Addressing Violence and Abuse Against Disabled Women

When we talk about violence against women, there is a group that is disproportionately affected yet rarely at the centre of the conversation – women with disabilities. These women face a complex web of vulnerability shaped by their gender, their disability, and often their economic and social circumstances. The intersection of these identities does not just add risk; it multiplies it. Understanding this reality is the first step toward building a society that genuinely protects every woman’s right to safety and dignity.

The scale of the problem 🔗

The numbers are sobering. Across India, approximately 11.8 million women and girls live with disabilities, facing compounded vulnerabilities . Globally, and within the country, women and girls with disabilities are up to ten times more likely to experience violence compared to their non-disabled peers . A study published in BMJ Open focusing on Mumbai found that among ever-married women aged 15-49 with functional impairments such as visual, locomotor, or hearing disabilities, 20% had experienced physical intimate partner violence in the past year, 23% experienced emotional abuse, and 10% experienced sexual violence .

At least one out of every two disabled women is estimated to experience some form of abuse in her lifetime, making them twice as likely as non-disabled women to face domestic violence . Despite these alarming figures, the National Crime Records Bureau does not collect separate data on violence against women and girls with disabilities , making the true extent of the crisis difficult to measure and even harder to address through policy.

Why disabled women face heightened vulnerability 🔗

Several factors converge to make disabled women especially susceptible to violence and abuse. These are not isolated risks – they feed into one another, creating a cycle that is incredibly difficult to break.

Dependency on caregivers 🔗

Many women with disabilities depend on others for basic daily needs – bathing, eating, mobility, and communication. This dependency often places enormous power in the hands of a caregiver, whether that person is a family member, a spouse, or paid staff. Power imbalances within caregiving relationships can create opportunities for neglect, coercion, or assault, particularly when individuals rely on caregivers for daily living support and have limited ability to seek alternative assistance . When the abuser is also the caregiver, the woman is trapped. Reporting the abuse could mean losing the very support she needs to survive.

Research has revealed that in a majority of cases, a significant portion of perpetrators are male caregivers . This is a deeply uncomfortable truth: the very people entrusted with care often become the source of harm.

Isolation and lack of social networks 🔗

Rural areas, where many disabled women live, often lack accessible healthcare, education, and transportation, trapping vulnerable individuals in abusive situations . Geographic isolation compounds the problem. A woman who cannot leave her home independently, who has no accessible route to a police station, and who has no phone or means to communicate is, for all practical purposes, invisible to the systems meant to protect her.

Social isolation goes beyond geography. Stigma around disability often leads families to keep disabled women confined to the home, cutting them off from neighbours, community networks, and potential sources of help. Without social connections, abuse goes unwitnessed and unreported.

Communication barriers 🔗

Women with hearing, visual, speech, and intellectual disabilities are highly vulnerable to sexual assault because they may not be able to defend themselves during the crime and also find it difficult to fight for justice afterwards . A woman who is deaf may not be able to call for help. A woman with an intellectual disability may not fully understand that what is being done to her constitutes abuse. A woman with a speech disability may struggle to describe her experiences to police or in a courtroom. These communication barriers mean that even when a woman wants to report abuse, the system may not be equipped to hear her.

Harmful stereotypes and attitudes 🔗

Harmful stereotypes, such as the belief that disabled women are incapable of consent or are not sexual beings, undermine their autonomy . These deeply entrenched attitudes serve a dangerous purpose – they make it easier for society to look away. If a disabled woman is perceived as not fully human or not fully a woman, then violence against her is treated as less serious, less urgent, and less deserving of justice.

Forms of violence and abuse 🔗

The violence faced by disabled women is not limited to one type. It spans a spectrum that includes physical, sexual, emotional, and institutional abuse.

Physical and sexual violence 🔗

Physical abuse includes hitting, slapping, restraining, or denying food and medical care. Sexual violence ranges from unwanted touching to rape. Among women with disabilities who have experienced violence, researchers have documented high levels of severe mental distress, depression, suicidal thoughts, and attempted suicide . The psychological toll is immense, often compounded by the fact that these women have few avenues for recovery or support.

Emotional and psychological abuse 🔗

This is perhaps the most insidious form of violence because it leaves no visible marks. It includes verbal humiliation, threats, gaslighting, and deliberate isolation from friends and family. For a disabled woman who already struggles with self-esteem due to societal attitudes, emotional abuse can be devastating. Violence normalised as an everyday occurrence is a part of patriarchal ideology that impacts women’s willingness to address abuse in their lives . When a disabled woman is repeatedly told she is a burden, she may come to believe it.

Institutional abuse 🔗

Institutional settings such as care homes or hospitals can be even more dangerous, with survivors facing neglect, abuse, and forced medical procedures like sterilisation . These are environments where disabled women are supposed to be safe and cared for. Instead, inaccessible infrastructure and untrained staff can exacerbate the risks, leaving them without safe spaces to turn to .

Withholding of assistive devices 🔗

One form of abuse that is unique to disabled individuals is the deliberate withholding of assistive devices. Forms of violence can include confiscation of wheelchairs, hearing aids, and white canes, which limits mobility and interaction, creating a sense of powerlessness and dependency . Taking away a woman’s wheelchair is, in effect, taking away her freedom. This is a form of control that is rarely discussed but profoundly impactful.

