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Manifesto by Disabled Women in Europe
Adopted in Brussels on 22 February 1997 by the European
Disability Forum Working Group on Women and Disability. Launched in the European
Parliament on 4 December 1999.
A revision of recommendations from the United Nations Experts Seminar on Disabled Women in Vienna 1990, and a manifestation of the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
© Copyright European Disability Forum
Contents:
Introduction by the Chair of EDF
When the European Disability Forum statutes were signed and an independent European organisation of disabled people was born, our new membership expressed its firm commitment to gender issues and the promotion of gender equality in our governing bodies and in every aspect of our policy work. This is a fundamental premise inherent within our statutes and by laws - not purely an aspiration or statement of intent.
Although we are some way from reaching this goal, I know that progress is being achieved. In this respect, I cannot overstate the importance of this Manifesto. It provides vital benchmarks in relation to the promotion of equal opportunites for disabled women and girls throughout the Union, and it calls for awareness and cooperation within the disability movement, within the women’s movement and in society at large.
I am confident it will inspire disabled women and girls throughout the European Union to assert their human rights. It is not by chance that it is one of our very first policy documents, and as Chair of the Forum, I am justifiably proud of this. Congratulations to all the women who have contributed to the Manifesto - it is an excellent blueprint for change - and reflects the values and principles which should shape all our work.
This Manifesto is a compilation of recommendations to improve the lives of women and girls with disabilities in the European Union. It is based on a revision of recommendations from the UN Experts' Seminar on Disabled Women in Vienna, 1990. The study group on women and disability, supported by the European Commission's DG V/E/3 and set up in the framework of the HELIOS II programme, revised the document in the second half of 1996. The group, now a European Disability Forum Working Group on Women and Disability, adopted the document in Brussels on 22 February 1997 and will seek to implement it. Significant contributions were made by Anneli Joneken (editor), Member of the Swedish National Disability Council (HSO), and Maria Brättemark of the EDF Secretariat.
The purpose of the Manifesto is to inform and alert women and girls with disabilities regarding their position, their rights and their responsibilities. But also to inform and alert the European Commission, the European Parliament, Member States, the European Disability Movement as well as the Women’s Movement regarding the absence of gender thinking in relation to disabled women/girls and disabled men/boys. The Manifesto is a tool for disabled women’s empowerment.
For too long the focus of all actors in the disability movement has been on the aspects of the disability itself. In second place the person with that disability came into focus. The specific needs and situations of disabled women and girls have been neglected. More than half of the disabled population in Europe are disabled women and girls. The representation of disabled women/girls has, however, always been underdeveloped.
The EDF Working Group on Women and Disability has been as complete as possible. It is therefore possible that some articles are difficult to interpret or to accept as facts for certain readers. The Manifesto should be seen as a tool for debate, for decision-making, for implementation into law, policies, etc. and to generate action plans. The drafters include all disabled women and girls regardless of their background, religion, race, sexual orientation, age and type of disability.
It is an instrument for disabled women’s organisations, for other women’s organisations, disability organisations in general, and politicians at Member State, European Union, pan-European and international level. It can be used to put the gender perspective at all levels of decision-making. The Manifesto can and should be further developed by disabled women and their organisations on an ongoing basis and undergo periodic revisions.
It can and should lead to project proposals to implement large parts of this emancipation plan. It will be a resource to be used by the European Disability Forum to initiate positive action for disabled women and girls in the European Union.
I thank all the women at the Seminar on Disabled women in Vienna and the Beijing conference who inspired this Manifesto now available in 11 European languages. A Manifesto that shows the strength of disabled women in the European decision-making process.
Lydia Zijdel
Chair of the EDF Working Group
on Women and Disability
28 February 1997
What do we mean by women with disabilities/disabled women? Girls and women with disabilities include women with all kinds of disabilities, women with physical, hearing, visual and mental impairments, visible or otherwise, including women with mental illness and mental health problems, learning disabilities, and various chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart or kidney disease, epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, diseases predominantly affecting women such as breast cancer, arthritis, Lupus, fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. It includes disabled girls and women of all ages, in rural and urban areas, regardless of the severity of the disability, regardless of sexual preference and regardless of cultural background, or whether they live in the community or in an institution.
This Manifesto should ideally form a base for political activity to improve the situation for disabled women wherever European Union policies are involved. In restricting itself to the European context, it does not exclude being a manifesto for actions of solidarity or support to disabled women and parents of disabled daughters in other regions of the world. Given the European focus of this Manifesto, we recognise that cultural differences exist, in relation to other countries, but also within the European Union. This is also a manifesto for action at national level in areas where, due to subsidiarity, EU policies are not undertaken.
The ideological basis for the Manifesto is the notion of human rights and equal opportunities. Non-discrimination is an important concept. A "social" model of disability as opposed to a "medical" or "individual" model should be encouraged, although medical differences are not to be neglected.
It is important that in all research to be undertaken about or related to disabled persons, the gender dimension be taken into account. This Manifesto focuses on the specific situation of disabled girls and women because of sex - defined as biological - and gender - defined as a social construct. Biological differences between men and women, as well as socially imposed situations or treatments are relevant, but not always easily distinguishable. Therefore, the word gender is used predominantly in the text.
