On 8 March this week, we celebrate International Women's Day (IWD). This year, the motto is EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: PROGRESS FOR ALL. So how far have women and girls with disabilities come with respect to human rights?
Today, in terms of the human rights condition of women and girls with disabilities, it is estimated that:
- Literacy rates for women with disabilities globally may be as low as 1% (UNDP)
- Only 25% of women with disabilities are in the global workforce (UN)
- Mortality rates amongst girls with disabilities are much higher than for boys with disabilities due to neglect, poor access to medical care, and reduced access to food and other resources (USAID, UNICEF)
- Girls with disabilities are more likely to be institutionalized than boys with disabilities (WHO)
- Because of the heightened risk of gender-based violence and lack of access to reproductive health care services, women with disabilities face unique challenges in preventing HIV infection (WB)
- Women and girls with disabilities living in institutions experience higher rates of physical and sexual abuse, and in some cases face abuse rates double those of women and girls with disabilities living in the community (HRW)
How does the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) address the situation of women and girls with disabilities?
The CRPD adopts what is sometimes referred to as a “twin-track” approach, in that it contains a specific article (Article 6) on women with disabilities and also addresses issues of specific concern to women and girls with disabilities at other relevant places throughout the text. Though this may at first appear a redundant approach, the drafters of the CRPD realized that the extensive human rights abuses faced by women and girls with disabilities warranted a comprehensive response in the treaty.
Article 6 should be considered in the interpretation and implementation of all the human rights elaborated in the CRPD. Article 6 draws attention to the multiple discrimination faced by women and girls with disabilities, and requires States Parties to take measures to ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by women and girls with disabilities. Furthermore, States parties must ensure the full development, advancement and empowerment of women, so that women with disabilities can fully exercise and enjoy the rights set forth in the CRPD. To read more, follow links to point 8 at
Woman with a Disability Abused and Murdered in Buffalo, NY, USA
Eva Cummings and her son, Luke Wright, were charged 28 February 2010 in the death of Eva’s daughter, Laura Cummings, who was 23 years old and had amental disability. Laura suffered abuse for more than fifteen years; she was repeatedly raped, beaten and burnt. To read more go tohttp://www.winnipegsun.com/news/world/2010/02/27/13050531.html
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