Barriers to seeking help 🔗

Even when a disabled woman recognises her abuse and wishes to escape, multiple barriers stand in her way.

A survey showed that only 25% of survivors sought help to end violence, while 33% never told anyone at all . For disabled women, these numbers are likely even worse. Police stations are often physically inaccessible – no ramps, no sign language interpreters, no trained officers. Disabled women often suffer humiliation at police stations and hospitals during the process of seeking justice . Courts are similarly ill-equipped to handle testimonies from women with speech or intellectual disabilities.

In a collectivist society, norms and ideals surrounding appropriate behaviour are often associated with the honour and reputation of the entire family, leading many women to continue experiencing abuse in the name of protecting family honour . For disabled women, there is an additional layer – families may fear that if the abuse becomes public, it will bring not just shame but also unwanted attention to the disability itself.

The legal framework: protections that exist 🔗

The good news is that the legal infrastructure for protecting disabled women has improved significantly, at least on paper.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 🔗

The RPWD Act, 2016 is a landmark piece of legislation. Section 4 makes it the government’s responsibility to ensure that women and children with disabilities enjoy their rights equally with others . Section 6 provides protection to persons with disabilities from torture, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment . Crucially, the Act provides protection from abuse, violence, and exploitation, and a mechanism to report any such act to the Executive Magistrate .

If anyone believes a person with disability is being abused, they can report it to the Executive Magistrate, who must take immediate steps to stop the abuse or pass appropriate protective orders . Police officers who receive such complaints are also required to inform the aggrieved person of their right to seek protection, free legal aid, and the details of the nearest rehabilitation organisation .

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 🔗

The PWDVA of 2005 offers survivors legal recourse , including the right to reside in the shared household and to seek protection orders. While this Act applies to all women, its provisions are particularly significant for disabled women who face domestic violence from spouses or family members.

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 🔗

At the international level, Article 16 of the CRPD provides a comprehensive framework. It requires state parties to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social, educational, and other measures to protect persons with disabilities from all forms of exploitation, violence, and abuse, including their gender-based aspects . The Convention also mandates that protection services must be age-, gender-, and disability-sensitive . India ratified the CRPD in 2007, binding itself to these obligations.

What needs to change 🔗

Laws alone are not enough. Real change requires a multi-pronged approach that addresses the root causes of vulnerability.

Accessible complaint mechanisms 🔗

There is a need for policymakers to ensure greater accessibility to complaint and redressal mechanisms for women with disabilities . This means police stations with ramps and accessible counters, availability of sign language interpreters, easy-read formats for women with intellectual disabilities, and trained officers who understand the unique dynamics of abuse against disabled women. Over 800 One-Stop Centres are now operational across the country, providing medical aid, legal advice, temporary shelter, police assistance, and psycho-social counselling – but these centres must be made truly accessible to women with all types of disabilities.

Training for service providers 🔗

Service delivery points – health facilities, police stations, courts, shelters, and helplines – must be accessible, with trained staff who can identify violence and offer appropriate support to survivors . A doctor who recognises signs of abuse in a disabled patient, a police officer who knows how to record a statement from a woman with speech impairment, a judge who understands the dynamics of caregiver abuse – these are the frontline workers who can make the difference between justice and impunity.

Data collection and research 🔗

One of the most critical gaps is the absence of disaggregated data. Violence against disabled women is largely absent from the literature, and this absence limits the capacity of health planners and policymakers to act while also contributing to the ongoing marginalisation of disabled communities . Without data, there is no evidence base for policy. The NCRB must begin recording disability status in its crime data, and dedicated surveys are needed to understand the true prevalence and patterns of violence.

Economic empowerment and independent living 🔗

Strengthening the independence of women and girls with disabilities, empowering them economically and socially, is the most promising and sustainable way to reduce exploitation, violence, and abuse . When a disabled woman has her own income, her own home, and her own support network, she is far less vulnerable to abuse. Skill development programmes, accessible employment opportunities, and supported independent living initiatives are all essential components of a violence prevention strategy.

Awareness and community engagement 🔗

Awareness campaigns, particularly in rural areas, can combat stigma and encourage survivors to seek help . But awareness must go both ways – disabled women themselves need to be educated about their rights, about what constitutes abuse, and about where to go for help. Women with disabilities need to be provided with adequate knowledge about sexuality so they can understand when they have been assaulted .

The role of representation 🔗

Persons with disabilities, especially women, must be included in decision-making processes that shape policies around gender-based violence . Too often, policies are designed for disabled women rather than with them. This top-down approach misses crucial perspectives. Disabled women’s organisations must have a seat at the table – in policy formulation, in programme design, and in monitoring and evaluation.

The CRPD Committee has emphasised that women and girls with disabilities face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination , and addressing violence requires understanding these intersections. A disabled woman from a rural Dalit household faces a very different reality from a disabled woman in an urban middle-class family. One-size-fits-all solutions will not work.

What do you think? 🔗

What do you think? Why do conversations about violence against women so often leave out disabled women – is it a matter of awareness, or is there a deeper societal discomfort at play? And what would it take for the legal protections that already exist to translate into real safety for every disabled woman?

References

1. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9047698/
2. https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/2155
3. https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities
4. https://social.desa.un.org/issues/disability/news/situation-of-women-and-girls-with-disabilities-and-the-status-of-crpd