The notion of multiple discrimination, on grounds of gender and disability is complex. Multiple simultaneous oppression is another expression, describing what many disabled women and girls confront in various situations. It can, however, also be experienced as developing into multiple strengths. Disabled women can experience discrimination in relation to non-disabled women and men and in relation to disabled men. The struggle for equal opportunities must therefore take place on different levels and in different places simultaneously. Examples of multiple discrimination of disabled women can for instance be based upon age, ethnic background, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.
This text should be read in the context of treaties and international political agreements, such as the UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities and the Beijing declaration and Platform for Action from the 4th World Conference on Women. At EU level legislation, initiatives and the two communications on equal opportunities for men and women and for people with disabilities are relevant.
Recommendations of the Manifesto
This Manifesto includes recommendations linked to the following subject areas of priority concern to women with disabilities in Europe:
In addition to the specific recommendations in the Manifesto, we also recommend that all those who want to take new steps in this regard should use the UN Human Rights instrument "The UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities", adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993 and composed of 22 basic rules. When using the Standard Rules it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of the Rules is to ensure that girls, boys, women and men with disabilities, as members of their societies, may exercise the same rights and obligations as others.
1.1 The human rights and fundamental freedoms of disabled girls and women should be fully recognised and respected. They should have equal opportunities in all spheres of society. The importance of the accessibility of society for them should be recognised and measures undertaken to provide access to information and communication and action taken to make the physical environment accessible, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 5.
1.2 Disabled women should be informed about their civil and human rights in order to be able to make their own decisions.
1.3 Appropriate legislation that guarantees the full exercise of the rights of women to decide on sexuality, pregnancy, new reproductive technology, adoption, motherhood and any other relevant issue in this respect should be adopted and implemented.
1.4 The human rights of disabled women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. No medical decisions concerning a disabled woman - whatever the cause of her disability - should be made without her informed consent.
1.5 Measures should be adopted to protect women with mental health problems or learning disabilities and information should be provided in a manner they can easily understand. When appropriate, an advocate should be provided to facilitate their decision-making.
1.6 Open and public discussions on topics such as sexuality and sexual preference, which are often considered too delicate to deal with, should be encouraged with due respect to cultural norms, in order to increase the level of knowledge among disabled women, their families, professional staff and the general population.
1.7 The situation of disabled girls and women with a different sexual preference (for instance lesbians) should be highlighted as a human rights issue within the disabled women's movement, within the women's and lesbians' movement, and within the rest of our society.
1.8 In countries where cultural and religious traditions make access to medical, vocational, rehabilitative, employment and other services for disabled women difficult, measures should be taken to ensure that these obstacles are removed so that disabled girls and women can receive those benefits.
1.9 Migrant and third country national disabled girls and women should have the same rights and access to all mainstream facilities as other disabled girls and women in their country.
1.10 The development and application of new reproductive technologies to prevent disabilities should be seen in terms of ethical and human rights dimensions. Prenatal selection based on disability should be illegal.
1.11 The disabled woman must not be urged by doctors, relatives or authorities or forced to have an abortion. Discussions in which people are submitted to a cost-benefit analysis or in which decisions are made about human lives as being worth or not worth living, shall not be allowed. The choice of a disabled woman to have or not to have a child must be respected.
1.12 Special efforts should be made to ensure that tests on people are not allowed, with reference to the convention on human rights and biomedicine. Disabled women should also be protected from bioengineering and pharmaceutical engineering.
1.13 All countries should encourage measures to ensure equal participation in religious life for women and girls with disabilities in their communities who choose this and encourage measures to eliminate discrimination in religious life. Religious literature should be made accessible for women with sensory impairments and intellectual impairments.
1.14 Disabled women should have the right, and the means to execute that right, to become more visible in emancipation policies as in disability policies.
2. National and European legislation
2.1 All States have a responsibility to create the legal framework for measures to achieve the objective of full participation and equality for girls, boys, women and men with disabilities, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 15.
2.2 Legislation should not discriminate against disabled people and should include such aspects as social security, environmental barriers, transport, medical and technical facilities and should take into consideration the particular needs of disabled women as their legal right. Anti-discrimination legislation should be included in the national constitutions of the European States, as well as in all aspects of the Treaty on European Union, prohibiting discrimination based on disability. Legislation should facilitate the improvement of the situation of disabled persons within the family and society.
2.3 Legislation to protect the civil and human rights of disabled girls and women should be passed by legislative bodies at European, national or provincial level, in compliance with international norms. This legislation should be monitored by the appropriate governmental bodies to ensure effective implementation.
2.4 Equalisation of opportunities for disabled girls and women can only be achieved when discriminatory patterns and practices that deny equal access are removed. Thus, legislation should be prepared to deal with for instance provisions in social security systems for women with disabilities and for disabled mothers with children; public transport, in view of the fact that women are less mobile and more confined to the house owing to social and cultural norms in some regions; and other areas where legislation is justified by the particular situation of disabled women.
2.5 Legislation should be introduced to protect the rights of disabled women in cases of sexual abuse and violence in public and within their home environments, such as institutions, rehabilitation centres, old people's residential homes, focus projects, homes, institutes, etc.
