Preventing and responding to violence against women with disabilities requires a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach. It includes:

• strengthening legal frameworks,
• enhancing support services,
• ensuring that an inclusive lens is applied to prevention efforts,
• raising societal awareness,
• improving data collection, and
• promoting intersectoral collaboration.

It is also crucial to prioritize the voices, experiences, and agency of women with disabilities in developing and implementing policies and interventions.

This publication provides recommendations for policymakers to address the findings highlighted through the project “Addressing stigma and discrimination experienced by women with disabilities (ASDWD)”, which was developed in partnership with researchers from University College London, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women offices, local organizations of people with disabilities, and individual women with disabilities who contributed across Pakistan, Palestine, Republic of Moldova, and Samoa, with funding from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD).

Women and girls with disabilities continue to face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. When it comes to global normative standards for disability inclusion, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) includes provisions and obligations related to gender equality. To date, however, normative standards have not been consistently translated into national, sectoral, and/or local gender-responsive, disability-inclusive policies and corresponding budgets.

Drawing on a selection of country experiences, this policy brief identifies emerging trends and practices on gender- and disability-inclusive budgeting. These include, among others:

• collection, analysis, and use of data and statistics on intersectional discrimination;
• integration of gender and disability inclusion in laws, policies, systems, and institutional practice;
• integration of gender and disability inclusion in the planning and budgeting cycle; and
• enhanced participation of women with disabilities in policy, planning, and budgeting.

The brief aims to address these gaps and promote policy discourse and reforms at global and country level.

One in five women is estimated to be living with a disability, making it crucial to study the increased risks of various forms of violence that they face.  

This synthesis review contains key insights and lessons from the experiences of 22 diverse civil society and women’s rights organizations in various contexts that were supported by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund) special window to end violence against women and girls with disabilities between 2018 and 2023. In particular, it highlights the lessons learned about fostering collaboration, shifting mindsets, empowering women and girls with disabilities, engaging with legal and policy systems, and allowing for flexible adaptation and learning in addressing violence against women and girls with disabilities.  

These findings mean that the review: 

• contributes to developing programming that is disability specific and disability inclusive; 
• promotes the development of a knowledge base that is grounded in the realities of practitioners in the Global South; and 
• offers practical recommendations to practitioners, researchers, donors and policymakers. 

The “Women with disabilities stigma inventory” (WDSI) was developed as part of the project “Addressing stigma and discrimination experienced by women with disabilities” (ASDWD) project, which was jointly led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Women, with funding from the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN PRPD).

The ASDWD project focused on the intersection of disability and gender-based stigma and discrimination. A key objective was to create a survey tool to assess the experiences of women and girls with disabilities regarding stigma, discrimination, and gender-based violence. To this end, alongside developing the WDSI using a participatory approach, a methodological note and ethical guidelines were also produced to ensure a human rights–based approach and minimize harm.

This toolkit includes:

• Women with disabilities stigma inventory (WDSI)
• WDSI methodological note
• Ethical standards guide for the ASDWD project

The WDSI is a stand-alone, self-reporting survey tool that can be used to collect data about the experiences of women with disabilities globally in relation to stigma, discrimination, and violence.

The purpose of the methodological note is to provide an overview of the WDSI, its development process, and how to implement the tool and analyse results.

The “Ethical standards guide” was used throughout the ASDWD project to minimize the risk of harm while engaging women with disabilities. The human rights–based approach and the “Do no harm” principle guided the conceptualization and implementation of these guidelines.

The purpose of the Guidelines is to provide guidance on how to consult with and actively involve persons with disabilities and their representative organizations in all disability-specific and general decision-making processes across the UN’s work, as mandated in the UNDIS’ entity accountability framework and UNCT accountability scorecard, in order to enhance the participation of persons with disabilities to reach programmatic and operational goals and leave no one behind. This document provides guidance on how to make participation of persons with disabilities meaningful.

The Guidelines are intended to assist all UN personnel, whether they are working in human rights, sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, peace and security, or operational functions to consult with and actively involve with persons with disabilities and their representative organizations across programmes and operations – from planning and design to implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Are you planning an event and want to ensure it is accessible for all, including persons with disabilities but are unsure about the basic event accessibility guidelines? This document is for you!

Since 15 per cent of the world’s population experience one or another form of disability, ensuring physical and information accessibility is a prerequisite for their effective and meaningful participation in any public event. Everyone who arrives at your event should feel welcome and be able to participate and benefit from the event equally. This document provides guidelines on basic accessibility requirements to help you plan a more inclusive and accessible event.

Disability-inclusive communications will help to fulfill the promise of ‘leaving no one behind’, a key component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Inclusive communications allow persons with disabilities to participate fully and equally in all spheres of society.

