Domestic Violence with Disabilities
Oct. 14, 2024 • Nandini Kumari
Student's Pen
Abstract
There is a concerning rise in domestic violence within our society. Regrettably, the incidence of violence against women, particularly those with disabilities, is significantly higher. This type of violence has a profound emotional impact on the victim, often leading to long-term psychological consequences. Domestic violence not only affects the individual but also has a direct impact on society as a whole.
Domestic violence represents a crime against society, as it inflicts mental, physical, financial, and psychological harm upon the victim. Furthermore, disability is defined as an impairment experienced by a person. And violence on a disabled person creates a huge impact on the victim creating long-lasting trauma throughout the life of the victim.
Introduction to domestic violence
Domestic violence is the use of violent or aggressive behaviour within the home, typically involving abuse from a spouse, partner, or family. According to the United Nations, domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, is a pattern of behaviour in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. The violent behaviours can range from frightening, intimidating, terrorising, manipulating, hurting, humiliating, blaming, and injuring, to wounding someone. It's important to note that domestic abuse is not confined to women, although statistics show that the rate of abused women is higher than that of men. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, and can occur within various types of relationships, including married couples, cohabiting partners, or dating relationships. Additionally, domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and educational levels.
Meaning of disability
A disability is a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that hinders, interferes with, or restricts a person’s ability to perform certain tasks, or actions, or participate in typical daily activities and interactions. It encompasses any condition of the body or mind that makes it more challenging for the person with the condition to engage in specific activities and interact with the world around them. Disabilities can affect a person's vision, movement, thinking, remembering, learning, communication, hearing, mental health, and social relationships.
Domestic violence with disabilities
There is a growing number of reports of domestic violence against disabled individuals, particularly women. Domestic violence is not only physically harmful but also has a significant psychological impact on the victim. It often occurs in cycles, with periods of escalating tension leading to explosive incidents, followed by reconciliation and a period of calm. This cycle can make it challenging for victims to leave the abusive relationship.
Domestic violence against women with disabilities is a serious and urgent issue that requires the attention of society. Addressing this issue demands awareness and support for the victims. This violence involves the intersection of gender-based violence and disability-related discrimination, creating a unique set of challenges for the affected women.
Many women with disabilities face communication barriers that prevent them from seeking help or reporting abuse. Abusers often isolate women with disabilities from their support networks, leaving them with limited options for help. This isolation can be physical, emotional, social, and financial, making it difficult for them to reach out for assistance. There are various types of domestic violence faced by disabled women that can affect them mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Physical abuse - disabled women are physically harmed by hitting, beating, slapping, pushing, dragging through hair or intimidating. These are prevalent physical abuse done to women especially disabled women in society.
Emotional and psychological abuse - manipulating, beating or undermining the self-worth of the victim comes under the emotional exploitation of disabled women.
Sexual abuse - women who are disabled have more chances of being sexually abused whether it's due to their unwillingness to refuse or because their consent isn't obtained as a result of their impairment.
Financial abuse - The most common form of abuse in society occuring against women, but it worsens when a woman is disabled. They are denied any type of financial freedom at home, leading to financial abuse.
Stalking - this involves unwanted attention given to the victims making them feel unsafe and insecure about their impairment.
Statistics
A recent survey in the US shows that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are domestically abused throughout their lifetime. People with disabilities have a higher rate of experiencing domestic and sexual abuse, with 70% of disabled individuals experiencing some form of abuse and being three times more likely to be sexually assaulted. The increased violence against women, combined with ableism, makes disabled women especially vulnerable. In fact, 80% of women with disabilities have been sexually assaulted and experience intimate partner violence at a rate 40% higher than non-disabled women. While sexual assault and intimate partner violence are common forms of abuse, physical abuse and reproductive coercion are even more severe.
Due to the isolation and reliance on a small support circle, nearly 100% of survivors with disabilities experience abuse at the hands of someone they trust. Unfortunately, domestic abuse against disabled individuals is often overlooked, with 70% to 85% of cases going unreported. Moreover, very few cases are prosecuted, as only 5% of reported crimes against people with disabilities go to trial, compared to 70% of severe crimes against people without disabilities.
The Indian context
The Supreme Court of India has strongly advocated for better protection for disabled and caste-oppressed women. They emphasized that these women are under constant threat of physical and sexual violence, which violates their constitutionally guaranteed right to lead a full and active life. Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah pointed out that women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence because the accused may perceive their testimony as unreliable due to their physical impairments. The justices also stressed that it is unfair to assume that individuals with disabilities are weak and helpless, incapable of making decisions for themselves or exercising bodily autonomy. They argued that such negative presumptions are inconsistent with the progressive understanding of disabled lives as reflected in our laws and social awareness.
Combatting domestic violence
Addressing issues of domestic violence against disabled women is a serious issue and it requires a comprehensive approach that addresses their specific needs and challenges.
Following are some of the strategies to combat domestic violence-
- Raising awareness - Increasing awareness among women in society with or without disabilities is crucial so that they know about the situation and the wrong happenings and raise a voice against it.
- Improving access to support services: ensuring easy and feasible access to the support system so that the victim can get help quickly and steadily.
- Empowering women with disabilities - empowering impaired women with knowledge and access to their rights and promoting self-advocacy skills.
- Enhancing legal systems - making laws and rules biased towards the impaired and disabled making them feel confident in society not alienating them from society.
- Organisational efforts - making disabled-friendly organisations and NGOs and providing easy access to them.
Addressing domestic violence against disabled women is necessary because they are already impaired underconfident and insecure so there are more chances of them being exploited as compared to others.
Conclusion
There has been a long-standing history of women being exploited in society, not only in India but around the world. This issue becomes even more critical when the woman is physically or mentally disabled, as the likelihood of exploitation increases. By implementing specific strategies, we can strive to create a society that provides support and protection for all women, including those with disabilities.
References
https://sanctuaryforfamilies.org/disability-domestic-violence/
https://www.un.org/en/coronavirus/what-is-domestic-abuse
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability.html