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1 Human rights, ethics
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 Education
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
b 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 nation-wide 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.
guide to The Amsterdam Treaty
European Disability Forum
Square Ambiorix 32 Box 2/A - B-1000 Brussels - Belgium
T + 32/2 282.46.00 - F +32/2 282.46.09 - E-mail: info(edf.arc.be
Manifesto by disabled women in Europe
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