Resources

Relevant international documents

• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Istanbul Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence
• EU Gender Equality Strategy
• EU Disability Strategy
• Advocacy tools for defending the rights of women and girls with disabilities (International Network of Women with Disabilities)
• European Parliament resolution of 11 December 2013 on women with disabilities
• On 25 May 2021, the FEMM Committee adopted an opinion in letter form to the report drafted by the Committee on Petitions (PETI) on ‘The protection of persons with disabilities through petitions: lessons learnt’. 
• 25th session of the UN Committee on Disability Rights: a notable outcome of the session was the observations on France and its report on the rights of persons with disabilities, and particularly regarding the situation of women and girls with disabilities.
• Resolution on gender-based violence as EU crime:  the European Parliament has adopted a resolution with recommendations to the Commission to identify gender-based violence as a new area of crime listed in EU Treaties.
• Gender Equality Index 2021 of the European Institute for Gender Equality.

• UN experts call on States to take action to eliminate gender-based violence against women and girls with disabilities.m

Other resources

• COVID-19, gender, and disability checklist: Preventing and addressing gender-based violence against women, girls, and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Women, girls, and gender non-conforming people with disabilities: Know your rights! Guide made by UN Women and Women Enabled International  in consultation with women with disabilities;
• Resisting cyberbullying – “Too ugly” for internet trolls, I spent a year posting selfies (in French);
• Violence against women with intellectual disabilities: direct violence (video by Inclusion Europe);
• How to talk about violence against women with disabilities (video by Inclusion Europe);
• Violence against women with intellectual disabilities: structural violence (video by Inclusion Europe);
• Empowering women with intellectual disabilities after violence (video by Inclusion Europe);
• “There Will Be No Herd Immunity without Vaccine Equity” – article about ableism in access to covid vaccines;
• Violence and abuse – what can I do? Information for disabled or Deaf women;
• Webinar “Promoting the rights of women with disabilities” – International Disability Alliance & European Disability Forum;
• Webinar “Left behind? Women with disabilities during COVID-19” – European Disability Forum;
  
• Webinar « Ending violence against women with disabilities in the European Union » – European Disability Forum;
• Stronger and safer! How people, organizations and institutions can better prevent and respond to violence against women with disabilities: Project partner Autonomia organised an online expert panel discussion about violence against women with disabilities, barriers to access victim protection and the role of empowerment in combating violence against WWD (in Polish).
• La lingua dei segni contro la violenza alle donne -“Sign language against violence against women”: women with disabilities and in particular deaf women who are victims of gender-based violence and their children must also be given the opportunity to receive support and protection. This video is designed to show how to communicate on the topic of violence: to show the signs that represent violence, that help to recognise it and to ask for help from the Italian anti-violence centres of the Italian D.i.Re. network.

Research on violence against women with disabilities and feminist self-defence

• Liz Kelly & Nicola Sharp-Jeffs (2016): “Knowledge and Know-how: the Role of Self-defence in the Prevention of Violence against Women”
• Dr. Monika Schröttle, University of Applied Sciences of Ravensburg-Weingarten & Institute for Empirical Sociology at Nürnberg University, and her team conducted a representative study on Violence against disabled women in Germany that showed that this group is affected at a 3-4 times higher rate by violence than the general female population (in adulthood as well as childhood). Based on this study, they conducted an in-depth study on violence for women living in institutions – PDF available in German only. The next study Dr. Monika Schröttle and her team conducted was on violence against deafwomen (only available in German – PDF) and in German Sign Language. They also conducted a Daphne study: „Access to specialised victim support services for women with disabilities who have experienced violence“ with a report and several brochures for women, support centers and policy makers. Finally, a current study in Germany that published in November 2021 on the improvement of structures to better safeguard disabled persons in institutions and sheltered workshops (.ppt in German only).
• “That makes you strong. Being together” – Scientific support for the project “frauen stärken frauen” – Final report (in German). Frauen.stärken.frauen is a project from ZIBB (Centre for Inclusive Education and Counselling): a 2,5 years training as a trainer for self-assertion and self-defence (WenDo²) for women with learning difficulties.
• Violence against women: an EU-wide survey conducted by the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). Main results report (3.48 MB). The survey also included questions on stalking, sexual harassment, and the role played by new technologies in women’s experiences of abuse. In addition, it asked about their experiences of violence in childhood. Based on the detailed findings, FRA suggests courses of action in different areas that are touched by violence against women and go beyond the narrow confines of criminal law, ranging from employment and health to the medium of new technologies. This survey is also available in Easy-to-Read format.
• Violence against women with intellectual disabilities in institutions. In the context of the Life After Violence project, Inclusion Europe did a study on how women with intellectual disabilities cope with violence they experienced in institutions, after they have left them.  The report was based on in-depth interviews with 10 women. The report is also available in Easy-to-read.
• Improving Access to Services for Women with Disabilities by Ann Sofie Milling Høegh – Women Against Violence European Network (WAVE) Thematic Paper;
• French survey on violence against women with disabilities: Report in French Cadre de vie et sécurité (Living conditions and safety) of the French government of 2020.

