Submission to the UN Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for reference to the draft General Recommendation on Gender Stereotypes   

Equality Now made the below submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee ahead of its discussion on the draft General Recommendation on Gender Stereotypes in partnership with Validity, an international organization focused on people with mental disabilities and the Women’s Probono Initiative, based in Uganda. 

What’s included in the submission?

The submission focuses on the intersectionality between gender and disability and how the overlapping identities of gender and disability generate multilayered discrimination, critically restricting women and girls’ ability to exercise their human rights. 

It examines key issues such as:

• gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities and their access to justice,
• the link between stereotypes and the placement of women and girls with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities under guardianship or institutions,
• the importance of adopting the disability-inclusive language and promoting inclusive education, as seen through the submitting organizations’ projects, litigation, and legal advocacy work,
• how the systemic exclusion and exposure to violence experienced by women and girls with disabilities arise from entrenched gender disparities intertwined with societal prejudices tied to disability.  

This layered marginalization underscores the critical need for CEDAW’s General Recommendation on gender stereotypes to integrate disability perspectives consistently. 

Who’s it for?

• UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee
• Law and policymakers 
• Legal professionals
• Government institutions
• CSOs
• Media and researchers 

Key recommendations

We kindly asked the CEDAW Committee to add paragraphs to the General Recommendation with the following content: 

• State parties must take urgent measures to eliminate gender stereotypes that, both de jure and de facto, normalize and perpetuate violence against women and girls with disabilities, adopt comprehensive strategies to overcome negative gender and disability stereotypes, and foster a culture of zero tolerance for all forms of violence, thereby advancing gender equality.

• State parties shall ensure that women and girls with disabilities have equal access to justice by providing gender, age, and disability-sensitive procedural accommodations at all stages of the justice system. 
• States should adopt inclusive legal frameworks, accessible complaint mechanisms, and procedural accommodations that address the unique challenges faced by women with disabilities in legal proceedings. 
• States must remove burdensome evidentiary standards and abolish discriminatory provisions that prevent women and girls with disabilities from enjoying legal capacity on an equal basis with others.