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 Ég vildi óska þess að ég hefði hreinlega fengið krabbamein Íris Elfa Þorkelsdóttir Skoðun Kópavogsleiðinn Ragnar Þór Pétursson Skoðun Andaðu rólega elskan... Ester Hilmarsdóttir Skoðun Loforðið sem borgarstjóri gleymdi Magnea Gná Jóhannsdóttir Skoðun Er Akureyri að missa háskólann sinn? Aðalbjörn Jóhannsson Skoðun Samstarf sem skilar raunverulegum loftslagsaðgerðum Nótt Thorberg Skoðun Lærum að lesa og reikna Jón Pétur Zimsen Skoðun Fjárfestum í fyrsta bekk, frekar en fangelsum Hjördís Eva Þórðardóttir Skoðun Kristrún, það er bannað að plata Snorri Másson Skoðun Tíu staðreyndir um alvarlegustu kvenréttindakrísu heims Stella Samúelsdóttir Skoðun Skoðun Skoðun Vin í eyðimörkinni – almenningsbókasöfn borgarinnar Sanna Magdalena Mörtudóttir skrifar Skoðun Er Akureyri að missa háskólann sinn? Aðalbjörn Jóhannsson skrifar Skoðun Tíu staðreyndir um alvarlegustu kvenréttindakrísu heims Stella Samúelsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Ég vildi óska þess að ég hefði hreinlega fengið krabbamein Íris Elfa Þorkelsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Mestu aularnir í Vetrarbrautinni Kári Helgason skrifar Skoðun Fjárfestum í fyrsta bekk, frekar en fangelsum Hjördís Eva Þórðardóttir skrifar Skoðun Eftirlíking vitundar og hætturnar sem henni fylgja Þorsteinn Siglaugsson skrifar Skoðun Andaðu rólega elskan... Ester Hilmarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Gagnvirkni líkama og vitundar til heilbrigðis Þórdís Hólm Filipsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Nýjar lausnir í kennslu – gamlar hindranir Bogi Ragnarsson skrifar Skoðun Kópavogsleiðinn Ragnar Þór Pétursson skrifar Skoðun Samstarf sem skilar raunverulegum loftslagsaðgerðum Nótt Thorberg skrifar Skoðun Lærum að lesa og reikna Jón Pétur Zimsen skrifar Skoðun Loforðið sem borgarstjóri gleymdi Magnea Gná Jóhannsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Kristrún, það er bannað að plata Snorri Másson skrifar Skoðun Öndunaræfingar í boði SFS Vala Árnadóttir skrifar Skoðun Öndum rólega – á meðan húsið brennur Magnús Magnússon skrifar Skoðun Umbylting ríkisfjármála á átta mánuðum Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson skrifar Skoðun Mestu aularnir í Vetrarbrautinni Kári Helgason skrifar Skoðun Átta atriði sem sýna fram á vanda hávaxtastefnunnar Halla Gunnarsdóttir skrifar Skoðun 50 þúsund nýir íbúar – Hvernig tryggjum við samheldni? Guðmundur Ari Sigurjónsson skrifar Skoðun Framtíð nemenda í fyrsta sæti í Kópavogi Ásdís Kristjánsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Að setjast í fyrsta sinn á skólabekk Kolbrún Áslaugar Baldursdóttir skrifar Skoðun Ferðalag úr fangelsi hugans Sigurður Árni Reynisson skrifar Skoðun Hraðahindranir fyrir strætó Sveinn Ólafsson skrifar Skoðun Íslenzkir sambandsríkissinnar Hjörtur J. Guðmundsson skrifar Skoðun Garðurinn okkar fyllist af illgresi Davíð Bergmann skrifar Skoðun Nýtt landsframlag – og hvað svo? Hrafnhildur Bragadóttir,Birna Sigrún Hallsdóttir skrifar Skoðun Fágætir dýrgripir í Vestmannaeyjum Gunnar Salvarsson skrifar Skoðun Gjaldskyldulandið Ísland - Viltu hafa bílastæðagjald við hverja lækjarsprænu? Hermann Helguson 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.
Skoðun Gjaldskyldulandið Ísland - Viltu hafa bílastæðagjald við hverja lækjarsprænu? Hermann Helguson skrifar