As part of the More Than A Footnote Campaign, we released different communication materials that call on political leaders to commit to responding to violence against women with disabilities and Deaf women:
More Than A Footnote Infographic (PDF)
More Than A Footnote
Women with disabilities and Deaf women are the largest, poorest minority group in the world with the highest rates of physical, systemic, financial, psychological and interpersonal/family violence.
Women with disabilities and Deaf women in Canada experience rates of violence 3 times higher than that of non-disabled women.
Most policies and programs related to gender-based violence will name “vulnerable groups” in the preamble and then describe them in a footnote. Women with disabilities and Deaf women are referred to as people with disabilities or as a vulnerable group.
Gaps in Current Policies and Programs
Violence Against Women policies do not mention women with disabilities or Deaf women. Accessibility policies do not address violence or women specifically.
This ungendering of women with disabilities shows how deeply rooted ableist attitudes are negatively affecting women with disabilities and Deaf women.
The result is that there are no programs, funding, or services focused specifically on women with disabilities.
Join our call to action to ensure that women with disabilities and Deaf women are more than a footnote in anti-violence strategies, policies, programs and services!
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: Image of five women, one is highlighted. Image of five women, 3 highlighted. First one has crutches, the next symbolizes a traumatic brain injury, one symbolizes someone with Autism, the next symbolizes a Deaf woman signing, and lastly a blind person with a service dog.
A magnified glass highlights text on a page.
A woman stands in front of pieces of paper.
A person in a wheelchair stands in front of pieces of paper.
A Venn diagram highlights the innermost circle.
Same symbols of people with various disabilities are shown below, this time including a person in a wheelchair.
DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
Canada's committment to the International Human Rights Conventions
More Than A Footnote
Canada must respect its human rights and treaty obligations to women and girls with disabilities:
March 23, 2016: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
The Committee recommends that the State party develop and implement a comprehensive national gender equality policy to address the structural factors leading to gender inequality, in close cooperation with provinces and territories in consultation with civil society organizations.
The Committee also recommends that the State party effectively implement and improve existing legislation on equal pay between men and women, at provincial and territorial levels, including the adoption of effective enforcement mechanisms, and include temporary special measures AND adopt targeted measures to increase access to social assistance and employment opportunities for women with disabilities.
November 18, 2016: Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
The Committee recommends that the State party develop a comprehensive national gender strategy, policy and action plan addressing the structural factors that cause persistent inequalities with respect to women and girls, including intersecting forms of discrimination, with a special focus on disadvantaged groups such as women and girls with disabilities, those who are single parents, Indigenous, Afro-Canadians, migrants, refugee, asylum-seeking, lesbian and bisexual women and girls and transsexual and intersex persons;
May 7, 2017: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The Committee is concerned that women with disabilities face intersectional discrimination, including access to justice, which particularly affects Indigenous women with disabilities. It is also concerned about the lack of information on legislation to promote the economic empowerment of women with disabilities through legislation and public policies on gender equality.
The Committee, in line with its general comment No. 3 (2016) on women and girls with disabilities, recommends that the State party:
(a) Ensure that the federal strategy against gender-based violence includes lines of action and specific programmes and benchmarks to address all forms of violence against women and girs with disabilities;
(b) Remove barriers and develop inclusive practices in order to create financial practical support and address prejudices and negative stereotypes;
© Ensure that Indigenous women with disabilities have access to available education programmes, are aware of their rights under the Convention and have access to the support available to claim their rights;
We call on Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments and their leadership to TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION !!!!
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in British Columbia need?
More Than A Footnote
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in British Columbia need?
- Training for frontline workers to better support women with disabilities and Deaf women
- Community education including public awareness and anti-violence education for youth
- Service for women with disabilities and Deaf women including life skills training, access to employment services and culturally sensitive services for Indigenous women of all ages
- Review of policies and legislation that impact women with disabilities and Deaf women through an intersectional lens.
What can you do?
Join us in supporting women with disabilities and Deaf women in British Columbia and across Canada.
Subscribe to our CALL TO ACTION mailing list by sending an email to morethanafootnote@dawncanada.net
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Quebec need?
More Than A Footnote
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Quebec need?
- Support programs for women with disabilities and Deaf women whose funding is recurring;
- Recognition of sign language as an official language;
- Governmental strategies and action plans on violence that clearly mention women with disability and universal accessibility;
- Continuous training and awareness programs for front-line workers on disability and universal accessibility;
- Reviewed standards for paratransit to ensure security and confidentially as well as emergency services;
- Equitable access to education programs on sexuality
What can you do?
Join us in supporting women with disabilities and Deaf women in Quebec and in Canada
Subscribe to our CALL TO ACTION mailing list by sending an email to morethanafootnote@dawncanada.net
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Ontario need?
