Thirty-five percent of women worldwide are exposed to physical or sexual violence at the hands of an intimate partner or another person. Violence against women is a serious human rights violation.
Factors associated with this violence include low education, attitudes accepting of violence and gender inequality, beliefs and local traditions. It leads to health problems, psychological trauma and high social and economic costs.
Double discrimination against women with disabilities
Women with disabilities are at a higher risk of violence, and women with intellectual disabilities are particularly vulnerable.
“Women with disabilities suffer from double discrimination,” explains Muriel Mac Seing, who has worked on gender issues at Handicap International. “They do not always have the right to manage their own sexual and reproductive lives - the right to a responsible, satisfying sex life and to decide when they have children, in total freedom - due to social and cultural stereotypes. As they are often close to or dependent on adults around them, they are also at greater risk of sexual violence, which makes them highly vulnerable.”
The victims of violence, these women find it harder to ask for help - particularly for fear of reprisal – and are often excluded and isolated as a result.
Raising awareness and assisting victims
For 25 years, Handicap International has worked in several countries to raise women’s awareness of the risk of violence, to inform them of their rights, and to provide medical, psychological and legal support adapted to victims. Handicap International also works with governments to strengthen measures to protect the rights of women, including by supporting the ratification of international conventions.
Our work to support women
- In Mali, a country racked by instability since 2012, Handicap International’s violence-prevention actions include awareness-raising campaigns targeted at women from local communities. The organisation also supports victims through discussion and self-help groups and individual therapy sessions.
- In northwest Kenya, a region ravaged by ethnic conflict, Handicap International takes action on armed violence and gender-based violence. It also trains peace ambassadors to talk to communities about the risks of violence and to inform them of their rights.
- Handicap International’s Ubuntu Care project in Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya combats sexual violence against children, particularly children with disabilities, who are three to four times more at risk of sexual violence than other children. The organisation trains young people to raise peer awareness of the risks of sexual violence.
- Lastly, since the genocide that torn Rwanda apart in 1994, Handicap International has provided psychological support to victims of physical and sexual violence, such as by setting up groups where people can talk and exchange views.