The purpose of the Guidelines is to assist UN communications focal points and other UN staff to make all our communications disabilityinclusive and accessible. Inclusive and accessible communications reduce bias and discrimination, and promote inclusion and participation.

UN Women is fully committed to mainstreaming disability inclusion and intersectionality throughout its work, as laid out in the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025. The goal is to ensure a more systematic approach to ensuring the rights of women and girls with disabilities across UN Women’s areas of work.

Disability, gender, and discrimination are closely interlinked, with one in five women experiencing a disability-related exclusion. To address this, UN Women developed a corporate strategy for the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities built on a multi-pronged approach that includes providing normative guidance, integrated policy advice, operational support, and technical assistance for programme and capacity-development. The approach helps ensure that initiatives are both gender-responsive and inclusive of the rights of persons with disabilities.

This brief overviews UN Women’s approach to disability inclusion and intersectionality.

Working as One UN to amplify the voices of women and girls with disabilities at the global, regional and country levels

A unique system-wide accountability framework that promotes the shift in systems and mindsets that leads to sustained institutional change and transformative gender equality results

La presente publicación representa un esfuerzo conjunto de Organización para la Educación y la Cultura de Naciones Unidas (UNESCO), la Entidad de Naciones Unidas para la Igualdad de Género y el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres (ONU Mujeres) y de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (PAHO) en Panamá bajo un programa nacional financiado por la sexta convocatoria del Fondo Fiduciario de Socios Múltiples (Multi-Partner Trust Fund) del Secretariado de la Alianza de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (UNPRPD por sus siglas en inglés).

El documento presente pretende dar una herramienta a la Asamblea Nacional en apoyo de su función fiscalizadora del gobierno para mejorar los resultados del presupuesto nacional relacionados con los compromisos nacionales e internacionales a favor de los derechos de las mujeres y de las personas con discapacidad. Sin una distribución eficaz y eficiente de los recursos destinados a cerrar las brechas de género y desigualdades que afectan a las personas con discapacidad, dichos compromisos no pueden cumplirse.

La asamblea nacional es el órgano que tiene el mandato de fiscalización y control al gobierno; de aprobar legislación que pueda afectar el proceso presupuestario (aumento de impuestos, recorte de gastos, etc.) y de legislar en torno a los temas de igualdad de género y derechos de las personas con discapacidad.

La presente publicación representa un esfuerzo conjunto de Organización para la Educación y la Cultura de Naciones Unidas (UNESCO), la Entidad de Naciones Unidas para la Igualdad de Género y el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres (ONU Mujeres) y de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (PAHO) en Panamá bajo un programa nacional financiado por la sexta convocatoria del Fondo Fiduciario de Socios Múltiples (Multi-Partner Trust Fund) del Secretariado de la Alianza de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (UNPRPD por sus siglas en inglés).

Para avanzar los derechos de las mujeres y de las personas con discapacidad en el país en base a las convenciones internacionales firmadas y ratificadas por Panamá y reflejadas en diversas legislaciones nacionales, y alcanzar la inclusión y la igualdad sustantiva, es necesario que los recursos humanos y financieros estén identificados y disponibles dentro de los sistemas de planificación y presupuestación del estado.

Es por ello que en la presente publicación se ofrecen ejemplos y se describen herramientas que logran introducir una perspectiva de género y de inclusión de los derechos da las personas con discapacidad a la planificación y presupuestación gubernamental. Para ello se ha contado también con la participación de las OPD y la Asamblea Nacional recogiendo sus sugerencias y puntos de vista a través de diversos talleres y reuniones dando a conocer los objetivos del proyecto y, de manera más importante, los derechos de las personas con discapacidad y su reflejo en los presupuestos públicos. 

La presente publicación representa un esfuerzo conjunto de Organización para la Educación y la Cultura de Naciones Unidas (UNESCO), la Entidad de Naciones Unidas para la Igualdad de Género y el Empoderamiento de las Mujeres (ONU Mujeres) y de la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (PAHO) en Panamá bajo un programa nacional financiado por la sexta convocatoria del Fondo Fiduciario de Socios Múltiples (Multi-Partner Trust Fund) del Secretariado de la Alianza de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (UNPRPD por sus siglas en inglés). 

El documento pretende dar una herramienta a las Organizaciones de Personas con Discapacidad (OPDs) en apoyo de su función de incidencia y abogacía para mejorar los resultados del presupuesto nacional relacionados con los compromisos nacionales e internacionales a favor de los derechos de las mujeres y de las personas con discapacidad. Sin una distribución eficaz y eficiente de los recursos destinados a cerrar las brechas de género y desigualdades que afectan a las personas con discapacidad, dichos compromisos no pueden cumplirse.