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 Rétturinn til að verða bergnuminn Dofri Hermannsson Skoðun Hvað varð um þinn minnsta bróður? Birna Gunnlaugsdóttir Skoðun Dagur sjálfsvígsforvarna – tryggjum raunverulegt aðgengi að sálfræðimeðferð Pétur Maack Þorsteinsson Skoðun Alþjóðlegur sjálfsvígsforvarnardagur – mikilvægi samtals og samkenndar Ellen Calmon Skoðun Lygin um flóttamenn á Íslandi Jón Frímann Jónsson Skoðun Hækkun skrásetningargjalds – Segjum sannleikann Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson Skoðun Hvaða módel ertu? Heiðdís Geirsdóttir Skoðun Þriðja leiðin í námsmati stuðlar að snemmtækri íhlutun Íris E. Gísladóttir Skoðun Nýtt örorkulífeyriskerfi Inga Sæland Skoðun Hvers vegna halda Íslendingar með Dönum? Júlíus Valsson Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Dagur sjálfsvígsforvarna – tryggjum raunverulegt aðgengi að sálfræðimeðferð Pétur Maack Þorsteinsson skrifar Skoðun Hvers vegna halda Íslendingar með Dönum? Júlíus Valsson skrifar Skoðun Hvað varð um þinn minnsta bróður? Birna Gunnlaugsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Rétturinn til að verða bergnuminn Dofri Hermannsson skrifar Skoðun Þriðja leiðin í námsmati stuðlar að snemmtækri íhlutun Íris E. Gísladóttir skrifar Skoðun Alþjóðadagur sjálfsvígsforvarna Alma D. Möller skrifar Skoðun Hækkun skrásetningargjalds – Segjum sannleikann Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson skrifar Skoðun Alþjóðlegur sjálfsvígsforvarnardagur – mikilvægi samtals og samkenndar Ellen Calmon skrifar Skoðun Hvaða módel ertu? Heiðdís Geirsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Tilgáta um brjálsemi þjóðarleiðtoga Gunnar Björgvinsson skrifar Skoðun Blóðbað í Súdan: Framtíðarannáll? Stefán Jón Hafstein skrifar Skoðun Sparnaðartillögur á kostnað atvinnulausra Finnbjörn A Hermannsson,Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Atvinnustefna þarf líka að fjalla um rótgrónar atvinnugreinar Guðríður Eldey Arnardóttir skrifar Skoðun Á að hita upp allan Faxaflóann? Eiríkur Hjálmarsson skrifar Skoðun Á tímamótum: Sameinuðu þjóðirnar í 80 ár Vala Karen Viðarsdóttir,Védís Ólafsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Borgar sig að vanmeta menntun? Kolbrún Halldórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Samfylkingin hækkar gjöld á háskólanema Guðmundur Ingi Guðbrandsson skrifar Skoðun Aðgerðaáætlun í menntamálum ekki markviss Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson,Hermína Gunnþórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Héraðsvötnin eru hjartsláttur fjarðarins Rakel Hinriksdóttir skrifar Skoðun Lygin um flóttamenn á Íslandi Jón Frímann Jónsson skrifar Skoðun Mismunun skýrir aukningu erlendra fanga Guðmundur Ingi Þóroddsson skrifar Skoðun Farsæld barna í fyrirrúmi Bragi Bjarnason skrifar Skoðun Hlúum að persónumiðaðri nálgun í öldrunarþjónustu Margrét Guðnadóttir skrifar Skoðun Viljum við stjórnarandstöðu sem þvælist ekki fyrir? Diljá Mist Einarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Skólar hafa stigið skrefið með góðum árangri Kolbrún Áslaugar Baldursdóttir skrifar Skoðun Varst þú að kaupa gallaða fasteign? Sara Bryndís Þórsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Störf án staðsetningar - of hátt flækjustig eða rökrétt framþróun? Hildur Ösp Gylfadóttir,Áslaug Eir Hólmgeirsdóttir skrifar Skoðun „Glæpir“ Íslendinga Árni Davíðsson skrifar Skoðun Vörusvik Rafmenntar í nafni Kvikmyndaskóla Íslands og afleiðingar þeirra Böðvar Bjarki Pétursson,Friðrik Þór Friðriksson skrifar Skoðun Fleiri átök = verri útkoma í lestri? Birgir Hrafn Birgisson 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.
Dagur sjálfsvígsforvarna – tryggjum raunverulegt aðgengi að sálfræðimeðferð Pétur Maack Þorsteinsson Skoðun
Skoðun Dagur sjálfsvígsforvarna – tryggjum raunverulegt aðgengi að sálfræðimeðferð Pétur Maack Þorsteinsson skrifar
Skoðun Alþjóðlegur sjálfsvígsforvarnardagur – mikilvægi samtals og samkenndar Ellen Calmon skrifar
Skoðun Sparnaðartillögur á kostnað atvinnulausra Finnbjörn A Hermannsson,Sonja Ýr Þorbergsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Atvinnustefna þarf líka að fjalla um rótgrónar atvinnugreinar Guðríður Eldey Arnardóttir skrifar
Skoðun Aðgerðaáætlun í menntamálum ekki markviss Ingólfur Ásgeir Jóhannesson,Hermína Gunnþórsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Störf án staðsetningar - of hátt flækjustig eða rökrétt framþróun? Hildur Ösp Gylfadóttir,Áslaug Eir Hólmgeirsdóttir skrifar
Skoðun Vörusvik Rafmenntar í nafni Kvikmyndaskóla Íslands og afleiðingar þeirra Böðvar Bjarki Pétursson,Friðrik Þór Friðriksson skrifar
Dagur sjálfsvígsforvarna – tryggjum raunverulegt aðgengi að sálfræðimeðferð Pétur Maack Þorsteinsson Skoðun