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16 Days of Activism: Women with disabilities and gender based violence
Gladys Charowa, Disabled Women Support Organisation (DWSO)
November 27, 2007

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General overview of disability

The issue of disability in Zimbabwe continues to be in the hands of Ministries of Public Service Labour and Social Welfare and Health and Child Welfare - a clear indication that as Zimbabweans, we still subscribe to the welfare approach to disability issues and yet we need to embrace the human rights based approach to disability. The human rights based approach to disability places special obligations on the part of government to remove physical and social barriers that prevent or hamper the full integration of people with disabilities in society. It ensures that they are accorded the same rights and opportunities as any of their member of society. The human rights-based approach recognises that disability concerns span into the whole range of societal activity from accessibility, communication, education, vocational guidance and training, employment, culture and religion, sport and recreation, housing, transport, traffic and road safety, economic security, legal protection, training of personnel, family life and personal integrity, national communication and coordination and International cooperation.

As women with disabilities, we would like to comment the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development and all civil society who were involved in coming up with the Domestic Violence Bill. Well done, however we would like to point out that most of women with disabilities are not aware of it, as they were never consulted. At the same time the Bill is not user friendly to the blind people as it is not translated into Braille and there is no sign language for the hearing impaired who cannot read and write to understand this important document.

Testimonies

Violence against people living with disability especially women, has been identified as not only more extensive amongst the general population; but also more diverse in nature than for society in general. The nature of violence against women with disabilities incorporates an almost endless list of injustices and maltreatment, including unnecessary institutionalisation, denial of control over their bodies, lack of financial control, chemical restraint, unwanted sterilisation, medical exploitation humiliation and harassment, denial of social contact, employment and community participation as well as physical mental and sexual abuse just to mention a few.

Evidence from women with disabilities suggests that violence against them differ in significant ways to violence against other women. There are factors that make women with disabilities both more likely to be targets of violence and at the same time less likely to receive assistance or services if they experience domestic violence. A case in point is of Faith; she sustained a spinal cord injury in August 2004. She was rehabilitated and returned to her marital house in February 2005. Her husband started having an affair with her next-door neighbour. One day the mother-in-law came to Faith and told her that her husband has a new wife who is not disabled. Therefore she must leave the bedroom. Faith resisted and the mother-in-law assisted the new couple to remove Faith from the bed. She is now sleeping on the floor in the same bedroom and she is forced to watch the two in action. She has tried to report the matter to her relatives who are encouraging her to stay in the marriage, as they would not be in a position to look after her and her children. Also the children are being denied the opportunity to go to school, as they would look after their mother when learned. The first child dropped out of school when she was in Form one. This is a double violence of the mother and children.

Women who are dependent on caregivers may be more vulnerable to violence than women who do not depend on caregivers. Many women with disabilities are in positions where they rely on caregivers to provide a range of needs - from basic needs such as eating and dressing - to more complex ones such as transportation. The control the caregiver has on the lives of women with disabilities can be misused and often the women do not have a choice. This is particularly the case when the caregiver is a spouse/partner. Tendai a woman who is visual impaired has this to say, "My husband, whom I have four children with is ill treating me, when he wants to have sex with me he inserts a banana or a mealie cob and ask me to respond as we are having sex. In some cases he urinates in my mouth telling me that he is giving me cokes drink". If I complain or refuse, he bits me up with fists and objects. She showed us some bruises all over her body. We advised her to report the matter to the police. This police officer has negative attitudes towards disability and said this to the visual impaired woman, "Your husband has done you a favour, as no man would ordinarily be attracted to an ugly looking woman like you. You must be thankful to him as he is giving you shelter over your head.

A woman who is unable to speak may be seen by a perpetrator as an "easier" target for abuse. People with speech impairment are being abused in silence. They are sexual abused and they are unable to report their cases or to share their ordeal with other members of society due to language barriers.

Many women with disabilities are not believed when they disclose their experiences of violence. People in positions of power such as judges, doctors, police, caregivers, spouses and family may deny that the woman's evidence is credible. Many women with disabilities have been denied education regarding sex and contraception, because these matters are considered irrelevant to their lives. They have been discouraged from childbearing, forced to undergo abortions or sterilisation. Parental or caregivers or medical intolerance of the developing sexuality of young women has let to sterilisation without informed consent. Reasons given for carrying out sterilisation of women with disabilities include:

• Management of menstruation;
• Heavy bleeding and cramps;
• Difficult social behaviour or emotional reactions to bleeding;
• Preventing pregnancy; and
• Reducing the need for education and information about fertility.

Women with disabilities can often be in situation where other people exercise control and power over their lives. This power imbalance increases the risk of women with disabilities as targets of violence. Many women with disabilities are acutely aware of their own powerlessness - they may be more likely to fear harm due to the impact of their disability particularly any physical, psychological or emotional dependency. A case in point is Mary, a wheelchair user who had this to say: 'I was married to my husband 22 years ago but I never enjoyed the marriage. Whenever he comes home from drinking he bits me up for no apparent reason. He always uses abusive words on me about my disability. I am only staying in this marriage because I do not have anywhere to go and I am not financially sound to look after my three children and myself. At the same time my parents encourage me not to leave this man. During the past two years I have been ill and I went for HIV testing and was diagnosed HIV positive. Up to date I have not yet disclosed my status to anyone, as I am afraid of him and the society at large. During my life I have never had any sex with any other man beside himself. I have lived a misery life and I am going to die a bitter person".

* Gladys Charowa is a single mother who has been living with disability since December 2001 after a car accident that left her with spinal cord injury. She is the founder member and Executive Director of Disabled Women Support Organisation (DWSO) an organisation that focuses on women and girls with disabilities. She is also an Independent Consultant in gender, nutrition and HIV/AIDS, poverty and disability and has written a number of articles on various issues concerning disability issues. Email: gcharowa@comone.co.zw or dwso.hre@healthnet.org.zw

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