Violence Against Women With Disabilities

DisAbled Women�s Network Canada (DAWN Canada) began work on the issue of violence against women with disabilities in 1988. Our work started with a preliminary study on the needs of women with disabilities, to ensure that DAWN Canada was representing all women with disabilities in Canada.

This was the first time in Canadian history that women with disabilities had ever been asked about their lives, their concerns and their ideas for change.

From that study we were able to identify four major issues of concern: parenting, employment, self-image and violence. Violence and the fear of violence were, and continue to be, our over-riding concerns.

In the preliminary study of the 245 women who responded to our questionnaire, 40 percent had experienced violence or abuse, 53 percent of women who had been disabled from birth had experienced violence or abuse, and 64 percent of the women had experienced verbal abuse.

Because so few women were able to get help from support services, we decided to do another study in 1990 on the level of accessibility of support services in Canada. We chose to survey transition houses and rape crisis centres, because these are the places where women usually go for help when they have been victims of violence.

We found that only 14% of transition houses and 14% of rape crisis centres were accessible to women who use wheelchairs, and none was accessible to women with other kinds of disabilities. Only two women�s shelters in Canada at that time had TDDs (Telephone Devices for the Deaf), none had information on tapes for women who were blind or who could not read, and most houses did not take women who had a history of psychiatric disabilities.

At the same time, we did parallel research on violence in the lives of women with disabilities. We wanted to hear the stories so that we could give them a voice. Until our voices are heard in our own community and in the non-disabled community, we cannot ever hope for change.

The stories are told with pain and anger, and they are told with passion.

As we listened to each other�s stories, we realized that we were not alone in our fear of violence, but that this was every woman�s experience. Every time a woman speaks out, other women find the courage to do the same, and every new piece of research shows a higher percentage of women with disabilities who have been physically and/or sexually assaulted.

A recent study by the Ontario government shows that 64 percent of 177 respondents had experienced violence, 78 percent had experienced mental and psychological abuse and 49 percent had experienced sexual abuse. Another study in Ontario, by DAWN Toronto, reveals that out of 85 women, 72 percent had experienced violence and 96 percent had experienced sexual assault.

We are just beginning to break the silence that surrounds women with disabilities. Not only do violence and the fear of violence control much of our lives, but the fear of retaliation for reporting KEEPS us silent, as does the fear of more violence and the further fear of losing our support systems.

Historically, we have been taught to comply with the wishes and demands of the non-disabled world in order to receive the minimal care and support to survive. Living by the compliance rule makes us easy targets for violence and also renders us powerless to change our lives. For years, women and children with disabilities have tolerated violence and abuse while being caught in the fear and the reality of dependence on the goodwill of society.

DAWN Canada has made a commitment not only to break the silence but to make change. From our research, we produced �Meeting Our Needs: An Access Manual for Transition Houses�.

The first section of this manual gives voice to the women�s stories as they were told to us. The second part contains the research on the level of accessibility of transition houses across Canada, and the third is a �how-to� section on becoming accessible to women and children with all types of disabilities. The Secretary of State Department and Health and Welfare Canada funded this project; in addition, Health and Welfare funded extra printings to make the manual available at Independence 92.

Our work is now being recognized at the national level, as well as internationally. However, we are not always given the opportunity to speak with our own voice. Often non-disabled women write and speak for us as if we have no voice or ability to articulate our concerns or tell of our experiences. Women with disabilities must continue to fight for the right to define who we are and speak for ourselves. To take away our voice denies our reality and takes away our power, forcing us into the position of dependence and compliance by those who speak about our lives from a non-disabled perspective.

As it is important for us to speak with our own voices about our lives, it is also important for us to continue our work and to know what our lives are like.

DAWN Canada has just received word that our �Safety Net/Work Project� will be funded. In our last study, many transition-house workers told us often women feel that suicide is the only escape from a life of violence and abuse. Most houses have developed a protocol for dealing with women who are suicidal. We also know that many women who have disabilities are suicidal. Given the extremely high rate of violence and abuse in the disabled community, it is logical to assume that the two are connected.

The �Safety Net/Work Project� will prove or disprove that link. In this project, we will conduct research on suicide and feelings of suicide among women with disabilities as it relates to violence and abuse.

We will also be assessing the suicide-counselling centres for accessibility and sensitivity to the issues of women with disabilities. If this research shows a lack of accessibility and understanding of our issues, we will produce a manual for suicide�crisis counsellors as well.

At the DAWN Canada Symposium on Self-Image in 1990, �Who Do We Think We Are?� several women revealed that they had tried to take their own lives or had thought about doing so. This was the first time they had been able to speak openly about their feelings, without criticism or judgment. From our personal experiences working with women with disabilities, we know that women who are suicidal are not receiving adequate counselling from services that focus on rescue for a tomorrow that will be better than today. Through the suicide project we will find out how widespread this problem is, and we will find out how to make the counselling services more accessible to women who have disabilities. This research is long overdue but it follows naturally from the research that was done on the accessibility of transition houses.

Also, as part of the �Safety Net/Work Project�, we hope to begin research that will evaluate the level of accessibility of the police and judicial systems in Canada and to develop training modules for police and judges over the next two years.

We suspect that the police and the judiciary are not working well with people who have disabilities.

This was most recently demonstrated by news coverage in Vancouver of police abusing a deaf man who could not understand that they wanted to see his driver�s license. The police wrote him an obscene note, and when he tried to grab it, they dragged him from his truck, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him, injuring his wrist by fastening the handcuffs too tightly.

Another case, also reported in the news media in British Columbia, described the dismissal of charges against a man for sexually assaulting a deaf woman who was unable to reject his advances verbally. He stated that he thought she was consenting, even though she fought and kicked throughout the assault.

In yet another case, a man with a disability told us that charges he had brought against a man for sexual assault were dismissed in court because his disability caused him to have muscle spasms and also caused his emotional reactions to be expressed in laughter.

The court felt that he was not taking the case seriously.

From talking to women with disabilities, we know that there are many other cases that have not been made public.

We all look to the police and the justice system every day to protect us and to uphold our human rights, and the purpose of this project is to sensitize these public servants to our needs and realities.

Women with disabilities are the most vulnerable and violated of any group in Canada. We hope that our work will continue and that the government will continue to fund our projects, as we try to make services accessible to all persons with disabilities. This work must go on for as long as there is violence against persons with disabilities.