Disabled Women and Violence: Access to Justice Eliona Gjecaj skrifar 5. desember 2023 09:00 Violence against disabled women is a major human rights concern. Of grave concern is the fact that disabled women are at a higher risk than other women of experiencing violence, that they experience violence for longer periods of time than non-disabled women, and that they experience a wider range of forms of violence. While a large body of research on violence against disabled women exists internationally, in Iceland the number has been growing and covering different aspects of such violence (Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir et al. 2023; Gjecaj et al. 2023; Arnalds and Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir 2013; Bergsveinsdóttir 2017; Haraldsdóttir 2017; Traustadóttir and Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir 2014; Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir and Traustadóttir 2015). To date, research focusing on access to justice for disabled women who have been subjected to violence remains surprisingly sparse. Drawing from my current research study, which is based in Iceland and aims to deepen understanding and expand knowledge of this topic, I provide below some findings and recommendations which can inform initiatives to enhance access to justice for disabled women: Lack of reporting violence: Most of the disabled women interviewed for this study did not report the violence they experienced. Main reasons were lack of accessibility to do so, they knew they were not seen as being credible, and because of fear of potential media emphatic portrayals of their disability as well as the dismissive and imposing shame reactions by the community overall. Raising awareness throughout the society and media outlets is necessary to educate and address the negative connotations attached to disability and disabled people. Positive actions must be taken by the government to ensure disabled women that their voice matters, will be heard and believed across the justice structures. Importance of Rights Protection Officers. Their role is crucial to protect the rights of disabled women when reporting and/or prosecuting violence. Their help in seeking supports and reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of the disabled woman is essential. In addition, they play a key role in informing other justice workers in how to facilitate and accommodate disabled women who report violence. The involvement of Rights Protection Officers is not obligatory but should be strengthened. Lack of clarity about the need to provide reasonable accommodations. While Rights Protection Officers can be called upon to identify and recommend individually- tailored adjustments, there is no clear obligation on justice staff to accept their recommendations and provide reasonable accommodations. It is recommended that that this problem is addressed and that the reasonable accommodation duty be included expressly and clearly explained in relevant investigation and prosecution guidelines. This would be in line with the requirements of the CRPD. Lack of disability-based-rights training for all those involved in administrating, leading, and executing the justice system. The current limited training given to police and judges is not sufficient nor adequate. Stronger measures in terms of training, reasonable accommodations, social understanding of disability, the intersection of disability and gender, and disability human rights, are needed to ensure disabled women’s access to justice. Only by ensuring appropriate training and awareness-raising can the human rights principles and values of the CRPD be firmly embedded across the Icelandic justice system. Access to justice should rest on systematic protections, not accident or happenstance. It is therefore timely for the government to redouble its efforts to ensure the provision of effective access to justice for disabled women seeking redress for violence against them. It could make important progress to this end by taking action on these recommendations. Höfundur er doktorsnemi í fötlunarfræðum við HÍ. Greinin er birt í tengslum við alþjóðlegt 16 daga átak gegn kynbundnu ofbeldi. Viltu birta grein á Vísi? Sendu okkur póst. Senda grein 16 daga átak gegn kynbundnu ofbeldi Kynferðisofbeldi Mest lesið Seðlabankastjóri rannsakar sjálfan sig Einar Steingrímsson Skoðun Er ég eins og ég er? - Svar við pistli heilbrigðisráðherra Eldur Smári Kristinsson Skoðun Skuggaráðherra