Rohtak gang rape: Five ways to end violence against differently-abled women

A 28-year-old woman was brutally raped, murdered and her mutilated body was found dumped in a field near the Rohtak Hisar Highway, days after the crime took place. It was a dead body without heart and lungs; sticks, stones and condoms stuffed into its private parts, face eaten by animals, skull fractured, and injury marks on the thighs and chest - completely narrated the dastardly act done to her. What else could be more cruel and horrendous than this?

Let us not call it a mere "incident". It is a crime of the highest order and has brought forth many unanswered questions. The victim was a woman with a disability. But unfortunately, until now, neither the media nor the investigating agencies have even tried to provide a disability perspective to the whole scenario.

Violence against women with disabilities is generally described as being equal to or greater than their nondisabled peers; almost three to four times greater. Violence against them is not just a subset of gender-based violence; indeed it is an intersectional category that deals with both gender-based as well as disability-based violence.

If Rohtak's rape victim was left alive after the rape, would she have been able to report the heinous crime all by herself? Obviously the answer is a big NO. The unmet needs of women with disabilities remain on the margins of social justice movements that should represent them including the women's movement, the disability rights movement, and the civil rights movement - leaving disabled women and girls of all backgrounds essentially invisible. If we are unable to advocate on our behalf; then whose responsibility is it anyway to protect us from perpetrators who are worse than wild animals?

Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that women with disabilities have been often victims of sexual assault and violence at varied levels. Though accurate statistics concerning the prevalence and incidence of sexual assault amongst women with disability are difficult to obtain in our country, particularly since disability services rarely collect data on this issue, the agencies that do collect data on crime statistics also rarely note whether or not the victim has any form of physical or mental challenge. But overall, there is an alarmingly high incidence of sexual assault in differently-abled women, particularly those with intellectual challenges. But even more alarming is the apparent lack of action and resources needed to address the problem.

Differently-abled women experience sexual violence at a disproportionate rate. They are also less likely than other women to identify abuse and seek services from rape crisis centres and others. One of the factors that contribute to the increased risk faced by differently-abled women is the lack of information and education they receive on issues related to healthy relationships, sexuality, sexual violence prevention and protection.

There is no sex education for people with intellectual disabilities. Not even their care takers are well educated to handle this aspect of their personalities. The more the knowledge base we build on sexual behaviour, the less likely we are to be victimised.

Police's insensitivity to the greater vulnerability of women with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, to sexual violence and crimes, further aggravates the situation, especially when someone is found missing from home or is found out on streets living alone. Even repeated acts of sexual violence against a woman who could not speak, would go unremarked by police and others involved in the system of delivering criminal justice. Clearly, the issue of official responses to sexual assault against a person with an intellectual disability is one which needs to be addressed strongly by the concerned government departments.

Here are a few pointers on what needs to be done:

#1. Formation of self-help groups: We need to facilitate and provide a platform for differently-abled women to network and engage in activities that would empower them. This will also help in building awareness about their rights and self-advocacy.

o Pro-active work can ensure that all women who need domestic violence services have access to them.

#2. Give voice to their issues: Rights of disabled women should feature in mainstream women's movement.

o We suggest that by moving the experiences of women with mental disabilities from margin to centre.

#3. Better policies: Government should frame policies catering specifically to women with disabilities.

#4. Initiate skills development programs: Training for women with disabilities needs to be geared towards developing a positive self-concept and self-image.

#5. Improve accessibility: Accessibility means more than putting a ramp at the entrance to a building (although it is a start!); it includes evaluating attitudinal, physical and information barriers.

(Written by Abha Khetarpal, Anjlee Aggarwal, Seema Baquer - associated with the Women with Disabilities Forum for Action.)