening, training law enforcement and legal professionals on disability and survivor sensitivity, and more. 

Collectively engaged around a large oval table inside the UN compound in New York, true leaders on disability, such as Maryangel Garcia-Ramos, called for data, education, protections, and support mechanisms including for communities of indigenous women whose first language might not be the official language of a country. 

“When we talk about gender-based violence, we’re usually the sisters that are forgotten. We’re excited to share this space with you all, as a woman with disabilities and as a participant within this community as well as a leader in this space,” said Maryangel Garcia-Ramos, of Women Enabled International during the CSW event. 

“We have so many incidents of women who have experienced sexual violence who didn’t even know that they had been raped because discussions around this are minimal…Not talking about this is a form of violence too,” she added.   

One of the key aspects of the ecosystems approach is to involve survivors themselves. Their lived experiences provide invaluable insights into the shortcomings of the current legal framework and offer guidance on how to create a more survivor-centered approach to addressing sexual violence. Empowering survivors to participate in discussions with policymakers not only ensures that their voices are heard but also promotes agency over their own rights.

“We need representation within the movement. There can’t be anything about us, without us,” concluded Garcia-Ramos.

Join the Cause: End Sexual Violence Together

As a civil society organization, Equality Now remains committed to collaborating with grassroots organizations, legal actors, and survivors. 

Together, we are actively constructing guidelines and manuals to help governments better understand how a comprehensive, gender-sensitive investigation and prosecution, properly conducted, would lead to improved justice for survivors of sexual violence. 

Collaboration is essential in ensuring that guidance for legal actors and model laws for governments are inclusive and reflect the lived experiences of all those involved. 

We need more actors and more experts to raise awareness about the specific challenges faced by survivors of sexual violence with disabilities. Their stories are out there and the time to address the issue is now. 

Join us.