Women with Disabilities, their Challenges in Laws and Administration of Justice: Cases from Addis Ababa

Abstract

The rights of women with disabilities are violated both at home and outside of the home setting. They face multiple sets of violations and discrimination because of the double vulnerability brought about by their gender and disabilities. Most of the time, these violations remain unaddressed partly due to the inaccessibility of judicial organs to women with disabilities. This research sets out to explore the experience of women with disabilities who come into contact with the law albeit limiting itself to Addis Ababa and to women with visual and hearing impairments and those with physical disabilities. It is aimed at identifying the major hurdles women with disabilities face in pursuing legal remedies and documenting their attitude towards the justice system. It also tried to assess the sufficiency of legal and institutional frameworks and interventions. The research employed a qualitative research method; accordingly primary data for the research was obtained through face – to - face interviews and focus group discussions with women who have had a run-in with judicial and quasi-judicial organs in civil matter and key informants from relevant institutions. This was corroborated with document reviews and observations. The research found that women with disabilities face many obstacles in exercising their right to access to justice. They lack awareness of the law, rights and legal remedies preventing them from accessing the formal justice system. Their experience with the justice institutions is tarnished by the physical inaccessibility of the institutions and communication obstacles.

Key words: women with disabilities, access to justice, challenges, accessibility, legal framework