Pro Choice and Disabled |
Understanding Violence |
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I have been a feminist for as long as I can remember. Even as a young
girl at the age of ten, I did not believe in the stereotypes that other
young girls did. In college, I told a guy off for calling me a "chick".
"I am not a chick or a girl - I am a woman", I told him strongly.
I had not even met another feminist at the point in my life, but feminism
seemed to come naturally to me.
I have been disabled for as long as I can remember. My disability is
genetic. It started to show itself when I was five years old and got progressively
worse as I grew older. I was correctly diagnosed when I was 39 years old,
so you can imagine what kind of medical procedures I had been put through
all of my life.
Choice versus eugenics
So how do these two worlds connect and help to make sense of the title
of this article. In my work with the women's community, I am well known
for my pro-choice stance. I have gone to pro-choice rallies, spoke at a
pro-choice forum about my own experience of having an abortion and even
been on a CBC morning news show (a national TV network). I believe in a
woman's right to choose if she wants to have an abortion or does not want
to have an abortion. It does go both ways. And don't kid yourself, lot
of women with disabilities have abortions just like lots of non-disabled
women have abortions. Abortions should be covered by the medical health
program wherever the woman lives and must be safe and legal. I believe
in nothing less than this.
But then the disability part of me speaks up and says - watch out for
pre-natal screening. The only reason for pre-natal screening is to get
rid disabled fetuses. Does that de-value disabled people in our society?
Yes, I certainly think that it does. But then the feminist part of me says
that women must still have the right to have an abortion even if that means
she is aborting a disabled fetus. Because, ultimately, she has to bear
the child, and raise and care for it. If she does not love that child,
and mistreats it for the rest of the life - that is unthinkable. Remember,
too that women with disabilities also choose to have pre-natal screening
and will also choose to abort a disabled fetus. It has never been just
non-disabled women that make that choice.
Some women will choose to carry a disabled fetus to term. They are fine
with the fact that their baby will have a disability. Actually, other people
around her will probably be angry that she is choosing to have her baby
even though she knows it will have a disability. They will try to convince
her to have an abortion. The whole medical system will click into action
for the abortion, but when she has a disabled baby, then she is on her
own, and will have to struggle to make sure her baby is treated fairly
by everyone.
I have had heated arguments with male and female disability rights activists
who have called women who have had abortions "murderers". They
don't believe in the right of women to have abortions and use the disability
argument to argue against the rights of women. A Down's Syndrome group
in Ontario even tried to get the government to ban late abortions. Late
abortions are done when a women has received a positive amniocenteses and
chooses to abort the fetus. The fetus probably has Down's Syndrome or spina
bifida.
The dilemma of being a pro-choice feminist
It is hard to be a disabled pro-choice feminist. Both the disability
rights movement and the women's movement has an argument with you. The
disability rights movement wants you only to support people with disabilities
and make sure that women never abort disabled fetuses and the women's movement
wants you to always support a woman's right to an abortion no matter what
the reason is. I have always leaned towards the feminist side even with
my strong disability activist background. But I have spoken many a time
to feminists telling about disabled people's lives and that we are valuable
human beings. I tell them that genetic counselling must be unbiased so
that women can get a true picture of our lives.
If after unbiased genetic counselling and a chance to meet people with
disabilities (if the woman chooses), a woman stills wants that abortion
because she has a disabled fetus - then that should be her legal right.
I will support that right because I am a feminist and I will always fight
for the right because I am a feminist. I will always bring up disabled
people's issues as well because I can never forget that I still am a disability
rights activist.
Understanding Violence Against Women with Disabilities
As research shifts significantly in exploring the arena of woman abuse,
feminist research has moved away from the model which identifies woman
abuse solely within the context of a social problem affecting the woman
in intimate relationships with men. Within the traditional research paradigms,
what constitutes "pathology" rests with the individual woman.
Bograd (1988) identifies the goal of feminist research as being "not
merely to incorporate women into pre-existing theories but to develop theories
and models that accurately reflect women's experiences" (pg. 16).
Thus, violence against women is reflective of a patriarchal society which
fosters and perpetuates the subjugation of women. Much must be said for
the shelter movement in its push toward uncovering the reality of violence
in women's lives and identifying it as a form of misogyny.
For many women whose lives are impacted by other forms of oppression
not solely based on sexism, our struggles remain in isolation. Earlier
organizing around the issue of woman abuse tended to reflect the experience
of women from the dominant culture. While many women spoke of the impact
of sexism in their lives, many others also spoke of the impact presented
by racism and ethnocentric ideologies on their definitions of violence.
Women of colour, immigrant and refugee women have collectively organized
and strategized to "break the silence" regarding the abuse in
their lives and in the lives of women in their communities. By shifting
"blame" away from women, it becomes clearer that traditional
research models could no longer ignore women's experience based on race,
culture, sexual orientation, class or age. Those of us who have lived our
experience from the margins break our silence. However, does that mean
that all of us have been able to participate in this process? Although
women with disabilities constitute approximately 16% of the Canadian population,
for the longest time, our voices have been excluded from these discussions.
