Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities

Globally, there are 1 billion persons with disabilities, and the World Health Organisation estimates that one in four households has a disabled member (World Health Organisation and World Bank, 2011). Estimates of people with disabilities in Cambodia vary significantly; according to the 2009 Census of the National Institute of Statistics, 840,000 Cambodians (6.3 per cent) live with a disability, of which 53% are female .

Cambodian women and girls with disabilities experience multiple disadvantages resulting from the interplay between gender, disability and poverty. The diversity of women with disabilities, those with multiple and intersecting identities across all contexts such as ethnic, religious, LGBTIQ+ identity, age, marital status and living with or being affected by HIV. 

Women and girls are often to pushed to the extreme margins and experience profound discrimination. This can lead to lower economic and social status; increased risk of violence and abuse, including sexual violence, and gender-based discriminatory practices; and limited access to education, and health care. 

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) continues to be a serious human rights violation in Cambodia. Women and girls with disabilities face increased risks of violence and/or challenges accessing services and protections. It is estimated that women and girls with disabilities are twice as likely to experience violence than their non-disabled peers. 

The current services and responses that do exist have not been inclusive of women and girls with disabilities and do not recognise their specific needs or the additional discrimination and barriers they face. 

EmbraceAbility will aim to address these challenges in our latest project, “Disability Awareness Programme for Women and Girls with Disabilities” in partnership with Gender and Development in Cambodia (GADC). 

We will be running monthly self-help groups for women with disabilities and training them in advocacy. The team will also run monthly workshops with community leaders, police and schools to raise awareness and prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities. 

A £5 donation will provide access for one woman or girl with a disability to a workshop.