Disability and sexual violence – on the margins of society

Victims of partner sexual violence share their experiences only anonymously, and surveys show that more than half of women with disabilities regularly experience sexual violence.

According to the data of the Department of Informatics and Communications, last year 84 persons were victims of sexual violence in the close environment, the absolute majority of them were women. By the way, according to police statistics, there were only 12 adult women among them, there were no men at all.

Meanwhile, the total number of reports on domestic violence registered with the police last year reached more than 54 thousand, close to 11 thousand were issued to perpetrators. warrant.

“These figures do not mean that sexual violence in families is rare in the country, on the contrary, it only shows that it has been in the deep shadows for a long time, especially for women with disabilities”, – asserts Reda Jureliavičiūtė, representative of the organization “Ribologija”, which works with the prevention of sexual violence .

Sexual abuse is more common than we think

She notes that the true extent of sexual violence can be gauged from other studies. For example, a representative survey conducted by VU Faculty of Medicine students last year revealed that as many as 48.2 percent respondents suffered sexual assault without rape. Most of them did not seek help from the institutions because of these pains experienced in their close environment, close to half did not tell anyone at all.

“If we talk about disability, the topic becomes even more sensitive and uncomfortable, because gender and disability are the biggest risk factors for experiencing sexual violence. It is necessary to realize that women with disabilities are extremely vulnerable and dependent on their relatives. Therefore, it is particularly difficult for them to talk about the sexual violence they have experienced,” emphasizes R. Jureliavičiūtė.

She draws attention to the victimological research conducted by the Forum of Lithuanian Disability Organizations, which showed that 56 percent women with disabilities who have suffered from violence have experienced sexual violence at least once, and a quarter of them suffer such violence regularly.

Sexual violence can include a wide range of actions that are not always recognized as violent.

The latest qualitative surveys of women with disabilities conducted by the Forum revealed why violent experiences usually remain behind closed doors – society’s attitude, indifference, stigma and blaming the victims for the violence they experienced.

Previous negative experiences with police officers, doctors and even psychologists, as well as the lack of detailed information about help methods and progress, are cited as reasons for keeping silent.

Afraid to be alone

R. Jureliavičiūtė, co-founder of “Ribologija”, explains that sexual violence usually occurs in a close environment, from people who are familiar.

“In the case of disability, those ties are stronger, the woman is already more or less isolated or cut off from the world due to her disability, so the dependence on the partner is even stronger. The woman thinks, he takes care of me, without him I will generally be alone and perish, so is it hard for me to bear. She may not consider coercive acts as violence at all, and if she does, then denial, self-blame and shame kick in,” she asserts.

In order to better understand such women’s experiences, the representative of “Ribologija” offers everyone to try a thought experiment. “Imagine having to tell a complete stranger about your sexual experience, listing all the details, who touched where, etc. What if that experience caused stress and trauma? What if you’re talking about your husband? This is an incredibly sensitive topic,” says R. Jureliavičiūtė.

Doesn’t know what a healthy relationship is

The representative of “Ribologija” says that sexual violence can include many actions that are not always recognized as violent.

“Violence is any act of a sexual nature that is unwanted by another person. Not only rape, but also in various forms, such as deception or intimidation, forced to have sex, showing pornography without consent, drugging with the purpose of sexual exploitation, exhibitionism, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment by actions or words and so on,” says R. .Jureliavičiūtė.

According to the expert, better recognition of sexual violence against women with disabilities could be helped by more active talking about boundaries in relationships, which relationships are healthy and which are toxic, education about the body and sexuality, and respect for personal privacy.

“It would seem that these are basic things, but how many specialists who work with people with disabilities talk about it, have competence for it?” That education is sorely lacking, and its lack only increases the vulnerability of those women,” she is convinced.

If you have a disability, it’s your own fault

R. Jureliavičiūtė points out that the prevalence of violence against women with disabilities is also contributed to by society’s attitudes. “It’s no secret that part of our population tends to underestimate sexual violence, especially if it happens in the family. After all, a woman has to perform a “duty”, she probably provoked it herself, came up with it, etc. In the case of disability, those attitudes become even more pronounced, the pressure to “not make waves”, to compromise, “get along”, and reconcile with the abuser increases, she notes.

This is confirmed by a survey conducted by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Controller a couple of years ago, which showed that even 40% of the respondents would agree with the statement “women often provoke violence from their spouses/partners themselves” in cases where women are intellectually disabled, and 36 percent. – in cases where the woman has a psychosocial disability.

According to survey data, 45 percent of those interviewed agreed that “when blaming men for violence, women tend to exaggerate and “thicken the colors” if the woman is intellectually disabled (33 percent had no opinion). 41 percent respondents agreed with the statement when they were asked about women with psychosocial disabilities (35 percent had no opinion).

Memo when experiencing or noticing violence in a close environment:

• Call the general emergency number 112
• Contact the specialized complex assistance center at tel. [phone] (emotional support, legal advice)
• All information about violence and help in one on the spot.