ríkisstjórnarinnar Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir Skoðun Setjum á okkur súrefnisgrímuna áður en við björgum heiminum. Nú þarf hinn þögli meirihluti að láta í sér heyra Steindór Þórarinsson Skoðun Stóra spurningin sem fjárlögin svara ekki Sandra B. Franks Skoðun 30 by 30 - Gefum lífi á jörð smá séns Rósa Líf Darradóttir Skoðun Um ópið sem heimurinn ekki heyrir Reham Khaled Skoðun Skólabærinn Garðabær: Við mælum árangur og gerum stöðugt betur Almar Guðmundsson,Sigríður Hulda Jónsdóttir Skoðun Talaðu núna, talaðu! Bolli Pétur Bollason Skoðun Óttinn selur Davíð Bergmann Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Siglt gegn þjóðarmorði Cyma Farah,Sólveig Ásta Sigurðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Um ópið sem heimurinn ekki heyrir Reham Khaled skrifar Skoðun 30 by 30 - Gefum lífi á jörð smá séns Rósa Líf Darradóttir skrifar Skoðun Hærri greiðslur í fæðingarorlofi Kristján Þórður Snæbjarnarson skrifar Skoðun Skólabærinn Garðabær: Við mælum árangur og gerum stöðugt betur Almar Guðmundsson,Sigríður Hulda Jónsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Stóra spurningin sem fjárlögin svara ekki Sandra B. Franks skrifar Skoðun Námsmat og Matsferill – Tækifæri til umbóta í skólastarfi Sigurbjörg Róbertsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Tími til aðgerða - loftslags- og umhverfismál sett á dagskrá Jóna Þórey Pétursdóttir skrifar Skoðun Setjum á okkur súrefnisgrímuna áður en við björgum heiminum. Nú þarf hinn þögli meirihluti að láta í sér heyra Steindór Þórarinsson skrifar Skoðun Sterkt skólasamfélag á Akureyri, sameiginleg ábyrgð og framtíðarsýn Heimir Örn Árnason skrifar Skoðun Fæðingarhríðir fjórðu iðnbyltingarinnar: Til fjármálafyrirtækja Klara Nótt Egilson skrifar Skoðun „AMOC straumurinn", enn ein heimsendaspáin... Valgerður Árnadóttir skrifar Skoðun Talaðu núna, talaðu! Bolli Pétur Bollason skrifar Skoðun Seðlabankastjóri rannsakar sjálfan sig Einar Steingrímsson skrifar Skoðun Skuggaráðherra ríkisstjórnarinnar Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Óttinn selur Davíð Bergmann skrifar Skoðun Börn með fjölþættan vanda – horft til framtíðar Kolbrún Áslaugar Baldursdóttir skrifar Skoðun Umbóta á námi fanga enn beðið Guðmundur Ingi Þóroddsson skrifar Skoðun Þegar fjórða valdið sefur – og gamla tuggan lifir Sigríður Svanborgardóttir skrifar Skoðun Erfðir og endurframleiðsla félagslegra vandamála milli kynslóða Halldóra Lillý Jóhannsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Opið bréf til utanríkisráðherra og alþingismanna: Farbann á hermenn sem taka þátt í þjóðarmorði Helen Ólafsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Raddir, sýnir og aðrar óhefðbundnar skynjanir Svava Arnardóttir skrifar Skoðun Er ég eins og ég er? - Svar við pistli heilbrigðisráðherra Eldur Smári Kristinsson skrifar Skoðun Eftir höfðinu dansa limirnir Hallfríður Þórarinsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Sýklasótt – tími og þekking skiptir máli Alma Möller skrifar Skoðun Frá upplausn til uppbyggingar Þór Pálsson skrifar Skoðun Hagsmunir sveitanna í vasa heildsala Anton Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Verið að vinna sér í haginn Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Ég er eins og ég er – um heilbrigðisþjónustu við trans fólk Alma D. Möller skrifar Skoðun Óvelkomnar alls staðar Kristín Davíðsdóttir skrifar Sjá meira
Violence against disabled women is a major human rights concern. Of grave concern is the fact that disabled women are at a higher risk than other women of experiencing violence, that they experience violence for longer periods of time than non-disabled women, and that they experience a wider range of forms of violence. While a large body of research on violence against disabled women exists internationally, in Iceland the number has been growing and covering different aspects of such violence (Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir et al. 2023; Gjecaj et al. 2023; Arnalds and Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir 2013; Bergsveinsdóttir 2017; Haraldsdóttir 2017; Traustadóttir and Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir 2014; Snæfríðar-Gunnarsdóttir and Traustadóttir 2015). To date, research focusing on access to justice for disabled women who have been subjected to violence remains surprisingly sparse. Drawing from my current research study, which is based in Iceland and aims to deepen understanding and expand knowledge of this topic, I provide