2.6 A new European Union disability strategy should be applied and further developed in a gender-specific way, in close consultation with the organisations of women and men with disabilities in Europe.
2.7 In the light of the new focus on mainstreaming disability policies at European level, all EU legislation, policies and initiatives concerning disabled people or gender equality should take account of the specific situation of disabled women.
2.8 An investigation should be undertaken into whether a national Member State and/or European mainstream and specific legislation concerning disabled people discriminates against disabled women and girls.
3. Conventions and other international legal instruments
3.1 The UN Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities should be used as a key instrument in the development of the European countries. Disabled women and their organisations should be continuously consulted in the national and international follow-up.
3.2 All countries should ratify or accede to, if they have not already done so, the International Covenants on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and other relevant instruments such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ILO Convention No. 159 on the Vocational Rehabilitation and the Employment of Disabled Persons and Recommendation No. 168 on the same subject, the Florence Agreement and its protocol on the importation of educational, scientific and cultural materials. In the follow-up and reports in relation to these conventions, a gender-specific approach should be used, in order to identify the situation of disabled girls and women with regard to their rights as enshrined in the conventions. Information on these international legal instruments should be widely disseminated.
3.3 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) should actively request States that are party to the Convention, with reference to CEDAW's Recommendation No. 18/1991, to include information on the situation of disabled women in their periodic reports to CEDAW on the implementation of the Convention. The countries should organise seminars when compiling information for their periodic reports, and consult with NGOs dealing with disabled women’s rights.
3.4 Information in the human rights documents the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and their follow-up, should be accessible to everyone.
4.1 An important prerequisite for achieving equal opportunities in life is a good education. Disabled women and girls should have full access to education and training throughout their lives and the right to primary, secondary and higher education. They should be encouraged to take up that right, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 6. Education must be in mainstream schools with special tuition requirements provided for and provision for a slower pace and support services, where necessary or at the request of the individual.
4.2 Disabled girls and women should be encouraged to seek educational opportunities to enable them to advance as full members of society. Schooling facilities should be physically accessible, schooling materials available in alternate media (Braille, large print, etc.). Special support teachers and assistants should be available in accordance with the needs of the pupils.
4.3 Education for deaf and deaf/blind girls and women should be provided in special schools for deaf or deaf/blind persons, or in special classes and units in mainstream schools. Culturally sensitive teaching should be provided, to result in effective communication skills and maximum independence. Deaf women should have the right to education by means of multimedia systems and the use of sign language, acknowledging its recognition as an official language.
4.4 It is also important to educate the parents and family of disabled girls and women on how to develop positive attitudes towards disability and to bring about an awareness concerning the special needs and problems of disabled women. It would be useful to elaborate a training kit for all family members. Existing handbooks, such as the manual on community-based rehabilitation for disabled persons developed by the WHO, should be made available for training purposes. Primary carers should also be made aware of the special needs of disabled older women. It is important that adult disabled women are considered independent of rather than dependent on their families.
4.5 EU policies and programmes promoting education - from primary to higher-level studies - should take into consideration the special situation of disabled women. Life long learning should be promoted. Women and disabled people are separately targeted for special attention. Awareness-raising about the risk for double discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability is needed.
4.6 UNESCO should give priority attention to the concerns, advancement, empowerment and development of disabled girls and women in its educational programmes, especially those relating to literacy projects.
4.7 People working in the disability field should be educated in dealing with issues regarding homosexuality and disabled women and girls.
4.8 Education for people responsible for portraying disabled women and girls or disabled women’s/girls' issues, such as journalists/media, filmmakers, etc. is essential in order to obtain positive images instead of the charity or medical concept of pity.
4.9 In awareness-raising programmes, various images of disabled women and girls should be used in order to give clearer images about disabled women to the public in general and to women with learning disabilities in particular.
5. Employment, vocational training
5.1 Employment is a critical component in enabling disabled women to support themselves financially and to achieve self-esteem and social recognition. Disabled women should be trained for employment opportunities in the labour market. When special training is needed, disabled women should not be disadvantaged in comparison with other women. Disabled women should have appropriate access to all training programmes and should be actively encouraged to participate. Existing vocational training programmes for women should be made especially accessible to disabled women and support services should be provided.
5.2 Laws and regulations in the employment field should not discriminate against disabled women and should not create obstacles to their employment, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 7.
5.3 Disabled women should be encouraged to seek employment opportunities which have a reasonable wage and status. Effective assistance should be given to disabled women to maintain employment, through such means as follow-up services and contacts with employers and legal protection against unfounded job loss on account of their disability.
5.4 In the creation of small enterprises and other forms of self-employment, disabled women should have equal right to financial assistance and should be seen as fully qualified entrepreneurs.
5.5 All EU policies and programmes promoting employment and vocational training should take into consideration the specific situation of disabled women. Women and disabled people are already targeted for special attention in several programmes. Awareness-raising about the risk of double discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability is needed.
5.6 Special provision to secure disabled women the same movement on the European labour market as non-disabled women and men, according to the principles of free movement as stated in the EU treaties, should be provided.
5.7 Employment in the public sector, where traditionally the highest proportion of women are employed, is decreasing in many EU Member States. The specific impact this has for the employment situation for disabled women should be investigated.
