Introduction Persons with disabilities and their families face higher levels of poverty, unemployment, lower education, and poorer health. This risk is greater for women and girls with disabilities who experience gender inequality, sexism, and stereotyping, alongside ableism, disability exclusion, and expectations to conform to specific social and ethnic cultural norms. Globally, 19% of women have a disability compared to 12% of men, with the rate rising to 22.1% in lower-income countries. It is difficult to separate the impacts of these harmful social norms and practices from the impacts of gender-based violence (GBV), as many harmful social norms can themselves be forms of violence and drivers of GBV. This article outlines the forms of GBV faced by women and girls with disabilities and the harmful socio-cultural norms and stereotypes that fuel them. These underlying causes must be addressed to prevent GBV. This article is an adapted section from Gender Equality and Disability Inclusion: Guidelines to Address the Specific Needs of Women and Girls with Disabilities by the Asian Development Bank. This publication examines the barriers faced by many women and girls with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. It provides guidance on inclusive approaches to project and program design, implementation, monitoring, and review. Analysis The intersection of gender inequality and ableism creates unique experiences of violence for women and girls with disabilities. Studies show higher rates of GBV against them, including disability hate crimes, family violence, domestic violence, financial abuse, medical exploitation, neglect, physical violence, psychological abuse, restrictive practices, sexual coercion, sexual harassment, spiritual abuse, and technology-assisted violence. Types of Violence Experienced by Women and Girls with Disabilities Disability hate crimes Crimes, typically involving violence, that are motivated by extreme ableism, where the perpetrator targets someone because of their disability. Examples: Can include any form of violence against a person with disabilities. Domestic violence (a form of intimate partner violence) Violence in domestic settings between two people who are, or were, in an intimate relationship. Examples: Can involve any of the other forms described in this accordion (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or financial abuse). Family violence A broader term than domestic violence as it extends to violence between family members (including e.g., elder abuse, adolescent violence against parents, or violence from coresidents). Examples: Can involve any of the other forms described in this accordion (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or financial abuse). Financial abuse Limiting or removing someone’s access to their money or controlling their financial decisions. Examples: Withholding money (including government pensions) for necessities like food, medication, or disability-related equipment. Not allowing access to debit and/or credit cards. Abusing access to a personal identification number (PIN) when helping a woman with disabilities manage her bank account. Limiting access to employment. Intimate partner violence Violence within current or past intimate relationships (including marriages, de facto relationships, and other intimate relationships between people who may or may not live together). Examples: Can involve any of the other forms described in this accordion (e.g., physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, or financial abuse). Medical exploitation or abuse Acts, treatments, and procedures that interfere with the autonomy of a person to make decisions about their health. Examples: Forced or coerced psychiatric interventions (e.g., electroconvulsive therapy). Withholding of, or forced, medication or medical intervention. Neglect Depriving a person of the necessities of life such as food, water, shelter, clothing, medical care, or education, either willfully or passively. Examples: Withholding or delaying personal care or access to disability-related equipment. Tampering with medication or mobility or communication devices. Denying that someone needs the support they say they need. Physical violence Behavior that intentionally harms a person’s body. Examples: Punching, hitting, slapping, kicking, strangling. Note: Physical violence can also be directed toward the assistance animals of people with disabilities. Psychological or emotional abuse Behavior that aims to cause emotional or psychological harm. Examples: Verbal aggression. Coercive control—a pattern of abusive, coercive, and intimidating behavior that aims to dominate and control someone, causing them to feel controlled, overpowered, and scared. Can include physical, financial, emotional, or psychological behaviors (e.g., gaslighting). Humiliation, regularly putting someone down to damage their self-worth. Stalking (repeated contact, harassment, threats, tracking, or spying). Threats, e.g., of violence, institutionalization, withdrawing care, having children removed, harming pets, assistance animals, or family members. Denying or trivializing the experience of disability. Isolating a person or preventing them from seeing certain people. Denying, revealing, or threatening to reveal someone’s gender identity or sexuality. Restrictive practices Practices or interventions that restrict the rights or freedom of movement of a person with disabilities. Examples: Physical restraint—a person using their body to restrain someone. Mechanical restraint—using equipment to restrain someone. Chemical restraint—using drugs or medicines to restrain or control someone. Seclusion—putting a person in a room or space they cannot leave either because the exit is locked or barred, or because there are real or perceived consequences for leaving. Environmental restraint—preventing or restricting someone’s access to the community, areas of their homes (including fridges or cupboards), or personal possessions (including disability aids). Sexual and reproductive coercion or violence Acts, treatments, and procedures that interfere with the autonomy of a person to make decisions about their sexual and reproductive health. Examples: Reproductive coercion (including forced or coerced pregnancy). Forced abortion, contraception, or sterilization. Withholding contraception. Sexual harassment Any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated, and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances. Examples: Unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors. Suggestive comments or innuendo. Unwanted text messages, email, or contact via social media that is sexual in nature (including photographs). Sexual violence/assault Sexual activity that happens where consent is not obtained or freely given. It occurs any time a person is forced, coerced, or manipulated into any sexual activity. Examples: Rape. Sexual assault. Unwanted sexual touch. Forced marriage. Spiritual and cultural abuse Using spiritual or religious ideas or beliefs to hurt, scare, or control someone. Examples: Not allowing a person to practice their beliefs or customs. Forcing someone to practice beliefs or customs which they do not believe in. Technology facilitated abuse Using technology to harass, threaten, monitor, control, impersonate, or intimidate. Examples: Sending nude or embarrassing images of a person to others without consent. Removing or limiting access to a means of communication. Source: Our Watch and Women with Disabilities Victoria. 