Cambodian women with disabilities experience multiple disadvantages resulting from the interplay between gender, disability and poverty. This participatory research project, developed collaboratively between Australian and Cambodian partners, investigated prevalence and experiences of gender-based violence of women with disabilities in comparison to women without disabilities; assessed the extent to which existing policies and programs include or address women with disabilities; and explored how women with disabilities are supported or denied access to existing programs.
The study found that women with disabilities and women without disabilities faced similar levels of sexual, physical and emotional violence by partners. However, the picture that emerged in terms of family violence (excluding partners) was starkly different. Women with disabilities experienced much higher levels of all forms of this violence. They were much more likely to be insulted, made to feel bad about themselves, belittled, intimidated, and subjected to physical and sexual violence than their non-disabled peers.