5.8 The programmes of the ILO and FAO as well as other organisations concerned with employment should establish specific programmes and projects in Europe regarding the needs of disabled women. Those organisations should work in close cooperation with disabled women and their organisations. Women with disabilities should also be included in the mainstream programmes and projects of these organisations, with adequate support.
5.9 Many jobs currently being performed by non-disabled women and/or men which affect the lives of disabled women (especially decision-making positions) should be made available to disabled women. To enable this, affirmative action should be pursued in certain areas.
5.10 Disabled migrant girls and women should be given adequate support and scope to develop their skills and potential in vocational training, and be given opportunities to obtain suitable employment.
5.11 Deaf women who chose to should have access to professional training in their indigenous language, sign language.
5.12 Disabled women shall have access to work and to professional training through all strategies that may favour knowledge, qualification and the right to achieve the highest level in any career, both in private and in public bodies.
5.13 Disabled women participating in voluntary work should be entitled to the same benefits, facilities and aids as working women in paid jobs. Disabled women with a voluntary job should have the necessary financial provisions to be carer and employee at the same time. Besides the necessary financial support for the disabled woman herself, adequate support should be given to enable her to play the role of carer too.
6. Marriage, relationships, parenthood, family life
6.1 The right to have a family, relationships, sexual contacts, to be a mother, should be guaranteed for disabled women, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 9.
6.2 Taking into account that many women with disabilities experience great difficulties in getting married and setting up a family, counselling and training should be provided in this area. The media should be encouraged to play an important role in removing negative attitudes to relationships such as marriage and parenthood for disabled women. Mainstream organisations offering services to single people to meet potential partners should not exclude disabled women or men from their services and offer them the same quality of service as other women and men. Staff in these organisations should be educated to work with disabled persons.
6.3 Disabled women should have access to family planning methods and to information about the sexual functioning of their bodies. That information should be provided on cassette, in large print, in Braille, in "easy-to-read" or picture-based format and in sign language or by experts in this field such as counsellors in public social services on a local basis. No woman should be forced to have an abortion.
6.4 Disabled parents, men and women, should have the right to personal assistance to the extent that both parents are able to share child care responsibilities equally. The role of the personal assistant in child care must be clearly defined and support groups for disabled parents and personal assistants to the disabled parents of young children could support this.
6.5 The parents, including single parents (men or women), of disabled children should have the right to personal assistance. The role of the personal assistant in child care must be clearly defined and support groups for parents(or single parents) of disabled children and personal assistants to parents of disabled (young) children could support this.
6.6 The right to have a family, relationships, sexual contacts, to be a mother should be guaranteed for disabled lesbian or bisexual women, in accordance with UN Standard Rule No. 9. Prejudices against homosexuality in general should not prevent disabled lesbian or bisexual women from obtaining the necessary (financial) support, technical aids, economic independence or an autonomous life as a lesbian or bisexual woman, either in an independent living environment or under institutionalised circumstances.
6.7 Support action for disabled mothers of disabled children and for disabled mothers of non-disabled children should be encouraged.
6.8 Legislation which restricts the rights of women with learning disabilities to have sexual relationships should be repealed, whilst retaining special protection for women who are vulnerable to abuse.
6.9 For those women who are unable to give informed consent to control reproduction, there should be legislative safeguards. In particular contraception or termination of pregnancy should never be carried out against the will of a disabled woman, and termination should also require judicial approval. Sterilisation must never be carried out against a woman’s will, and where someone is unable to give consent it should only ever be done in cases of clear medical necessity and after judicial approval. In addition, specialist family planning services should be developed for women with learning disabilities.
6.10 Disabled women should enjoy the same rights as non-disabled women and men, as mothers, in medical care and support during and after pregnancies, as well as rights on the labour market, in relation to maternity or parental leave and social services, which must be safeguarded. The conditions should be at the highest standard in all EU Member States, and not be discriminatory against disabled women. Rights and services should be available for disabled women migrating in the EU, whether as workers or as accompanying partners.
6.11 Changes should be made regarding the existing motherhood ideology, as it is discriminatory to disabled women, especially in the case of rights to reproduction, to becoming the legal custodian in the event of divorce, adoption, foster-parenthood and other forms of social parenthood and the use of artificial insemination.
7. Violence, sexual abuse and safety
7.1 The right of disabled girls and women to live in freedom and safety should be fully recognised. Violence against disabled girls and women is a major problem and statistics show that disabled girls and women are more likely to be victims of violence because of their vulnerability. Control of their own body should be guaranteed for disabled women to protect them against physical, psychological and sexual violence. This is very important particularly for disabled women who have to stay in hospitals, rehabilitation and other institutions, and those who are unable to represent themselves.
7.2 Special programmes to prevent such violence must be implemented (such as the programmes in the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Spain and Austria) with the understanding of the unique needs of girls and women who need assistance with their personal hygienic care. They should be informed on how to prevent the occurrence of violence, how to recognise when violence has occurred and how to report such acts. Disabled girls and women with mental health problems, learning disabilities, communicative and/or severe disabilities are more likely to be vulnerable.
7.3 Disabled girls and women should have access to general and specific training programmes in accordance with their needs and, where integration may be hindered, support services should be provided with the purpose of facilitating integration into the general population.
