Forgotten voices of #MeToo
As the #MeToo movement continues to grow around the world, there’s one voice said to be missing from the conversation on sexual abuse.
For the past year Paula Tesoriero, New Zealand’s Disability Rights Commissioner, has been leading the charge to bring the experiences of disabled women to the fore, raising the subject at numerous speaking engagements and suffrage celebrations.
‘‘When we talk about how far women have come in New Zealand since 1893, we have got to also be lifting the lid on groups of women who are not doing as well and disabled women are part of that.
‘‘If there was ever a year to shine the light on these things, year.’’
While Tesoriero noted that upto-date and New Zealand-focused statistics were hard to come by in regards to the abuse, sexual or otherwise, suffered by disabled women, she had anecdotally heard of many local instances.
Even the New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse – the national centre for research and information on family and wha¯ nau violence – had very little data.
But 2018 data from females in six low and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa, compiled by UN Women, showed that women with disabilities were two to four times more likely to experience partner violence than those without disabilities.
Disability-related stigma and discrimination compounded women’s vulnerability to violence and hindered their ability to seek help.
Tesoriero urged several government agencies, including the Ministry for Women and police, to step up and take the lead in collecting ‘‘urgent and critically needed’’ New Zealand data about women’s experiences with violence and abuse.
‘‘We need to be collecting better data ... I don’t want to see disabled women become a footnote when there are some really serious issues facing disabled women in New Zealand.’’ it’s been this