2022. Changing the Landscape: A National Resource to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities. pp. 28–31. Other severe forms of GBV include intentional homicide, infanticide, "mercy killings," forced psychiatric interventions, neglect, starvation, forced marriage, and "virgin testing" or "virgin rapes" (particularly of women with albinism, as it’s believed to cure AIDS). Women and girls with disabilities are also vulnerable to sex trafficking, forced labor, and organ trafficking, with some being intentionally injured for begging purposes. A study in five countries across Africa and Asia found that 44% of women with disabilities experience intimate partner violence (IPV), compared to 26% of women without disabilities. Sexual IPV affects 45.6% of women with disabilities, compared to 24.2% of women without disabilities. In Australia, a survey found that 52% of women with cognitive impairments, 51% with psychosocial impairments, 38% with sensory impairments, and 37% with physical disabilities experienced IPV since age 15. The World Report on Disability highlights that girls with cognitive disorders are targeted for trafficking and begging. Women and girls with disabilities in institutional settings face higher risks of abuse and trafficking, often under the guise of "rehabilitation" or "occupational activity." Forced marriage is prevalent, especially in South Asia, where girls with disabilities are married off to ease financial burdens or under the false belief it will "cure" their disability. Stereotypes of women with disabilities as "unfit" mothers lead to increased scrutiny and prejudicial treatment by social service agencies andto the termination of parental rights and loss of custody in divorce proceedings. Women with disabilities are also disproportionately imprisoned due to inadequate psychiatric care, facing higher risks of abuse and losing legal decision-making rights. Figure 1: Conceptual Model of the Intersecting Drivers of Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities Source: Our Watch and Women with Disabilities Victoria. 2022. Changing the landscape: A national resource to prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities. p. 36. Reproduced with permission. Figure 1 illustrates how social norms and stereotypes drive GBV against women and girls with disabilities, emphasizing additional discrimination due to disability, gender, and ethnic-related stigma. Harmful beliefs include viewing disability as a "curse" and women with disabilities as burdens, victims, inferior, or hypersexual, depriving them of basic human rights and autonomy. Implications Our Watch, an Australian organization working to prevent violence against women, emphasizes that development projects must include strategies to address GBV faced by women and girls with disabilities. Key actions include: Addressing the social context that gives rise to violence. Challenging the acceptance and normalization of such violence. Improving perceptions and attitudes by challenging ableist and sexist stereotypes. Promoting inclusion in all aspects of life. Promoting independence, agency, and participation in leadership and decision-making. Engaging men and boys to challenge aggressive forms of masculinity. Supporting legal, institutional, and governance reforms to protect their rights, aligned with Article 16 of the CRPD (Freedom from exploitation, violence, and abuse). This includes educational support on recognizing and reporting exploitation and abuse. Enabling women and girls with disabilities to exercise their legal capacity and make their own decisions regarding medical interventions and care, including relationships and reproductive rights. Tackling gender, cultural, and ethnic stereotypes and promoting community campaigns to address discrimination and dispel myths. Promoting opportunities for diverse women with disabilities to share ideas, learn, lead, and participate in learning forums, research, and events. Increasing visibility of their capacity, skills, and leadership. Working with police, prosecutors, and courts to increase awareness of their rights and ensure they are not dismissed or disbelieved in the legal system. Resource Asian Development Bank. 2024. Eliminating Harmful Social Norms and Practices and Gender-Based Violence for Women and Girls with Disabilities. Gender Equality and Disability Inclusion – Guidelines to Address the Specific Needs of Women and Girls with Disabilities. Ask the Experts Prabhjot R. Khan Senior Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development), Gender Equality Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank Prabhjot is a Senior Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development) at the ADB, with more than twenty years of experience. She has worked extensively on policy advocacy, promoting initiatives aimed at advancing gender equality and addressing issues related to gender discrimination, bias, and inequality. Prabhjot joined the ADB in 2012; prior to that, she worked with UN Agencies and civil society organizations, supporting programs for the advancement of women. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Science from Nagpur University, India. Claire Charamnac Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development), Gender Equality Division, Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department, Asian Development Bank Claire is a Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development) in the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Department at the Asian Development Bank. She has over a decade of experience in gender mainstreaming. Prior to joining ADB, she worked for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank Group, and Catholic Relief Services. She holds a B.S. and an M.A. in International Politics and Development from Georgetown University. Asian Development Bank (ADB) The Asian Development Bank is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region. 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