7.4 Disabled women, their families and all working with disabled women should be fully informed on taking precautions against sexual abuse. In the case of abuse of disabled women, especially of women with learning disabilities, legislation should be developed and enforced and the personnel involved (magistrates, solicitors, prosecutors, etc.) should be trained. For women with mental health problems, "women-only" wards and services which offer a choice to women, in particular of a similar cultural or ethnic background, should be made available. Harmful attitudes and practices affecting girls and women, such as female genital mutilation, should be eliminated, through educational programmes for women and men and legislative measures in criminal law.
7.5 Sheltered housing such as women’s refuge centres and all other mainstream organisations and facilities (brochures, telephone numbers, therapists, etc.) in the field of violence and sexual abuse against women should be made accessible to women with all kinds of disabilities.
7.6 The situation of girls and women with disabilities should be integrated into the investigations of the special Rapporteur on violence against women, working for the UN Commission on Human Rights. Special investigations should be carried out in the European States.
7.7 Given the higher risk of exposure to violence for disabled women, special attention should be given to the impact on disabled women’s mental health of acts of violence, psychological oppression or sexual abuse or threats thereof.
7.8 The report demanded by the European Parliament to annually review the issue of violence and discrimination towards disabled people should make specific reference to the situation of disabled girls and women, and should make suggestions for improved legal protection of disabled women against violence.
7.9 Action should be undertaken to protect girls and women from the disabling practice of genital mutilation, which is to be considered as a crime in accordance with the Platform of Action from the UN Conference on Women.
8. Empowerment, leadership development, participation in decision-making
8.1 Leadership development should assist disabled girls and women to attain self-esteem and to encourage them to take leadership positions, in order to become integrated members of their communities, and to encourage their increased participation in power sharing at all levels of society in all countries.
8.2 Disabled women should be encouraged to participate in training programmes within national bodies that organise leadership and management development. Programmes should also be designed specifically for disabled women and girls, and should be considered an integrated part of existing women’s training programmes.
8.3 Leadership training seminars, educational programmes and job training programmes for establishing cooperatives and income-generating activities should be organised at local level, including in rural areas, to increase disabled women’s awareness of their own situation at grass-roots level and to stimulate their active participation.
8.4 Special mentor programmes should be initiated and supported at local and regional level in the various European countries, where women within the disability movement consciously support each other through the various phases of life in their personal development and empowerment.
8.5 Various regional European organisations and the UN structures should assist disabled women in developing leadership skills through the elaboration of model curricula by the ILO, the FAO and UNESCO to be used at various levels of leadership in all countries and through technical cooperation. All efforts should be made to encourage disabled women as trainers.
8.6 Various structures in the European Union system, its programmes, actions and initiatives should assist disabled women in their empowerment and in their opportunities to take active part in the development of their societies.
8.7 The European Disability Forum should have equal representation of women and men as an important policy guideline in its decision making, for example regarding appointments to the Presidency of EDF and to various working groups, committees and tasks. All member organisations of the EDF should include the empowerment of disabled girls and women in their priority concerns.
8.8 Access to information should be regarded as a democratic right for each individual in society. Disabled women should have access to all the information they need and desire to exercise their legal, political and human rights. The transparency of political institutions and processes is essential.
8.9 Disabled women in Europe should produce and disseminate information and awareness-raising material to be directed at decision makers at national and European level, to make them aware of the fact that multiple discrimination towards disabled women can exist. People dealing with policies concerning disabled people in general, as well as those dealing with equality issues between men and women, shall be the first target. Equally important are decision makers in the "mainstream" of government policies.
8.10 Disabled women should become more visible in various organisations related to disability matters, social matters, politics and society in general. Special projects should be initiated to realise this, as well as special financial measures to ensure their participation.
9. Disabled women with different cultural backgrounds
9.1 Disabled women with different cultural backgrounds living outside their own country should be lifted out of their vulnerable positions and be entitled and encouraged to the same facilities and opportunities to develop their own potential as the disabled women of the host country.
9.2 The position of disabled female refugees should be investigated. Facilities should be made available in refugee camps and education should be one of the first priorities. The Guidelines on disabled refugees published by the UNHCR should be used as an important guiding tool to assist disabled refugee girls and women.
9.3 Recognising our multicultural European society and also recognising the possible disadvantages due to the socio-economic situation of many immigrant and third-country-national disabled women, special attention should be devoted to removing possible obstacles for migrant women.
10. Awareness-raising, mass media, communication and information
10.1 All countries should take action to raise awareness in society about girls and women with disabilities, their rights, their needs, their potential and their contribution in society, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 1.
10.2 The visibility of disabled women has to be increased at all levels of society. The media plays an important role in disseminating information on disabled women and can contribute to a positive change in public attitudes. In order to achieve this, the portrayal of positive images of disabled women at all levels of society by the media (TV, newspapers, publications) is imperative. Women with disabilities, preferably nominated by disabled women’s organisations, should be actively consulted and involved in presentations and should monitor the programmes. In view of the practice of exchanging radio and TV productions at regional and international level, those programmes could be disseminated on a large scale. The use and choice of positive language describing disability and women’s matters should be encouraged and deserves full media attention.
