Silent Voices: Women With Disabilities and Family and Domestic Violence

Conclusions and Implications

Accordingly, this project was developed in response to the many calls in Western Australia to overcome the knowledge gaps in the area. The objectives for the research were to document the nature and extent of family and domestic violence against women with disabilities who have accessed services in Western Australia, and identify whether the needs of these women are being adequately addressed by relevant services in that state.

Women with disabilities face the silence of double oppression. As women and as individuals with disability they experience numerous inequities and injustices. At the root of this double discrimination are sexism and ableism, which set standards for "women" and "normal" that exclude, devalue and marginalise women with disabilities. Even though many women with disabilities living in the community today experience new freedoms, rights and responsibilities, they continue to confront cultural stereotypes and discriminatory practices. Of prime concern, is that double discrimination perpetuates violence against women with disabilities, justifying that violence on the basis of their devalued status in society. In addition, for perpetrators, it is even easier to put women with disabilities into a state of uncertainty and to assign guilt and responsibility to them.

Over the past two decades in Australia, people with disabilities, families and allies have established a solid record of advocacy promoting the basic human and civil rights of people with disabilities. These developments combined with the feminist movement have enabled the issue of violence against women to emerge, and provide a strong foundation from which to develop strategies to decrease abuse against women with disabilities. Community work practitioners can draw upon this foundation to enhance their work with this vulnerable group of women.

A major goal should be for domestic violence and disability services to bridge the philosophical and service delivery gaps between the domestic violence and disability communities and to provide some of the practice, policy, and training resources necessary to enhance and speed these efforts.

It is critical that domestic violence workers receive training and background information on the disability rights movement, significant legislation, research about violence against women with disabilities and current communication and education "best practices" for the delivery of service for people with disabilities. Taking the necessary time to obtain accurate information will assist understanding disability issues. It will also enhance communication, therapeutic and advocacy skills, enabling domestic violence agencies to interact more effectively with women who have disabilities. This information should be integrated into individual professional practice and agency programmatic systems and physical structures.

Disability service providers must educate themselves about the nature of domestic violence generally, and specifically about violence against women with disabilities. They need to determine how they will incorporate this information and understanding into the delivery of their services. They must honestly examine the degree to which their own personal biases and professional behaviours may support the root causes of this violence at an unconscious or conscious level towards the women with whom they work. These workers need to cooperate with domestic violence programs to expand their knowledge about the services these programs provide. It is critical for disability workers to advocate with domestic violence specialists for accessible crisis services for women with disabilities who have been victimised.

Whenever possible, disability workers should team with domestic violence workers and activists to promote the empowerment of women with disabilities who have been abused. Asking questions about abuse and addressing issues of abuse as part of a routine protocol while working with women with disabilities, the service worker can provide the necessary resources and support to help the woman break the cycle of violence in her life. It is also essential that all professionals, families and women with disabilities advocate for increased program funding and legislation that advances the rights of women with disabilities who experience domestic violence.

It appears that crimes of violence against women with disabilities are often not reported. This follows the trend in reporting personal crimes of violence generally. Reasons given by the women include attitudinal barriers among the police in recognising violence against women as a crime and a lack of understanding about disability issues.

For those women who do contact the police, identification of disability is often problematic. In fact it is only recently in Western Australia where there has been a mechanism to report disability status in the record-keeping systems of the police. Although indication of disability in crime statistics is better than no indication, it is acknowledged that it will take considerable effort to establish feasible reporting systems. As it stands, identification clearly puts a burden of labelling on police officers. This means that it is likely that only the most obvious disabilities such as wheelchair use, blindness, deafness, or amputation would be correctly classified, Police officers should have access to specific training to be able to recognise the wide variety of disabilities, especially the less visible ones such as psychiatric disability, intellectual disability or milder forms of cerebral palsy.

A significant number of women with disability who have experienced family and domestic violence are accessing community services in Western Australia. However, these services need to work together to break a long tradition of silence about violence experienced by this vulnerable group of women. Double discrimination against women with disabilities is a complex systemic and personal problem. Women's refuges have become central services for women escaping violence. They are known to believe what women say about their experiences of violence, they support women's decisions and work for the maintenance of women's rights. Yet, many are failing in their support of women with disabilities.

Procedures on how to deal with violence against women with disabilities need urgent action. More attention needs to be given to appropriate staffing within relevant community agencies to address the complex needs and the devastating effects of family and domestic violence against women with disabilities. Sensitive coordinated disability, mental health and community supports that provide access to refuges, affordable and appropriate housing and counselling is critical. Funding bodies should also require agencies to keep records of women with disabilities who experience family and domestic violence.

Women with disabilities require the same level of attention that is being dedicated to non-disabled women who experience family and domestic violence. Women with disabilities are often victimised by society. It is imperative that all community agencies take responsibility to assist in preventing further victimisation and work with women with disabilities to understand their rights. They must take steps within their own agencies to overcome the barriers and stop the silence that currently exists for this vulnerable group of women.

Return to Home Page

This site was developed by Carolyn Frohmader for Women With Disabilities Australia.