below some findings and recommendations which can inform initiatives to enhance access to justice for disabled women: Lack of reporting violence: Most of the disabled women interviewed for this study did not report the violence they experienced. Main reasons were lack of accessibility to do so, they knew they were not seen as being credible, and because of fear of potential media emphatic portrayals of their disability as well as the dismissive and imposing shame reactions by the community overall. Raising awareness throughout the society and media outlets is necessary to educate and address the negative connotations attached to disability and disabled people. Positive actions must be taken by the government to ensure disabled women that their voice matters, will be heard and believed across the justice structures. Importance of Rights Protection Officers. Their role is crucial to protect the rights of disabled women when reporting and/or prosecuting violence. Their help in seeking supports and reasonable accommodations to meet the needs of the disabled woman is essential. In addition, they play a key role in informing other justice workers in how to facilitate and accommodate disabled women who report violence. The involvement of Rights Protection Officers is not obligatory but should be strengthened. Lack of clarity about the need to provide reasonable accommodations. While Rights Protection Officers can be called upon to identify and recommend individually- tailored adjustments, there is no clear obligation on justice staff to accept their recommendations and provide reasonable accommodations. It is recommended that that this problem is addressed and that the reasonable accommodation duty be included expressly and clearly explained in relevant investigation and prosecution guidelines. This would be in line with the requirements of the CRPD. Lack of disability-based-rights training for all those involved in administrating, leading, and executing the justice system. The current limited training given to police and judges is not sufficient nor adequate. Stronger measures in terms of training, reasonable accommodations, social understanding of disability, the intersection of disability and gender, and disability human rights, are needed to ensure disabled women’s access to justice. Only by ensuring appropriate training and awareness-raising can the human rights principles and values of the CRPD be firmly embedded across the Icelandic justice system. Access to justice should rest on systematic protections, not accident or happenstance. It is therefore timely for the government to redouble its efforts to ensure the provision of effective access to justice for disabled women seeking redress for violence against them. It could make important progress to this end by taking action on these recommendations. Höfundur er doktorsnemi í fötlunarfræðum við HÍ. Greinin er birt í tengslum við alþjóðlegt 16 daga átak gegn kynbundnu ofbeldi.
Setjum á okkur súrefnisgrímuna áður en við björgum heiminum. Nú þarf hinn þögli meirihluti að láta í sér heyra Steindór Þórarinsson Skoðun
Skólabærinn Garðabær: Við mælum árangur og gerum stöðugt betur Almar Guðmundsson,Sigríður Hulda Jónsdóttir Skoðun
Skoðun Skólabærinn Garðabær: Við mælum árangur og gerum stöðugt betur Almar Guðmundsson,Sigríður Hulda Jónsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Námsmat og Matsferill – Tækifæri til umbóta í skólastarfi Sigurbjörg Róbertsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Tími til aðgerða - loftslags- og umhverfismál sett á dagskrá Jóna Þórey Pétursdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Setjum á okkur súrefnisgrímuna áður en við björgum heiminum. Nú þarf hinn þögli meirihluti að láta í sér heyra Steindór Þórarinsson skrifar
Skoðun Sterkt skólasamfélag á Akureyri, sameiginleg ábyrgð og framtíðarsýn Heimir Örn Árnason skrifar
Skoðun Fæðingarhríðir fjórðu iðnbyltingarinnar: Til fjármálafyrirtækja Klara Nótt Egilson skrifar
Skoðun Erfðir og endurframleiðsla félagslegra vandamála milli kynslóða Halldóra Lillý Jóhannsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Opið bréf til utanríkisráðherra og alþingismanna: Farbann á hermenn sem taka þátt í þjóðarmorði Helen Ólafsdóttir skrifar
Setjum á okkur súrefnisgrímuna áður en við björgum heiminum. Nú þarf hinn þögli meirihluti að láta í sér heyra Steindór Þórarinsson Skoðun
Skólabærinn Garðabær: Við mælum árangur og gerum stöðugt betur Almar Guðmundsson,Sigríður Hulda Jónsdóttir Skoðun