Blog
New Easy Resource: Listening to Women with Intellectual Disabilities on Gender-Based Violence
- Ending discrimination
- Africa
- Middle East & North Africa (MENA)
We’re excited to share an important new document with you. It is an Easy Learning Brief about Gender-Based Violence against women with intellectual disabilities in Kenya and Lebanon.
This resource was created through focus groups with women with intellectual disabilities, organised by our members LASA, from Lebanon and KAIH from Kenya.
This brief is available to download at these links in English, Arabic, & French.
The focus groups were run with the support of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) who commissioned the work. They wanted to understand more about the support women with intellectual disabilities need from humanitarian organisations like the IRC.
What’s in the document?
This learning brief is full of recommendations from women with intellectual disabilities. We held accessible focus groups in Kenya and Lebanon, following our Listen Include Respect focus group guidelines.
The focus groups allowed the women to speak freely about their experiences and needs. They shared their thoughts on what makes them feel unsafe, who they trust to help them, and how their communities can become safer.
Maya, from the Lebanese Association for Self-Advocacy (LASA), emphasizes the importance of this work: “I am lucky to be in a family that supports me and protects me from violence. But this is not enough. We self-advocates must fight against violence and put pressure on the government so that there are laws that protect us.”
I am lucky to be in a family that supports me and protects me from violence. But this is not enough. We self-advocates must fight against violence and put pressure on the government so that there are laws that protect us.
Maya, Lebanese Association for Self-Advocacy
Why is this so important?
In both Kenya and Lebanon, girls with intellectual disabilities face a high risk of violence. This includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual violence, and neglect. We hear from members that this is the same in other places around the world. Many women with intellectual disabilities do not get the help and support they need. Elissa from LASA points out, “Violence is not only physical, verbal violence exists and it hurts a lot.”
Violence is not only physical, verbal violence exists and it hurts a lot.
Elyssa, Lebanese Association for Self-Advocacy
Mia, another member of LASA, shared, “Many of my friends have suffered violence but are afraid to talk about it. Often, they don’t know who they are talking to.”
This brief aims to change that by sharing the ideas of the women on how organisations can support them better.
Many of my friends have suffered violence but are afraid to talk about it. Often, they don’t know who they are talking to.
Mia, Lebanese Association for Self-Advocacy
The document also includes a page which brings together many other resources from members about Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.
How we created this document together
Making this document was a collaborative effort using the Listen Include Respect guidelines.
Self-advocates from KAIH, Kenya and LASA Lebanon worked together to write the plain language and to design the illustrations.
We kindly ask that when sharing this resource, members offer support to people with intellectual disabilities, as the content may be sensitive and people may need someone to talk to about their own experiences. Self-advocates who created the document gave us this advice
Download the Brief
We hope this document will be a useful tool in understanding the needs of women with intellectual disabilities who face violence, especially for self-advocates.
Remember Maya’s words: self-advocates must fight against violence and push for protective laws.