Gender-based violence against girls and women with disabilities

The forms of gender-based violence against girls, adolescents and women with disabilities, within the framework of the Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women (Convention of Belém do Pará), are covered by the treaty’s definition of violence against women (art. 1), which must be interpreted comprehensively in light of the right of all women to live free of discrimination and stereotypes (art. 6) and incorporate the perspective of intersectional discrimination and disability (art. 9).

By ratifying the Convention of Belém do Pará, the States Parties have assumed the obligation to eliminate the structural barriers that disproportionately affect them, taking into account the stereotypes and burdens derived from gender and disability, as well as other vulnerability factors that affect the lives of these women, adolescents and girls. In this regard, to support the efforts of the States, the Committee of Experts of the MESECVI issued General Recommendation No. 4 of the Committee of Experts of the MESECVI on Gender Violence against Girls and Women with Disabilities, and the Thematic Report: Gender Violence against Girls and Women with Disabilities, prepared with the support of the European Union Program, EurosociAL+.

These instruments are aimed both at making visible the situations of gender-based violence that affect girls and women living with some type of disability, and at improving the responses of the States Parties to the Convention to comply with their obligations to prevent, address, protect and punish the different forms of violence faced by girls and women with disabilities.

You can consult the documents in Spanish here.