Easy to Read

About NO MEANS NO

Two women standing next to each other and raising their right arms in a position of strength

NO MEANS NO is a European project 
that wants to empower women with disabilities
to live a life without violence.

Woman in a wheelchair raising her hand forward as a gesture of "stop"

The NO MEANS NO project wants to do this
through feminist self-defence.

The project is led by 7 organisations from:

  • Belgium
  • France
  • Germany
  • Poland
Two persons making fun of a woman in a wheelchair


Women with disabilities
face more violence and discrimination
compared to women without disabilities
and men with disabilities.

Women with disabilities report violence
that often lasts longer 
and is more harmful
compared to violence against
other groups of people. 

When women with disabilities 
report violence to the police
they are more likely not to get the right help.

Woman in a wheelchair raising her right arm in a position of strength

But women with disabilities
can fight and resist
violence and discrimination.

The NO MEANS NO project
wants to empower women with disabilities
and show them what abilities 
they have to defend themselves. 

A woman standing in front of a black board teaching, with documents in her hands

The NO MEANS NO project 
will last for 2 years.
It started in January 2020 
and will end in December 2021.

The first step is training for 
feminist self-defence trainers.

So that feminist self-defence trainers
learn how to work with 
women with all types of disabilities. 

A group of women of various age, (dis)abilities and race standing close together

After the training
the feminist self-defence trainers
will organise a workshop for women with disabilities 
in their communities.

Three women encouraging each other with touch and smiles

They plan to give training
to more than 800 women with disabilities.

Because not all women with disabilities
can take part in the workshop
the NO MEANS NO project makes a safety guide. 

You can help us 
to make the safety guide
useful for women with disabilities.

A woman writing something on a document

You can do this
by sharing your success stories.
For example you can share 
a moment in your life
where you said no to violence 
or defended yourself against violence.

To raise awareness on violence
against women with disabilities
all the partners of the NO MEANS NO project
organise activities and events. 

Woman in a wheelchair raising her hand forward as a gesture of "stop"

What is feminist self-defence?

Feminist self-defence
helps women with disabilities 
to protect themselves against violence 
and to stop violence.

Three women with (dis)abilities standing strong with a crowd of other women in the back

Feminist self-defence also helps women 
to feel good about themselves 
and have less fears.

Woman raising her hand forward as a gesture of "stop"

Women who were trained in feminist self-defence
face less sexual and physical violence
when compared with other women. 

Women who were trained in feminist self-defence 
are also more often able to defend themselves. 

Woman raising her thumb and holding a book

This is why feminist self-defence
is a very important tool
to prevent violence.

The NO MEANS NO project
wants to make feminist self-defence
accessible to women with disabilities.

Group of women with (dis)abilities having fun together

The NO MEANS NO project
is about accessibility and inclusion. 

This is why we want our website
to be accessible and inclusive. 

Illustration of a computer

To do this 
we chose the Any Surfer label
as a standard of web accessibility.

To create an accessible website
is an ongoing process.

This means you will see our website 
getting more accessible
over the years.

Blue words explained

Woman in a wheelchair getting off the bus with an accessible ramp

Accessible and Accessibility

Something is accessible 
when it is possible 
to use for people with disabilities.

This can be for example:

  • Ramps to get into a building.
  • Information in easy-to-read. 
  • Information in sign language.

Accessibility is about making things accessible. 

Any Surfer label

Any Surfer is a business 
that helps other organisations 
to make their websites accessible. 

So when organisations say
that they have the Any Surfer label
it means that Any Surfer
will help the organisation to make their website
accessible for all. 

Two persons making fun of a woman in a wheelchair

Discrimination

Discrimination means
that you are treated worse than others
or that you do not get the chances you deserve.

It is discrimination
when it happens because of your disability.

It can also happen to other people.
For example people who have a different skin colour.
Or older people.

Woman in a wheelchair raising her hand forward as a gesture of "stop"

Feminist self-defence

Feminist self-defence helps women with disabilities 
to protect themselves against violence 
and to stop violence.