More Than A Footnote
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Ontario need?
- Training for frontline workers to better support women with disabilities and Deaf women without assumptions and prejudice;
- Service providers to outreach to women with diverse disabilities, using accessible communication/information including feedback mechanisms, in accessible facilities and providing appropriate accommodations;
- Inclusive policies accessibility practices required and measured by funding Minstries;
- Updates on policies and legislation that impact women with disabilities and Deaf women through an intersectional lens.
What can you do?
Join us in supporting women with disabilities and Deaf women in Ontario and across Canada.
Subscribe to our CALL TO ACTION mailing list by sending an email to morethanafootnote@dawncanada.net
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Rural Canada need?
More Than A Footnote
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women in Rural Canada need?
Application of the Intersectional lens (GBA+) to policies and programs that impact women with disabilities and Deaf women at each level of Government (Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal) with a particular attention to Municipal services in the rural context:
- Access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health services, suicide prevention services and rehabilitation services;
- Peer support and access to frontline VAW resources;
- Access to employment and income supports;
- Culturally sensitive services for Indigenous women;
- Accessible housing and infrastructure, including accessible transportation;
What can you do?
Join us in supporting rural women with disabilities and Deaf women in Canada.
Subscribe to our CALL TO ACTION mailing list by sending an email to morethanafootnote@dawncanada.net
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women need from gender studies and feminist researchers?
More than a Footnote
What do Women with disabilities and Deaf women need from gender studies and feminst researchers?
What we know:
The key finding of recent review* by DAWN Canada of VAW literature in Canada revealed that:
- Disability is absent in VAW information
VAW information is available to the public rarely reflects an understanding of disability or Critical Feminist Disability (CFD) perspectives.
VAW literature does not exclusively focus on women with disabilities. In some cases disability is only a footnote.
None of the literature reviewed exemplifies the use of an intersectional lens that incorporates disability as a key factor in enhancing understandings of VAW, its causes, consequences and potential remedies.
Disability is absent even in literature that otherwise acknowledges the importance of an intersectional approach and/or the identification of marginalized populations.
- Noting disability as a gap in research can be tokenistic
Disability is sometimes noted as a gap in the literature or research study being presented. While this may seem to be a good first step toward valuing the voices of women with disabilities, it may at the same time be construed as an easy, tokenistic practice that works to further marginalize and isolate women with disabilities and other vulnerable women who may experience disability.
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
More Than A Footnote
Disability is the one intersection that all women in Canada may experience at some point in their lives, regardless of any other factors and goes beyond age, race, class, sexual orientation or geography.
What do women with disabilities and Deaf women have to say about GBA+ the Government of Canada’s current policy analysis tool???
Stop calling it a plus (+). Intersectional means intersecting, not adding and WE are not a plus!!!
CALL TO ACTION:
- We should be more than a footnote in policy because we are the largest minority group of women in Canada and the world!
- Since 2016 the majority of human rights complaints in Canada have been disability related.
- The rate of disability for Indigenous women in Canada is estimated to be higher than 30%.
- Research shows that women with disabilities, especially racialized and Indigenous women are over-represented in prisons in Canada- stop criminalizing victims!
- Rural and Northern women with disabilities urgently need accessible housing, infrastructure and transportation.
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.
Violence faced by women with disabilities in the workplace
More Than a Footnote
Domestic violence doesn’t stop when a woman leaves for work- the cost of domestic violence to the workplace is conservatively estimated to be $85,000 per 100 employees or $77.9 million annually to employers in Canada!
Sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and/or stalking may be the cause or exacerbate mental or physical disabilities.
Women with disabilities may be more vulnerable to abuse and the abuse may compound the impact of her disability
WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
- Violence, including domestic violence may result in injuries or illnesses caused by or exacerbated by violence that result in disabilities. We must ensure this is addressed at the bargaining table, in policy, in legal proceedings and through increased awareness.
- We need to ensure regular, ongoing training for all Workers, but particularly women on their rights and protections, so that Representatives, colleagues and Supervisors can respond effectively, efficiently, and safely to employees who are survivors with disabilities.
- All work environments need to provide information and regular, ongoing training to all Workers regarding domestic violence including how to respond if one Worker believes a co-worker is being victimized. Training should emphasize safety issues, and cross reference workplace violence policies and other policies related to Workers.
DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN) Canada
Toll free: 1-866-396-0074
www.dawncanada.net
Facebook.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
Twitter.com/DAWNRAFHCanada
#MoreThanAFootnoteWWD
[DESCRIPTION]: DAWN Canada’s logo reads 30 years of Leadership, Partnership and Networking, 30 ans de Leadership, Partenariat and Réseautage. A woman in the centre stands tall with her arms overhead, flexing. A Red maple leaf is behind her.