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PRESS RELEASE

Sisters of Frida joins Deaf and Disabled People’s Organisations (DDPOs) from across the UK in Geneva this week to present evidence of violations on disabled people’s rights to the UN Committee on the Rights of Disabled People (UNCRPD)

In a closed session on Monday 21st August, DDPOs will highlight the UK Government’s failure to respond to many of the questions put to it by the Committee throughout this process. They will tell the Committee of the systemic failure to support disabled people to live independently and to have access to social, educational, and employment opportunities.

This is the first time the UN Disability Committee is reviewing the UK’s progress in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities since the UK government ratified the Convention in 2009. DDPOs will tell the Committee that the government has ignored many of the questions put to it earlier this year as part of the review process. The Committee will consider the government’s response to its questions and the DDPOs’ observations before questioning representatives from the UK and devolved governments in Geneva later this week (23 and 24 August).

Eleanor Lisney, Director of Sisters of Frida says,

‘We have been calling out on the failure of the UK Government to fulfil obligations to disabled women since 2013 when we joined the UK CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women) Workgroup and delegation in 2013 going to Geneva). We did the same when we went to UN in New York city for CSW (UN Commission on the Status of Women) the UKNGOCSW delegation and held a side event. It is vital that disabled women are represented in processes like CRPD reporting as too often our experience as disabled women is invisible.This is an opportunity to change this and show how the cuts and legal changes are affecting us.’

Sarah Rennie, who will be representing Sisters of Frida in Geneva says,

‘The UK Government’s response does not address how gender-specific policies incorporate the social model of disability to break down barriers, meet the needs of Disabled women, or require an intersectional approach. We urge the Government to immediately remove the “best interests” defence in the Serious Crime Act 2015 which restricts Disabled women from seeing their perpetrators of emotional abuse brought to justice, and to improve access to medical care for Disabled women including pre-natal and reproductive health services.’

The DDPOs’ submission was co-produced by Reclaiming our Futures Alliance (including Sisters of Frida ), Inclusion Scotland, People First Scotland, DRUK, Disability Wales, Disability Action Northern Ireland, British Deaf Association, and Black Triangle.

Defend our Rights, Rights of Disabled Women, #intersectionality #CRPD17, #DDPOSGeneva

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1) The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities investigation is assessing what steps the UK has taken to implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Disabled People. The committee is a body of experts, nominated and elected by governments. The majority of committee members are disabled people.

2) The committee postponed its scheduled assessment of the UK (originally due in 2015) to hold a special inquiry into complaints by DPPOs that the government’s welfare reform policies had violated disabled people’s rights. The current assessment looks at a much wider set of issues, including our laws on mental health and mental capacity, employment policies and education.

3) Before examining UK and devolved government representatives on Wednesday and Thursday the committee will meet with representatives of DDPOs to discuss their views on the formal written response already tabled by the UK government. The DDPOs have prepared their own submission as highlighted above.

4) Previous UN shadow reports from Sisters of Frida can be found at https://www.sisofrida.org/resources/

5) ROFA is an alliance of Disabled People and their organisations in England including Inclusion London, Equal Lives, Alliance for Inclusive Education, Sisters of Frida, National People First and Disabled People Against Cuts. For more information see: www.rofa.org.uk

6) more information about Sisters of Frida to be found at https://www.sisofrida.org

7) information on the status of disabled women in the Serious Crime Art 2015 can be found at https://www.sisofrida.org/resources/violence-against-women/

Press queries to

Email: hello@sisofrida.org T: @sisofrida https://www.sisofrida.org

SoF CRPD Shadow report with List of Issues

Sisters of Frida Shadow Report MS Word Document

Sisters of Frida Shadow Report PDF

posted to Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP (UK), UN Enable, UN Women, International Disability Alliance,

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

23 rd June 2016

Dear Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP (UK) and other concerned parties,

We write as the only collective of women with disabilities in the UK to express our serious disappointment that the new composition of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which is specifically a convention on and for disabled people, will have only one woman representative.

