European Conference on Independent Living of
Older Persons and Persons with Disablities

Helsinki, Marina Congress Center
6-7 October, 1999

Marita Iglesias, Consultant on Disability Matters,
European Disability Forum - Women´s group, Spain
Equal opportunities for women with disabilities?

Inequality and discrimination continue to exist, and their elimination is the key which opens the door to the philosophy of equal opportunity.

Disability is a relevant social matter, and we know that the number of people affected by it is growing day by day. When we talk about women, the aspect of "invisibility" is an even greater problem than it is in the case of men, despite the fact that there are about 250 million women in the world with some type of disability.

We are members of two disadvantaged and minority groups ("disabled people", and within this, "women"). We face, then, a double discrimination, as well as various barriers which make the accomplishment of objectives considered as essential in everyday life very difficult. Higher unemployment rates, lower salaries, less access to medical care, lack of education, poor or non-existent access to programmes and services aimed at women, and a higher risk of suffering physical and/or sexual abuse are just some of the social problems which women with sensorial, physical or mental disabilities must face.

This discrimination constitutes a worsening of the age-old discrimination that women have always suffered.

Many disabled women are deprived of their rights as citizens -- and in this way society is also deprived of their abilities and knowledge -- when their access to education is prohibited or restricted. Because of traditional views concerning women´s roles, it is even more difficult to convince society -- and many families -- that their disabled daughters must receive education in a normal way, to the extent that this is possible. In many societies it is regarded as obvious that women do not need education; and if they are also disabled, the encouragement that they receive from their family to obtain a normal education is partically non-existent. As a result the level of illiteracy among disabled women is higher than among disabled men.

Employment

It is quite obvious that the lack of education and qualifications in the case of disabled women makes their chances of earning money and improving their situation almost null. There are few expectations in relation to the professional possibilities of disabled women. Those that do have jobs are exploited and underpaid.

Of the 40 million disabled people of the European Union, almost 50% are at the age of active workers. In the EU member countries that have relevant data available, it is not foreseen that this percentage will vary within the next 25 years.

Approximately 17% of the EU´s population of working age suffer from some disability.

Even when one takes into account the difference between countries, the employment level of disabled people in the EU is 44%, as opposed to 61% for the population as a whole.

Data referring to the EU show that the employment rate for men without disabilities is 76%, versus 36% for disabled men. With regard to women, the percentages are 55% for non-disabled and 25% for disabled women.

Women workers with disabilities are financially worse off than disabled men who work.

Health

Disabled women are among the groups which receive the most medical care. Studies done on specific groups (autistic women, for example) show that they are more likely to remain in institutions for longer periods of time than men.

There are many factors that make access to birth control and family planning very difficult; they include physical and communication barriers.

In hospitals disabled women are used as models for the training of doctors without their having previously been asked for their permission. Videos and slides of disabled women are made to be used as teaching aids, without any control over their use.

Marriage and family

Here, too, the majority of disabled women are also discriminated against, as from the outset women are judged by their looks and not by their qualities as human beings. Disabled women do not meet the set standards, and their sexuality is barely recognised. The possibility of their being considered asexual, and consequently of being deprived of their right to bringing up a family, to childbirth, adoption, running a home and so forth, is directly proportional to how obvious the disability is. There are permanent debates on the role that women are supposed to play and on that assigned to disabled persons. As a result, while women in general are pressured into motherhood by society, disabled women are forced into not having children. This often leads to unauthorised sterilisation, or denial of adoption on the basis of the "incapacity of the mother" to take care of children adequately. A consequence of this situation is that the number of couples where the disabled partner is a woman is much lower compared to cases where the disabled partner is a man.

Self-perception and social image

The key to understanding the phenomenon of violence against disabled women is to be found in the image that society has of them, as well as in how they see themselves.

A woman´s level of personal satisfaction depends to a large extent on how well she fits in with the image that society has bestowed on the female body. Thus being fat or overweight is unacceptable, while being thin is associated with success. But for many women, this ideal is impossible to achieve. Apart from these physical qualities, we must add other characteristics which are culturally accepted as ideal in women and which rarely appear in disabled women -- or in those who have had different experiences or have a "different" appearance. All of these factors exclude such women from the rest of the group.

