Suburban
THE Federation of Organisations of Disabled People in Zimbabwe (FODPZ) has called for the creation of a violence-free society for Persons living with Disabilities (PWDs).
Peter Tanyanyiwa Suburban Reporter
FODPZ says special focus must be placed on women in particular as they are the most vulnerable group.
The organisation said if rights of an able bodied woman can be infringed what more of a woman living with disabilities.
This year the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence are running under the theme, “Unite, activism to end violence against women and girls.”
On Tuesday, FODPZ said it is involved in activism against gender-based violence and joins the nation in commemorating the 16-day global campaign.
FODPZ said it wants to specifically stand with women and girls with disabilities as they are more vulnerable to sexual abuse.
According to United Nations Women, around one in five women has some form of disability.
“Women and girls living with disabilities are subjected to overprotection by their families which solidifies their invisibility and heightens their vulnerability. Women with speech, visual and mental/intellectual impairments are particularly at the highest risk as they cannot cry out for help.
“They cannot see the perpetrator and are often taken advantage of. The sad reality of sexual abuse is that perpetrators are trusted family or community members. We would want to also take a swipe at religious and traditional healers who prescribe sex with persons with disabilities as cure for some chronic ailments or for ritual reasons. No one should flourish by destroying someone’s future. We say enough is enough and stop it now,” FODPZ said in a statement.
It said persons with disabilities were at a higher risk of domestic and sexual violence.
“Persons with disabilities face a heightened risk of domestic and sexual violence. Programmes meant to prevent or address gender-based violence seldom consider the unique challenges experienced by women with disabilities in particular. Without specific attention and targeted interventions, they remain marginalised.
This must change. According to UN women, Women with disabilities around the world experience much higher levels of physical, sexual, and psychological violence for longer periods of time and with worse physical and mental outcomes as a consequence of violence than women without disabilities,” FODPZ added.
The organisation said the main factors for the additional vulnerability of women and girls with disabilities include the perceived negative attitudes, their perceived powerlessness to defend themselves or to seek support, nature of impairment, isolation, lack of awareness, a strong bidirectional link between poverty and disability often traded for sexual exploitation and non-inclusive and inaccessible justice leading to limited and/or lack of access to legal protection and redress.
FODPZ said while the amendments to the Criminal Law and Codification Reform Act that provides for mandatory sentences and stiff penalties to child sexual exploitation is commendable, the same penalty must be extended to perpetrators of sexual abuse to women and girls with disabilities.
The body said it was disturbing that most abusers of persons with disabilities often go court-free due to their imagined legal incapacity and lack of knowledge by justice officers in handling them.
