The Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, has raised concern about the invisibility of violence against women with disabilities. Given the ongoing war in Ukraine, her statement has been translated into Ukrainian by the Council of Europe to raise awareness on the issue. The Comment explains that women with disabilities are over twice as likely to experience violence and abuse compared to women without disabilities, whilst also making reference to the specific situation of women with disabilities in emergency and conflict situations. Women with disabilities also face difficulty in receiving support when reporting violence and abuse, often due to harmful stereotypes held by the police and support services. The Human Rights Comment highlights the need for policy-makers and institutions to consider women's rights in disability-related laws, and for gender equality legislation to include a disability dimension. The Comment recommends measures to offset the discrimination that women and girls with disabilities face, including full implementation the Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention, as well as the full development, advancement, and empowerment of women.

The COVAW-II project emphasises the need to take an intersectional approach when working in the context of the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Ukraine, so that all women and girls can live a life free of violence. More resources from the project are available on the COVAW-II website and the project can be engaged with on social media using the hashtags #CoeCOVAW #IstanbulConvention #IstanbulConventionSavesLives.

See also :

  Speech: Addressing the rights of women with disabilities in Europe: observations and perspectives. Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović.

  Human Rights Comment. Addressing the invisibility of women and girls with disabilities. Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović.

  Easy-to-read.  An easy-to-read version of the Istanbul Convention, by Autism-Europe.