Feminist self-defence

• Feminist self-defence for Deaf women: a radio programme in French Sign Language (without subtitles);
• Feminist self-defence – Riposte method: presentation in French Sign Language with French subtitles;
• “Melina wants to teach women self-defence” – Video in German on a wendo trainer with learning disability;
• Broken Silences: True stories of resilience: women with disabilities who triumphed over violence (in Italian). In the frame of the VERA Project – Violence Emergence, Recognition and Awareness, by Associazione Differenza Donna ONG.
• Kraft-Rucksack – Für Frauen* mit Gewalt-Erfahrung/ “Strength Backpack – For women* with experience of violence”: this website is in Easy-to-Read language (all in German). All information and exercises are also available as videos in German sign language.
• Feministe self-defense for women with disabilities : An exploratory evaluation of workshops in Belgium, Germany, France and Poland

Organisations with and for women with disabilities

• Fondation Lydia Zijdel: The Lydia Zijdel Foundation, in the Netherlands, aims to contribute to the enhancement of the personal, social and community empowerment of people with disabilities. The foundation aims to document, disseminate and further develop all knowledge developed and collected by Lydia Zijdel, its patron on psycho-physical resilience and empowerment of people with disabilities.
• Femmes Sourdes Citoyennes et Solidaires: presentation in French Sign Langague with French subtitles;
• Femmes pour le Dire, Femmes pour Agir: French association promoting the place of women with disabilities in society, regardless of the nature of their disability. It fights against all forms of discrimination and, in particular, against the double discrimination experienced by women with disabilities: gender and disability, and against the violence suffered by 4 out of 5 of them.
• IZ KRUGA – VOJVODINA, Organisation Providing Support to Women With Disabilities, in Serbia, contributes to an improvement of the position of women and men with disabilities.
• Sisters of Frida CIC, in the UK, is an experimental collective of disabled women, who wants a new way of sharing experiences, mutual support and relationships with different networks.
• Stay Safe East Supports Disabled Survivors of Abuse – Stay Safe East is a unique user-led organisation run by disabled people, providing specialist and holistic advocacy and support services to disabled people from diverse communities in London who are victims/survivors of domestic or sexual violence, hate crime, harassment and other forms of abuse.
• DeafHope, UK organisation founded by women from the Deaf community in February, 2003 to end domestic and sexual violence in Deaf communities through empowerment, education and services.
• Ninlil, Empowerement und Beratung für Frauen mit Behinderungen/Ninlil, empowerment and counselling for women with disabilities: Austrian organisation with two areas of work: “Kraftwerk” and “Zeitlupe“. Kraftwerk offers counselling, empowerment and networking against sexual violence against women with learning disabilities. Zeitlupe offers counselling for women with different disabilities. Their thematic areas are “housing/life”, “personal assistance” and “body/sexuality”.

Resources for service providers and policy makers

• Access to support and protection services for women with disabilities who have experienced violence. Results and recommendations brochure;
• COVID-19, Gender, and Disability Checklist: Ensuring Human Rights-Based Sexual and Reproductive Health for Women, Girls, and Gender Non-conforming Persons with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This Checklist is intended to guide States, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders—as well as United Nations Country Teams (UNCTs) providing guidance on COVID-19 response and recovery efforts—on how to ensure the provision of rights-based and gender- and disability responsive SRH for women, girls, and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergencies.
• Webinar on the accessibility of services in charge of women who have experienced violence (20.09.21) – in French – Organised by partners AVIQ & Garance Asbl. The webinar aimed at giving some tips on how to make the (Belgian) services more accessible to  women with disabilities.