UNFPA Report Highlights Invisible Violence Against Women with Disabilities
SDG 5: Gender Equality | SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Institutions: Ministry of Women and Child Development | Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
The UNFPA released an Easy Read report titled “Making the Invisible Visible,” analyzing the critical link between disability and violence against women and girls (VAWG). The study highlights that the experiences of women and girls with disabilities are frequently invisible within current research and support frameworks, leading to their unique vulnerabilities and needs being systematically overlooked.
The report stresses that these individuals must be actively included, supported, and empowered to ensure they live free from violence and are able to exercise bodily autonomy and make their own choices about their bodies and health. This necessitates focused efforts to gather dedicated data and integrate disability rights into all VAWG prevention and response programs.
The report demands urgent policy action to correct long-standing systemic exclusion by legislatively ensuring accessibility and inclusive services for a highly vulnerable demographic in VAWG response mechanisms.
What is bodily autonomy? → Bodily autonomy refers to the fundamental human right to self-governance over one’s own body, including the freedom to make choices about one’s sexual and reproductive health, health care, whether to marry, and freedom from violence or unwanted intervention.
Follow the full news here: https://www.unfpa.org/publications/easy-read-report-making-invisible-visible-why-disability-matters-violence-against