Among people with disabilities, women are the most exposed to sexual, physical or verbal violence. Dependence on a loved one plays a major role in the difficulty of victims to defend themselves physically, as well as to testify.
This October 9, 2020 is World Disability Day, and among those concerned, women are particularly victims of violence. "In France, 40% of women with disabilities believe they have been or are currently victims of mistreatment and / or violence, reports the APF France disability survey, relayed in their last plea. Verbal violence comes first, followed in order by psychological, financial, physical and sexual violence ". From neglect to more visibly concrete acts, all spheres are concerned, from the home to the street, including school, work and even the medical community. "This situation has been around for a long time, and nobody cares, deplores Pascale Ribes, administrator of APF France handicap. In any case, it remains invisible: until then, it was an undocumented subject. Today we have the DREES investigation (Editor's note: Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics), dating from this month of July 2020, which gives concrete figures on facts known for many years ".
Power relations favorable to aggression
It is a fact: a person with a disability generally relies on the help of a loved one to support them with tasks of daily life. A dominant / dominated relationship can then take hold. "This balance of power is certainly more favorable to the aggressor to take action", says Pascale Ribes, who mentions "easy to control, isolate and mistreat others. These acts are almost tolerated by society, because they remain masked. You should enter the intimate world of the victim and his torturer ", explains the specialist, who observes devastating physical and psychological damage. The extent of the problem is also denounced by Marie Rabatel, president of the Francophone Association of Autistic Women (AFFA), who evokes "a matter of public health. The psychotraumatic consequences are disastrous and these effects increase vulnerability. A person who has been raped is very often raped a second time, ”she observes.
People with disabilities are women above all, with rights!
Talking … at the risk of being alone
If the situation is so serious, it is again because of the arm's length relationship. In the lives of victims, a real imbalance is growing between them and their loved ones. "People with disabilities depend on a third party, so they are afraid of reprisals if they speak out, so they will accept unacceptable things", comments the administrator APF France handicap. Financial dependence is also a bulwark for filing a complaint. The small income received (allowance for disabled adults (AAH), disability pension, retirement, unemployment, etc.) often puts women with disabilities below the poverty line, ie 1,041 euros per month. They therefore need a supplement, most often a part of the salary of a relative. This places a woman with a disability in the inability to be alone, because she would then be without own resources. "In our country, people who cannot work receive the AAH, which is the only income, and which is calculated according to the resources of his / her spouse. They are automatically placed in an economic situation of dependency ", confirms Marie Rabatel. The latter affirms that the victims are also in ignorance of their rights, especially in matters of psychological violence. They often explain: "Yes, he insults me … But, at the same time, he takes care of me so I accept", says Marie Rabatel.
The victims, the eternal forgotten
Violence against women is increasingly covered in the media and dealt with, at least in speech, by the political class. But concerning more specifically women with disabilities, the situation is quite different. Why ? According to Pascale Ribes, our entire society is validist: stereotypes, inequalities in all areas of daily life, the dominant / dominated relationship … are part of our mentalities. The problem is also that "The policies in force do not consider gender dimensions. Society does not see people with disabilities as gendered human beings. They are first of all objects of care and not subjects of law", denounces Pascale Ribes.
Marie Rabatel is also convinced of this: "the subject is in the shadow of current policies", to the point that victims find it difficult to be heard by the police and the courts. Not to mention that there are purely material difficulties, such as the lack of accessibility to the premises of these institutions, and the lack of qualified personnel, such as a sign language interpreter. Victims are finally confronted with incomprehension, even contempt: not believed, not taken seriously, infantilized … Same observation with regard to health professionals, especially in gynecology, first witnesses of the abuse , but whose "medical practices and the equipment for treatment are unsuitable", explains Marie Rabatel.
When will there be straightforward solutions?
According to Pascal Ribes, we must first "fight against the dependence that people with disabilities experience and which places them in an inferior position". To do this, we must first remove the inclusion of the spouse's income in the calculation of the AAH. Second, change the misrepresentation of these women. At present, the problems are mainly related to the ignorance of disability. We must therefore act with awareness campaigns. Just look at the under-representation of women with disabilities in the media. They are non-existent. Finally, to build a public policy that is doing well, it is necessary to rely on reliable data. There is a gap in the issue of disability, but it is even worse when it comes to women: it is nothing. " For Marie Rabatel, better training for professionals (in the field of health, personal assistance, etc.) is essential to detect violence.
But where are we on the political side? On January 8, 2020, the Senate unanimously adopted a motion for a resolution "to denounce and act against violence against women with disabilities", filed by Annick Billon (UDIUC senator from Vendée) and co-signed by senators from all sides. This text aims to call "to a generalized awareness of violence, particularly sexual violence, which threatens disabled women, and to the mobilization of all of society against this scourge." From here There, Pascale Ribes recalls a fact that should be obvious: women with disabilities are women above all, with rights.