Sexual violence, like all forms of violence, affects different women in different ways. For deaf women and women with disabilities who are routinely marginalized and discriminated against in society, the risk of sexual violence is elevated. Research from Canada estimates that 83% of women with a disability will experience sexual violence in their lifetime.[i]  As sexual violence is a means of exerting power and dominance over others, perpetrators are able to take advantage of the structural conditions that disenfranchise deaf women and women with disabilities, in order to more easily exert and maintain this power. These conditions, which are expressions of ableism, inform the nature of the sexual violence that deaf women and women with disabilities experience, as well as the ways that they negotiate these experiences.

Ableism is characterized by attitudes and behaviours that place more value on able-bodied individuals. These attitudes and behaviours are ingrained in the social, economic, political and cultural institutions and practices in our communities. Issues arising as a result of ableism illustrate its varied implications for women with disabilities and deaf women who are dealing with sexual violence.  For instance, most survivors of sexual violence know their abusers. In the case of women with disabilities and deaf women, knowing the perpetrator can produce specific challenges. Perpetrators may be family members, partners, or health care providers who are involved in providing care to the women they abuse. As such, reporting abuse may potentially mean compromising the level of care or even financial support that women receive and might depend on.

The fact that many institutions which offer assistance to sexual violence survivors, are traditionally structured around the needs of able-bodied women, also offers a view of the consequences of ableism in this context. Services offered by such institutions may not equitably meet the needs of deaf women and women with disabilities. For instance, counselling services might not have counsellors who are able to communicate in American Sign Language (ASL), and may not allocate resources to ensure that they can offer this service for deaf women.

Ableist perceptions of women with disabilities and deaf women are also significant here. Deaf women and women with disabilities are often viewed as powerless and ‘impaired’. One consequence of these views is that women might not be believed when they disclose their experiences of violence.  These perceptions may also lead them to be viewed as unreliable witnesses by the police and the courts, affecting their ability to use the criminal justice system as a form of redress. These examples depict just a few of the complexities of women’s experiences as they struggle against ableism and sexual violence and we must also remember that other forms of oppression such as poverty, racism, and transphobia influence these experiences creating diverse and complex situations for women.

Nellie’s is committed to addressing the ableist conditions that place women with disabilities and deaf women at risk of sexual violence. We are currently developing and will soon begin implementing updated strategies that aim to improve accessibility and further challenge ableism both within our organization and in the wider community. In our attempts to ally with deaf women and women with disabilities and ensure that their diverse needs are equitably met, we remain grounded in an anti-oppressive, feminist framework as we recognize that in order to challenge ableism, we must also address other forms of oppression which reinforce and support it, including colonialism, racism and heterosexism. We encourage all women to similarly count themselves as allies in the struggle to ensure that the lives of deaf women and women with disabilities are free from all forms of violence and are marked with dignity, respect, and empowerment.