A Call for an End to Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities under International and Regional Human Rights Law

Title: 
A Call for an End to Violence against Women and Girls with Disabilities under International and Regional Human Rights Law
Journal Citation: 
10(2) NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW, 583-653 (2018)

This article articulates the ways in which international human rights law can respond to global trends of violence against women and girls with disabilities. In parts one and two, the article describes the prevalence of violence against women and girls with disabilities in personal and institutional contexts, and addresses the barriers stalling its reduction. In part three, the article looks at the legal, physical, and perception-based obstacles that women and girls with disabilities face in accessing the justice system. In part four, the article explores the ways in which international human rights law can serve to promote access to justice for women and girls with disabilities. The authors analyze the capacity of three UN Conventions to promote such access: the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In parts five and six, the authors compare the regional human rights protections available to women and girls with disabilities in North America, Africa, and Europe, then explores a Peruvian case study on violence against women with disabilities. In parts seven and eight, the article presents normative recommendations to state governments to better empower women and girls with disabilities’ access to justice using international human rights law.