We are joined by our deep disappointment and concern by the International Network of Women with Disabilities (INWWD), European Network of Independent Living (ENIL), Women with Disabilities India Network, Pukenga Consultancy (NZ), Advocacy for Inclusion (Australia) and Women Enabled International in this letter.

Indeed, the CRPD Committee now stands as the treaty body with the fewest number of women members – one woman (out of 18 members) in 2017– a significant departure from its previous compositions of six women (out of 18 members) in 2014-2016; seven women (out of 18 members) in 2012-2014; eight women (out of eighteen members) in 2010-2012; and five women (out of 12 members) in 2008-2010.

Yet, article 34(4) of the CRPD sets out the requirement that States Parties elect members of the Committee with consideration being given to: equitable geographical distribution, representation of different legal systems, balanced gender representation and participation of experts with disabilities. This requirement for gender parity has clearly not been met. This failure to adhere to its own Convention seriously undermines the credibility of the new Committee.

In March, members of Sisters of Frida, the INWWD, and Women Enabled International participated at the UN CSW 60 at which themes under discussion and review included the empowerment of women and the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. There was a marked paucity of events covering disabled women although several side-events were held by and with disabled women expressing the issues forcibly and clearly.

Disabled women are among the most disadvantaged in the world, despite being the single largest minority of women, and this failure to attend to the issues facing disabled women cannot help in the fight against barriers imposed not just by the built environment and lack of accessibility to services, employment and education but also by social barriers: stigmatization, ostracization and the easy targeting of those who are particularly susceptible to discrimination, including the fact we are female. How will these concerns be heard and represented? The CRPD recognizes the intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women and girls in Article 6; we need women representatives in the committee in order to ensure the Committee engages and addresses this issue.

What will you do to redress this lack of gender equality so that it will not be the case for the next election? What is the work to be done to ensure the inclusion of women across all the conventions, and agreements to which the UK Government is party? This absence of women in decision-making is likely to lead to leaving many behind in the face of the cry underpinning the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 5, that no-one should be left  behind.

How can we be of assistance?

We look forward to your reply,

Eleanor Lisney

Sisters of Frida

Other signatories include

Myra Kovary (Moderator, International Network of Women with Disabilities)

Jamie Bolling (CEO, European Network on Independent Living)

Prof. (Dr) Asha Hans (Women with Disabilities India Network)

Dr Huhanna Hickey (Pukenga Consultancy, NZ)

Christina Ryan (CEO, Advocacy for Inclusion, Australia)

Stephanie Ortoleva Esq (Founding President & Legal Director, Women Enabled International)

(the deadline has been extended to 31st March)

Below is a submission from the UK CEDAW Working Group on behalf of Sisters of Frida for the CRPD general discussion on women and girls with disabilities on April 17th 2013. (with thanks to Charlotte Gage for getting it out in time)

Introduction

Most States lack a specific and comprehensive law, policy or programme on persons with disabilities in general or on women with disabilities in particular. States that do have a disability law often do not specifically address the rights of women with disabilities. States may also have a specific law on violence against women that generally provides remedies for all women, within a non-discriminatory framework, but unfortunately, such laws are not effectively implemented in respect of women with disabilities. Very few States have established dedicated institutional mechanisms, programmes or strategies such as national committees or councils on women and disabilities.The United Kingdom (UK) is no exception.

The UK says that it uses the social model of disability which recognises that disability arises from society’s negative responses to us, inaccessible environments, discrimination and disablism. However, the UK definition of disability is not compliant with the CRPD. Disability is not an inevitable consequence of impairments and equality is possible and can be achieved through removing the barriers to social inclusion. This report demonstrates that the statistics fail to recognise that disabled people are not a homogenous group and include disabled women as well as men. This is partly due to a general lack of data disaggregated from a gender and disability perspective. Disabled women’s needs are often excluded in the mainstream Disability Movement as well as the Women’s Movement, and wider government policy, which explains the lack of both qualitative and quantitative data specifically about disabled women in all the areas discussed below. Disabled women often remain invisible in mainstream legislation/policy for women and disabled women’s issues are still under-researched, and their concerns are overlooked….