10.3 Television, radio and newspapers should be encouraged to develop programming which addresses the needs of disabled women, in cooperation with organisations of disabled people. Special efforts should be made to educate the public, via the media, that mental health problems - though invisible - are also disabling. All forms of invisible disability should be given special attention.
10.4 Examples of active women with disabilities would bring about awareness in the public as well as providing positive role models for other disabled women and girls.
10.5 National networks of disabled women would be an important step in information sharing and dissemination, bringing about awareness and motivation for women with disabilities to become actively involved in organisational work. It should be the joint responsibility of the national focal point and disabled women to initiate such a network.
10.6 Basic documents relevant to disabled women and their rights should be understandable and available in local languages, and in alternate formats in accessible form.
10.7 Equal access to various components of the information society should be ensured for disabled women. Practices such as Internet communication and Websites should not contain information that in any way violates the integrity of disabled women and girls. Disabled women should ensure this at European level in cooperation with the European Disability Forum and the European Women’s Lobby. Nor should other information society initiatives of the European Union be discriminatory towards disabled women. In developing information and communication technologies, economic aspects as well as the need for training should be considered, as should equal opportunities regardless of age.
10.8 Supporting actions should be undertaken to ensure women with visual and hearing impairments have access to all information.
11. Independent living, personal assistance, technical needs and assistance, counselling
11.1 Opportunities to live independently out of institutions should be offered by providing personal assistant services for women with disabilities according to needs identified by them.
11.2 Disabled women should be able to receive counselling services from other women with disabilities and similar experiences. These services should be available in women’s organisations, organisations of disabled people, social service agencies and local services.
11.3 As women with disabilities have less access to equipment and technical aids, there should be local production of the necessary equipment. This should be distributed to every woman with disabilities at low cost or free of charge. Programmes for the production of equipment and technical aids at regional and national level, including training in production and use for disabled women, are strongly recommended. Technical aids should satisfy women’s functional as well as aesthetic requirements in their design, materials and quality. Should these technical aids not be available locally, the supply of imported equipment should be provided wherever needed, at work or at home.
11.4 Disabled girls and women need technical aids and assistance that are specifically designed to meet their unique needs. These services should be provided in a manner which takes into consideration the cultural and religious traditions of these women.
11.5 Member States should pursue such financial policies, fiscal policies and existing tax and import duty policies as are necessary to ensure that assisting devices can be obtained by disabled women at minimal cost.
11.6 "Design for all" should be encouraged, in order to limit the need for special technical solutions for disabled people. Disabled people should participate at all levels in developing special technical solutions, and in this disabled women should participate to the same degree as disabled men. European and national institutions concerned with the development of technical aids and standardisation should take gender issues into account.
11.7 Deaf women should have free access to sign language interpreters on all occasions (e.g. community, religious, cultural and political) to enable them to participate fully and to be more actively integrated into social life. In order to allow deaf women to have a choice of a male or a female sign language interpreter, the training of female sign language interpreters should be encouraged.
11.8 Although supporting independent living, in cases where women with learning disabilities still live in institutions, they should have a choice of single-sex (or mixed-sex) accommodation. There should also be a choice of same-sex care staff and personal assistants.
12. Social security, health and medical care, rehabilitation
Social security
12.1 Disabled women should receive sufficient economic support to live with dignity, whether single, married or in any other type of relationship. Benefits, aid and facilities, personal assistance, etc. should not be dependent on marital status. Benefits should not be income-related. If they are entitled to receive social benefits, these should be given directly to them and not to their families.
12.2 In society the assumption generally made regarding the role of women is that women give service to others. The roles of the sexes should develop in a spirit of equality and the expectations and aspirations of disabled women should develop in a positive and more multifaceted direction.
12.3 Legislation and practices which discourage or prevent women with disabilities from participating in the labour force should be reviewed to eliminate work disincentives. Women should be able to receive appropriate basic financial support in order to compensate for disability-related services, such as personal assistance services, sign language interpreters, guide dogs, social dogs, transportation, housing, technical aids and healthcare. They should have the opportunity of free movement in the same way as other European Union citizens.
12.4 Women with disabilities should have the right and opportunity to choose their attendant. Provisions should be made to improve the situation of carers.
Health and medical care
12.5 All countries should, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 2, ensure provision of effective medical care to girls and women with disabilities.
12.6 In all countries, primary healthcare should cover the needs of disabled women at home or by providing access to health clinics and hospitals. The authorities in all countries should ensure that practitioners in primary care are also trained to recognise the onset of disabilities arising from mental health problems and to take the appropriate action. The age aspect should also be taken into consideration so that the requirements of each stage of the life continuum can be met.
12.7 Provision of special facilities should be made to address diverse needs on a cost-effective basis, including healthcare for women at home and at clinics under the existing health system.
12.8 In all healthcare situations, especially in gynaecology, it is important to respect the integrity of women with disabilities, with special consideration for the requirement of respect for visually impaired women and women using interpreters.
12.9 WHO and other relevant agencies should encourage governments to provide adequate training programmes for health personnel regarding the specific needs of women and girls with disabilities.
12.10 There should be no discrimination, regardless of their age, against disabled women with regard to the availability of healthcare services and/or the interpretation of these services.
12.11 In war-torn areas facilities to assist girls and women with disabilities with mobile health centres should be provided.