The ideals and guidelines of beauty defined by the dominant culture are shown in publicity material and are interpreted as socially desired, thus provoking the need to change or alter imperfect bodies. The message is clear; "The way our bodies are now is undesirable and unacceptable". The ideal is to be non-disabled; this is closely followed by the necessity to achieve "a perfect body".

Disabled women are not free from the influence of advertising language when it comes to the "mental sculpturing" of their bodies. We know what is desirable or not in a woman´s body, and we make comparisons. Disability is seen as a "deficit" and the "ideal" imposed is far beyond our reach. These messages become ingrained, and a comparison is established between the standards of beauty and the image that these women have of themselves. This will probably lead to a lowering of their self-esteem.

Such self-esteem is questioned or confirmed by the family and friends from an early age -- sometimes from childhood. This is the beginning of a process of evaluation, the comparing of one´s body with the standards of beauty. At the same time, as a result of the perception that others have of disability, the traditional roles assigned to women are neglected or limited. Not being able to fit into the mould designated as "beautiful or good looking" limits the opportunities for intimate relations, highlights the physical differences, and negatively influences our perception of our bodies. Thus a disabled woman ends up seeing her disability as something negative, because among other things it reduces her opportunities for a relationship and for social consideration. All this due to the fact that she cannot meet certain standards or carry out certain predetermined roles, and as a consequence her life acquires a sense of invisibility. Such women are excluded from activities; they are not considered for the role of brides, mothers or wives, they do have access to jobs where physical appearance is prominently displayed, and so forth. On the other hand, everyday activities such as studying, cooking and personal hygiene, which in case of the non-disabled are considered normal and routine, are given an exaggerated importance, or distorted portraits are created to depict extraordinary lives, featuring heroic and romantic feats of personal triumph over difficulties.

The lack of expectations with regard to personal planning in the case of disabled women and their not conforming with the characteristics which define a social role confuse other people even further when attempts are made to establish a relationship. In many cases this leads either to a reluctance to enter a relationship or to doing so with the attitude of "not knowing what to do" when faced with what one regards as a "different person". This attitude generates confusion in the disabled woman -- or even worse -- fear, a feeling of insecurity and a negative self-evaluation.

In some way, our perception of our bodies gives us an idea (consciously or unconsciously) of our future opportunities for development from a personal, social and economic point of view. There is a relationship between the body and our expectations concerning personal evolution. This aspect has been studied by feminist groups; they have identified a woman´s body as an object of domination and pleasure for men which thus affects women´s expectations in life and relationships. In this way, the image a woman has of her body can be distorted. We are taught to like or dislike our own experience on the basis of the desire and agreement that we encounter on the part of others. Within this context our body becomes an element of exchange, which we can use to obtain better conditions, opportunities, security and so forth; or the exact opposite may occur when one does not conform with the accepted and ideal model. The feminist analysis concludes by identifying the alienation of women with the way in which their bodies are seen as objects.

This feminist conclusion may not, however, be accurate when applied to disabled women, because they are hardly even seen as "women".

A disabled woman´s body also becomes an object for domination, but within a different context. Daily routines such as getting undressed, which could be sensual and erotic, become awkward actions that arouse curiosity and are undesirable. Many disabled women have a large spent part of their lives naked, exposed to the eyes of the professionals that take care of them. These professionals have never felt the need to ask for permission. In many cases, disabled women´s bodies have also been exhibited in videos, medical magazines and so forth without their consent. This kind of control, experienced from childhood, has psychologically marked many women, who feel that their body is not desirable and is not fit to be seen except on a hospital bed. Thus in many cases a need to change the body arises; this change may take different forms, ranging from simply hiding the body to aesthetic transformations and mutilations. The objective is clear -- a disabled body does not conform with the accepted standards of beauty; it is neither desirable nor acceptable, and therefore a way out must be found. The solution is generally traumatic for women. And as a result, a close relationship between self-perception, physical image and self-esteem is established. (2)

(2) This text is part of the book "Violence and disabled women" by M. Iglesias, G. Gil, A. Joneken, B. Mickler and J. S. Knudsen, edit.: Asoc. IES, 1998