In recognizing that as women we must define our experiences, I come
to writing this piece based on my being a white woman with a disability.
I am a woman who lives in the dominant Western culture which devalues my
experience as both a woman and as a person with a disability, as well,
I too have experienced the residual effects of emotional abuse within the
context of an intimate relationship. I do not claim to write on behalf
of all women with disabilities but rather attempt to pull the pieces together
based on research and conversations with other disabled women who are also
survivors.
Living in this society, we are only too aware that there is a high tolerance
for violence. This is particularly so of acts of violence against women
and other disenfranchized individuals. Historically, women have been the
property of men. The dominant, white culture condones and perpetuates this
belief, which results in women being viewed as prime targets for abuse
and assault. This is also true too, in the case of women with disabilities.
The dynamics, however become more complicated when we look at the factors
that come into play for women with disabilities.
It is strongly supported that women with disabilities, regardless of
age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or class are assaulted, raped
and abused at a rate two times greater than non-disabled women (Sobsey,
1988, 1994; Cusitar,1994; Stimpson and Best,1991; DisAbled Women's Network
(DAWN), 1988). Sobsey (1988) suggested that 83% of women with disabilities
will be sexually assaulted during their lifetime. Fifty percent of women
with disabilities have been sexually abused as children, and 39%-68% of
girls with developmental disabilities before the age of 18 will be assaulted
(Roeher Institute, 1988). Researchers states that the more disabled a woman
is, the greater the risk of her being assaulted (Sobsey, 1994; DAWN, 1988).
Violence causes disabilities such as chronic pain, head injuries, paralysis
and memory loss.
The challenge that violence against women with disabilities presents
is that we do not fit "nicely" into the paradigm set up by feminist
researchers when looking at woman abuse. For many of us, we have been assaulted,
raped and abused by caregivers, service providers - those who have positions
of power and control over our lives. We are also abused by intimate partners,
including same-sex assaults and gay/lesbian bashing.
Due to the "injustices" inherent within the existing justice
system often women, and in particular women considered furthest from the
margins, are not believed when we report incidents of abuse or assault.
As a result, the reporting rates are substantially lower, as many women
with disabilities hear the comments such as "it doesn't happen to
disabled women". If a woman with a disability is able to get past
the first stage involved with reporting the abuse/assault, she must often
confront other barriers, such as lack of information about her legal rights
or messages from prosecuters such as "if she pleads one way rather
than another, this may ensure an expedient trial". But for who's benefit?
Physical and attitudinal barriers when accessing services tends to compound
the woman's experience of trauma resulting from her abuse. Shelters may
be accessible (one room and accessible bathroom), she may be unable to
access other parts of the house or to particpate in some of the same activities
as the other women. Lesbians with disabilities escaping from partner abuse
may feel further isolated due to homophobic attitudes of staff and other
women in the house. While immigrant/refugee women's services are sensitive
to issues of woman abuse, they may not have the understanding of issues
related to disability and how this can impact the woman's experience of
trauma.
For more information about this article, email us at:
discool@oocities.com
References:
Bograd, Michele, "Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse", in
Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse, Yllo, Kersti and Michele Bograd (eds.),
SAGE Publications, 1988.
Cusitar, Leanne, Strengthening The Links: Stopping the Violence, prepared
for DisAbled Women's Network Toronto, 1994
Rafiq, Fauzia (ed.), Towards Equal Access: A Handbook for Service Providers
Working with Survivors of Abuse, Immigrant and Visible Minority Women Against
Abuse, 1991
Roeher Institute, Vulnerable: Sexual Abuse and People with an Intellectual
Handicap, Roeher Institute, 1988
Sobsey, Dick, "Sexual offenses and disabled victims: Research and
practical implications", VIS-A-VIS, 6(4), 1988
Sobsey, Dick, Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities,
Paul H. Brookes Publishers, 1994
Stimpson, L. and E. Best, Courage Above All: Sexual Assault and Women
with Disabilities, prepared for DisAbled Women's Network Toronto, 1991
Womendez, C. and Karen Schneiderman, "Escaping from the Abuse:
Unique Issues for Women with Disabilities", Sexuality and Disability,
9(3), 1991
Women and Disability, Canadian Women's Studies Journal, Summer 1993
Resources:
DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) Canada
#408-3637 Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC CANADA V5Z 2X3
E-mail: dawncan@mortimer.com
Feminist self-help, publications
DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) Ontario
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 781, Station B, Sudbury, Ontario CANADA P3E 4S1
Feminist self-help, range of activities Web site:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/odell/dawnpage.htm
Abuse of the Physically Disabled at
http://www.roadtohealing.home.ml.org/abusedis.htm
Click here for the following articles:
Barriers
to Services by Victims of Violence
Counselling
Issues for Survivors of Sexual Violence
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