12.12 Multidisciplinary health and medical care and research (such as neurological, gynaecological, gerontology, social, etc.) should be encouraged to provide a more holistic picture of gender-specific impairments and diseases.
12.13 Disabled women and girls should be made aware of the risk of HIV and AIDS. Contraceptive education and sexual education is essential in this respect.
12.14 Women and girls with HIV or AIDS should be considered as women and girls with a disability and therefore obtain the same rights and privileges as other disabled women and girls and their concerns should be included into the interest areas of the disability movement.
Rehabilitation
12.16 All countries should ensure, in accordance with Standard Rule No. 3, that rehabilitation services are available to disabled girls and women, without sexual bias. Women and girls should receive rehabilitation to enable them to have greater opportunities in the home and family and to fully participate in education and employment fields and in society at large. Medical rehabilitation services should be gender-neutral and available to all women with disabilities regardless of age.
12.17 Training in community-based rehabilitation approaches (CBR) should be provided in all rural and urban areas with the involvement of disabled women at all levels.
12.18 Rehabilitation must include training in female body language and self-confidence. Special models for rehabilitation should be developed for different groups of disabled women in close cooperation with their organisations.
12.19 Deaf women and girls have the right to early diagnosis and to benefit from speech therapy, using flexible methods that shall include both sign and spoken language.
13. Public buildings, housing, transportation, environment
13.1 Legislation should be enacted to bring about environmental adjustments and changes in order to provide disabled women with access to all buildings including, but not limited to, hospitals, educational centres and public facilities.
13.2 All new housing should be accessible to disabled women so that they can obtain access to all types of housing.
13.3 Disabled women nominated by disabled people's organisations should be chosen, preferably as consultants, advisors or experts, to participate in all stages of planning the physical environment and decision-making procedures, in order to ensure that women will have access to all areas of personal, family and social life.
13.4 Transportation should be accessible to all disabled persons, to ensure independent mobility. No transport policy should discriminate against disabled girls or women, regardless of their disability (in a wheelchair, using a guide dog or a social dog). Disabled mothers should be able to transport their children as required.
13.5 Special efforts should be made by those responsible for transportation to ensure that disabled women have the same access and are treated in a dignified, non-discriminatory manner.
13.6 Deaf and hearing-impaired women shall have the right to mobility, not only in the sense of public transport and special facilities, but above all in improved access to communication, information and television by means of sign language interpretation and subtitles. Deaf and hearing-impaired women should also have the right to use videos in museums and places open to the public and to the benefit from emergency signal lights in case of accidents, fires and other dangers.
13.7 Disabled women recognise the impact of modern life upon the environment around us. In disturbing the ecological balances, on micro to macro scales, human beings cause damage to the environment that can cause impairments. Examples are allergies and genetic disorders caused by industrial waste, some research indicates that diseases such as Parkinson’s disease occur relatively frequently in intensively cultivated agricultural districts where pesticides and fertilisers are in abundant use, high exposure among children to PCBs or lead causes learning difficulties. Urban planning can also prevent mental distress. Changes in lifestyle can in the long term prevent disabilities. The list of environmental damage causing diseases and impairments is lengthy. Disabled women in Europe wish to stress the importance of environmental awareness and wish to support further research and awareness-raising regarding the environment and disability.
14. Culture, recreation, sports
14.1 All countries should ensure that women and girls with disabilities are integrated into and can participate in cultural activities on an equal basis and utilise their creative, artistic and intellectual potential. Cultural projects should be encouraged where women and girls with learning disabilities can develop their creativity.
14.2 Places for cultural performances and services should be accessible and available to disabled women.
14.3 Women and girls with disabilities should have equal opportunities for recreation and sports.
14.4 Action should be undertaken to enable women with disabilities to become professional artists in various professions within the arts field.
15. National focal point on women with disabilities
15.1 A national committee with representatives from the national agencies for the advancement of women, other relevant government bodies, disabled women from non-governmental organisations and experienced individuals should be given the focal point role on women with disabilities. The committee should act as a strong national task force to implement recommendations concerning women with disabilities, and should develop programmes for the equalisation of opportunities and full participation of disabled women in society. The national focal points should be linked in a European network.
15.2 This national focal point should also be closely linked to existing and planned national disability committees (NDCs) in accordance with UN Standard Rule No. 17. These NDCs should be strengthened, if necessary, or established where they do not exist. Disabled women and their organisations should be active members.
15.3 National agencies for the advancement of women should be strengthened and women with disabilities should be included in those agencies.
15.4 Disabled women should be actively involved in both disabled people’s self-help organisations and women’s organisations. Organisations of disabled persons at national and European level should encourage the establishment of sub-committees of disabled women or independent disabled women’s groups. The European Disability Forum should establish a permanent committee on disabled women’s issues, and encourage its member organisations to develop their own women’s committees and groups.
15.5 The national focal point, as well as disabled women themselves, should launch special campaigns to increase the membership of disabled women in those organisations. That should be the case for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) focused on disabled persons as well as in other NGOs, particularly women’s groups and women’s lobbies.
15.6 There should be a stronger presence of disabled women in national delegations to international meetings, committees and commissions concerning issues regarding either women or disabled persons. The participation of disabled women should be generally encouraged, not only when topics related to them are specifically on the agenda.
