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.