How can we build safe and equitable communities?

According to recent results from the Canadian Survey on Disability released in December 20231, 8 million people, or 27% of the Canadian population, live with at least on disability. More than half of them are girls and women over the age of 15.

L’INÉÉI-PSH uses an approach based on Gender-based analysis (GBA, GBA+), considering multiple disabilities. This perspective aligns with the definition of disability established by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDPH) and is in perfect harmony with the HDM-DCP approach.

Right not to be subjected to exploitation, violence and abuse

Safety and the elimination of violence are the responsibility of society as a whole, not just of victims or survivors. In accordance with section 16 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, every individual has the right to live in safety.

Overview of the situation

The risk of victimization of persons with disabilities is among the highest in society. Women, in particular, are twice as likely to face this risk than women without limitations. This risk is even greater for women immigrants with disabilities2.

Vulnerability factors:

  • Age
  • Socio-economic status
  • Ethnocultural background
  • Family situation
  • Financial position
  • Sexual orientation 
  • Degree of dependence (lack of autonomy)

Some specific examples 

The financial and social dependence on their spouses makes women with disabilities particularly vulnerable to domestic violence. Access to adequate resources and support is essential for their well-being and integration.3

According to a 2018 Statistics Canada study, more than half of women with disabilities experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime. They are also four times more likely to have been sexually assaulted by an intimate partner.

Furthermore, newcomer women often experience situations of violence related to their precarious migration journey. For example, they may face threats related to their sponsorship. Similarly, women in homosexual relationships may be victims of blackmail, with threats made to reveal their sexual orientation.4

Results from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS) on victimization show that among the persons with disabilities who experienced spousal violence in the year prior to the survey, women were: 

  • More likely than men to have experienced the most severe forms of domestic violence (39% vs. 16%)
  • More likely to have suffered physical injuries as a result of the violent incident (46% vs. 29%)
  • More likely to have feared for their life (38% vs. 14%)

Different forms of violence:

  • Psychological and verbal
  • Marital and post-separation
  • Institutional or systemic
  • Obstetric
  • Destruction of mobility aids
  • Deprivation of pets or emotional support animals
  • Financial  
  • Sexual 
  • Physical 
  • Racism and ableism (discrimination based on abilities) 
  • Homophobia
  • Opportunistic 
  • Societal 
  • Barriers to the legal system

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is often manifested by:

  • Denial of their rights, in particular the right to autonomy and free and informed choice
  • Restriction of their sexuality, parenthood, and access to education, work, recreation and basic services
  • Their social exclusion due to their dependency

Some barriers to address:

Widespread ignorance of the specific needs of persons with disabilities, particularly women and children, persists. This lack of knowledge creates fear and resistance, making communication with them difficult. 

Persons with disabilities report recurring barriers in the following areas:

  • Accessibility

    Public, private and community services are not always adapted.

  • Stakeholder training and awareness

    These gaps hinder the recognition of various forms of discrimination.

  • Lack of adequate support

    Persons with disabilities report that essential resources remain inaccessible.

Specific barriers to accessing support resources include:

  • Police, family, counsellors, shelter workers, lawyers, nurses, social workers or co-workers do not believe them.
  • A lack of knowledge about forms of abuse, making it difficult to identify them. 
  • Lack of information on available services.
  • Migration status is often precarious.
  • Hidden homelessness, rarely taken into account by decision-making bodies.
  • Persistent inaccessibility of resources, even when they are identified.
  • Stubborn prejudices, which aggravate exclusion and stigma.

Standards and obligations

According to Article 17 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities5, “every person with disabilities has a right to respect for his or her physical and mental integrity on an equal basis with others.”

The Government of Canada has confirmed these rights by stating, through the Commission des droits de la personne et de la jeunesse, that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights and freedoms as all other persons6, including:

  • The right to equality
  • The right to protection against exploitation
  • Fundamental freedoms and rights

In addition, section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person.” This includes protecting the physical and mental integrity of each individual.7

In Québec, the policy À part entière : pour un réel exercice du droit à l’égalité pour les personnes handicapées, adopted in 2007, establishes two priority areas:

  1. Acting against prejudice, discrimination and all forms of exploitation, violence and abuse
  2. Designing barrier-free laws, policies and services … and providing accessible environments

Good practices to strengthen the employment component of your action plan

Health services have an obligation to adapt their benefits to the specific needs of individuals. These accommodations are designed to restore equality between individuals and to prevent or put an end to any situation of discrimination.8

Using an intersectional gender-based analysis+ (GBA+) framework: 

  • Understanding how various forces (barriers, inequalities, etc.) intersect and interact, exacerbating situations of social exclusion, inequality and insecurity for persons with disabilities, particularly women and children. 
  • Recognizing the specificities of different population groups in order to identify their needs, concerns and priorities.
  • Implementing equity measures to achieve true equality and inclusion.
  • Developing policies, programs and services adapted to the real needs of each group, while removing systemic barriers to support their economic inclusion and social participation.
  • Encouraging active participation in the workplace, decision-making bodies and governance processes.

Concrete measures to be implemented

Available resources

Community resources and crisis lines

Training

Fact sheet prepared in collaboration with Selma Kouidri, General Manager, with feedback from Hélène Rapanakis, Awareness and Prevention Officer, and Sarah Butshinke Kazadi, Social Work Intern at INÉÉI-PSH.

  1. Statistics Canada. New data on disability in Canada, 2022. Government of Canada
  2. Women and adequate housing: Study by the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, Miloon Kothari, E/CN.4/2005/43, paragraph 64.
  3. Office des personnes handicapées du Québec (2010). Assessment of the adaptation needs of women with disabilities who are victims of domestic violence. Drummondville: Service de l’évaluation de l’intégration sociale et de la recherche, Office des personnes handicapées du Québec.
  4. Institut national de santé publique du Québec. Media kit on domestic violence: Statistics. Government of Québec
  5. Human Rights Commission. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, OHCHR.
  6.  Human Rights Commission. Persons with disabilities.
  7. Government of Canada (2023). Section 7 – Right to life, liberty and security of the person.
  8.  Human Rights Commission. Reasonable accommodation.