in 7 cities in Ontario, EWA became aware of the limited resources for abused Deaf and disabled women. Since then we have been concerned about the barriers women can encounter to even the most basic forms of support. Our goal is to increase awareness, skills and community capacity as it relates to WWD and Deaf women who are abused or at risk of abuse. We conduct these efforts within a framework of partnership and collaboration.
We address this issue on two fronts: we work with women with disabilities and Deaf women to increase their access to services and build their communities' capacity to respond to woman abuse; and concurrently, we
facilitate the work of mainstream, disability and women's services in Toronto to improve their response to abused Deaf women and women with disabilities.
The need for this program has been based on 2 sources of
information: EWA's experience to date and feedback received form affected communities.
Community Identified Need
Although women with disabilities constitute approximately 16% of the Canadian population,
their voices and issues have largely been excluded from the area of violence against women. The research that has been done, however, has shown that:
¨ Women with disabilities and Deaf women face many of the same
risks of abuse that all women face, plus additional risks specifically related to their disability (Caregiver and Domestic Violence in the Lives of Women with Disabilities, Marlene F. Strong, et al, Berkley Planning
Associates, 1997).
¨ Fifty percent of women with disabilities have been sexually abused as children, and 39-68% of girls with developmental disabilities will be assaulted before the age of 18 (Roeher Institute,
1988). Research also shows that increased rates of child sexual abuse puts one at increased risk for abuse in adulthood.
¨ Women with disabilities and Deaf women are at least one-and-a-half to two times more likely
than non-disabled women to experience abuse. (Stimpson and Best, 1991; Sobsey, 1988; Sullivan, Vernon and Scanlan, 1987; Jacobson, 1989; Ammerman, Lubetsky et al Al., 1988; Statistics Canada, Centre for Justice
Statistics, 1994c).
¨ Violence and abuse are one of the ways in which many women acquire their disabilities in the first place, often beginning a cycle of vulnerability to further abuse and exploitation. In
addition they are more vulnerable than others to abuse by caregivers which may not fit criteria for service in "domestic violence" programs and services.
¨ Changing demographics--more people with
disabilities are living longer and as the population ages, more older adults will become disabled later in their lives--will result in an increased need for greater capacity to respond to violence against this
population which this expansion grant allows EWA to begin to address.
Yet, despite the high incidence of violence in the lives of women with disabilities (WWD) and Deaf women, these same women have extremely limited
access to appropriate and accessible educational programs, health and social services and, most notably, the justice system. Furthermore, physical and attitudinal barriers when accessing services tend to compound the
woman's experiences of trauma resulting from her abuse. When Deaf and hard of hearing women and women with disabilities do not have full access to services (such as shelters) or cannot participate in those services due
to lack of supports (such as interpreters, intervenors and attendants) they may be further isolated and more likely to return to abusive situations.
There are several hundred battered women's and sexual assault
programs in this province--none of which are mandated to address the needs of women with disabilities and Deaf women. Most services have been set up to respond to the needs of the general (non-disabled) population and
don't have the capacity to meet the full range of needs that women with disabilities and Deaf women present in addition to the issues of battery and assault.
Shelters and other women's services are primarily focussed
on supporting women who are victims of partner abuse. For many women with disabilities and Deaf women, treatment and intervention for assault by caregivers, neighbors, service providers and family members require
different treatment and prevention strategies but nevertheless may be considered "intimate" violence.
Through our work in this area over the past 3 years women with disabilities and Deaf women have indicated
to us that the key to the lack of improvement in access to service is due to a number of factors:
1. Lack of structure to ensure ongoing accountability re: accessibility of services to the consumers themselves.
2.
Lack of accessible, affordable, appropriate training opportunities for developing leadership among women with disabilities and Deaf women on violence.
3. Lack of "interest" in the issues by services
providers who do not see women with disabilities and Deaf women as a priority due to the lack of visibility of this population of women.
4. Service providers who are already operating under severe fiscal restraints
often seeing access as "just another" issue that will stretch precious programming funds. In addition, there is a lack of awareness of potential funding sources for increasing access and providing services
directly to women with disabilities and Deaf women.
5. Service providers' lack of knowledge of "where to start" improving access. They are often overwhelmed at the prospect of having to be "all things
to all people".
The women and disabilities and Deaf women's program at EWA directly addresses these problems/barriers and needs in a coordinated manner with its community partners.
Needs of
Deaf Women and Women with Disabilities who are abused
· a need for information about: what constitutes abuse; including human rights legislation and case law re: rights to access to service;
· support for the
development of the Deaf and disabled community's capacity to respond to abuse (particularly if there are few formal services in those communities );
· information and service that is culturally appropriate; supportive
community that aids her and holds her abuser accountable;
· increased links with the community, so as to reduce her isolation;
· increased language and communication skills;
· lessened barriers to participation
in the work force, accessing services, etc.;
· accessible information and service that is financially accessible;
· accessible legal assistance;
· accessible education and skills training that help her to
participate in the work force.
In addition, women with disabilities and Deaf women' s needs may also include information about accessible housing, economic support, health care, immediate protection from abuse,
crisis intervention, counseling, etc.
These needs will continue to be identified through community consultation, community requests, needs assessments, and demographic analysis. We work in partnership with Deaf
and disabled women and organizations to identify their own needs, issues and capacities for addressing these issues.
References
Roeher Institute, Vulnerable: Sexual Abuse and People with and Intellectual
Handicap. Roeher Institute, 1988.
Sobsey, Dick, "Sexual Offenses and Disabled Victims: Research and Practical Implications", VIS-À-VIS, 6(4), 1988
Sobsey, Dick, Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People
with Disabilities, Paul H. Brookes Publishers, 1994
Stimpson, L. and E. Best, Courage Above All: Sexual Assault and Women with Disabilities, prepared for DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) Toronto, 1991
Womendez, C.
and Karen Shneiderman, "Escaping from the Abuse: Unique Issues for Women with Disabilities", Sexuality and Disability, 9(3), 1991
Woman and Disability, Canadian Women's Studies Journal, Summer 1993