15.7 Governmental and non-governmental national and European women’s organisations and bodies should include disabled women and issues related to them within the general women’s movement, implementing action plans according to the present recommendations, as well as the Platform for Action from the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and the Regional Platform for Action from the ECE Regional Conference in 1994.
15.8 Disabled women should at European level, in the framework of the European Disability Forum, work closely with the European Women’s Lobby on issues of common concern. National Associations of disabled women should also seek to collaborate with national platforms of the EWL.
16. International focal points
16.1 The designated focal point in the UN system for the advancement of women and the focal point for disabled persons should give ongoing attention to the issues of disabled girls and women and work in close cooperation with each other and with disabled women and their organisations.
16.2 Organisations of disabled women, including committees of larger organisations, should participate actively in intergovernmental follow-up to and reviews of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women and the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons as a means of promoting the implementation of the recommendations in this Manifesto.
16.3 To facilitate this participation, the international focal points should provide information for disabled women, their organisations and organisations concerned with disabled women's issues, especially through newsletters and bulletins, and should seek to consult them on a regular basis.
16.4 A permanent council of/for disabled women in the European Union directly advising the Commission, the Parliament and the independent European Disability Forum should be established.
17. Regional and sub-regional activities, project funding
17.1 Organisations working on a regional or sub-regional level in Europe, such as the European Union institutions, the regional UN Economic Commission for Europe, the regional offices of UN specialised agencies such as the WHO, the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), other intergovernmental organisations, and regional NGOs, including regional networks of mass media, are requested to provide assistance for women with disabilities, include their priority issues in their programmes and projects, and support applications for specific project grants from their organisations.
17.2 Organisations in the UN system and international regional governmental organisations should support NGOs and organisations concerned with disabled women financially and in other ways in order to ensure disabled women can exercise their rights.
17.3 The European Commission, the European Parliament, the UN and the specialised agencies and various other international, national and local donor agencies should include among their priorities the funding of programmes for disabled women. The mainstream programmes should also earmark funding for projects related to disabled women. When priorities do exist in favour of disabled persons or women in general, favourable consideration should be given to the inclusion of programmes or components of programmes for disabled women.
17.4 The regional platform for action adopted by the countries in the European region at the UN Economic Commission of Europe conference in October 1994 should be followed up and implemented in close cooperation with NGOs.
17.5 In order to implement the recommendations made for activities at international level, appropriate resources should be made available. Developing projects for and with disabled women should get the necessary support and funding.
18. Statistical information, research
18.1 It is strongly recommended that national governments take early steps to incorporate the collection of gender-specific data on issues related to disability in existing statistical series. Moreover, each country should undertake nationwide surveys on disability to investigate the incidence of impairment in the country, its major causes and measures taken by individuals or families to deal with the situation. Of great importance is a model questionnaire for this purpose by the UN Statistical Office to highlight the issue of women with disabilities and to obtain such information as income level, employment and educational attainment, among others. Such a survey allows an analysis of the national situation and permits regional and international comparisons. It would also be advisable for personnel trained in data collection on disabled women to be involved in household surveys and censuses.
18.2 The European Union should set up an Observatory on Disability with a special working group on disabled women. The European Union’s Statistical Bureau, EUROSTAT, having allowed for the display of gender-specific data on disabilities in their Disabled Persons Statistical Data, should be supported/encouraged to ensure that EU Member States provide gender-specific data for European comparisons.
18.3 The currently ongoing revision of the ICIDH, undertaken by the WHO, should in every aspect take gender-specific difference into account. All different levels - impairment, disability, participation, environmental factors - have potential details where the situation of disabled women and men is different. This should be carefully examined. Manuals and any accompanying guidelines should all make reference to gender-specific aspects of disability. The European Disability Forum should actively promote this issue, among other activities related to the ICIDH revision.
18.4 Any development programme for disabled women should investigate the actual living conditions of disabled women in both urban and rural areas. Furthermore there should be research on the ways and means of improving the status, raising the living standard of disabled women and providing the necessary facilities for them. Research should be stimulated and grants given to researchers in a large number of subject areas to investigate the real situation of all various groups of girls and women with disabilities.
18.5 Descriptions provided by disabled women themselves regarding their situation should be the most important source of information. Women’s own interpretation and documentation of their experiences, which is now underway, can be the start of a world-wide research project on women with disabilities. It is suggested that an international network linked to the national focal point on women with disabilities should gradually be developed.
18.6 Activities should focus on directing academic institutions/research organisations working on women’s studies towards the specific situation of disabled women. Likewise, such institutions researching disability should be encouraged to consider double discrimination on the grounds of gender and disability. Research into the situation of disabled women in other minority groups such as migrant women and sexual minorities should also be stimulated. Other socio-economic and political studies concerning the social situation of disabled women should be encouraged. Particular attention should be given to improving the exchange of research experiences. In this context special attention should be given to recruiting and educating suitably qualified women with disabilities as researchers.
18.7 Research should be conducted into the situation of disabled female migrants and refugees in the various European countries. Large-scale research throughout all European countries is also necessary to investigate the level and kind of violence disabled women encounter.
18.8 In all research to be undertaken about or in relation to disabled persons the gender issue should be taken into account.
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