News & Publications

Alongside the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased risk of domestic violence for women, girls, non-binary, trans, and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities. WEI reported information from its own research and that of organizations around the world to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women about this “hidden pandemic” of domestic violence. Continue reading WEI Submission on Domestic Violence and COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women→

WEI, as a member of the Nairobi Principles Working Group, submitted information to several U.N. human rights experts on the situation of rights related to gender, disability, and sexuality during the COVID-19 crisis. This information will be used to inform Continue reading Response to U.N. Special Procedures Questionnaire on COVID-19 and Human Rights→

Women Enabled International stands with protestors around the world in demanding justice and action to address the systemic human rights violations in the United States that contribute to the ongoing oppression of members of the Black community in any form—from police violence, police failures to address gender-based violence and government failures to address the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which disproportionally impact the Black community. Continue reading Women Enabled International Demands Justice→

Women and girls with disabilities face an increased risk of trafficking and yet are often excluded from services to prevent and remedy trafficking situations. Language about women with disabilities is key to ensuring that States meet their obligations to tackle trafficking of all women and girls.  Read WEI’s feedback on the recent CEDAW Draft General Recommendation on Trafficking in Women and Girls in the Context of Global Migration. Continue reading WEI and Disability Rights International Comments to the CEDAW Committee on the  Draft General Recommendation on Trafficking in Women and Girls in the Context of Global Migration→

WEI report pulls together responses to a global survey from 100 women, non-binary, and trans persons with disabilities and seeks to provide the guidance for responding to this crisis in a way that protects rights at the intersection of gender and disability. Continue reading COVID-19 at the Intersection of Gender and Disability: Findings of a Global Survey→

Can you spare 5 minutes? Please help Women Enabled International improve our website by taking a multiple choice survey about your experience here. Continue reading Website Usage Survey→

A practical guide for preventing, addressing, and documenting domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic. A collaboration of WEI, MADRE, Media Matters for Women, MenEngage Alliance, Nobel Women’s Initiative, OutRight Action International, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). Continue reading From Global Coordination to Local Strategies: A Practical Approach to Prevent, Address and Document Domestic Violence under COVID-19→

In efforts to respond to COVID-19, women, girls, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities have been left behind. This Statement seeks to articulate particular issues that are impacting rights at the intersection of gender and disability during this crisis and provide guidance to governments, United Nations entities, healthcare providers, and civil society organizations who are involved in the response. Read the full Statement here. Continue reading Endorse the Statement on Rights at the Intersection of Gender and Disability During COVID-19→

Did you know that there are more than half a billion women with disabilities worldwide? That represents both an amazing source of untapped power and millions of women currently left behind. Empowering and engaging women with disabilities is essential to the solution. Continue reading Unleashing the Power of Women with Disabilities→

Ongoing debates around fetal impairment as a legal basis for abortion act as a wedge issue between the disability rights and reproductive rights movements. Disability rights advocates are concerned that laws that expressly permit abortion on grounds of fetal impairment Continue reading WEI publication: Abortion and Disability: Towards an Intersectional Human Rights-Based Approach→

October 25, 2019 – On October 19, Women Enabled was honored to join over 30 non-profits, student groups, and community organizations to co-host the DC Period Rally on the United States’ first ever National Period Day! Organized by PERIOD Inc. Continue reading Women Enabled Takes to the Streets to Demand an End to Period Poverty→

May 17, 2019 – This submission, intended to inform the Special Rapporteur’s forthcoming report to the U.N. General Assembly, outlines the causes, forms, and consequences of violence and mistreatment against women and girls with disabilities in reproductive health care settings, including Continue reading Women with Disabilities Submission to the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women: Mistreatment and Violence in Reproductive Health Care, including Facility-Based Childbirth→

April 15, 2019 – This submission, which was endorsed by Ferdous Ara Begum (Gender and Ageing Issues Specialist and former UN CEDAW Committee member) and Lois Herman (Managing Director, Women’s UN Report Network), focuses on human rights issues faced by Continue reading WEI Submission on Older Women with Disabilities to the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities→

February 14, 2019 – This submission to the CEDAW Committee was authored to inform its half-day of general discussion on February 22, 2019, to prepare for the elaboration by the CEDAW Committee of a General Recommendation on Trafficking in Women Continue reading WEI and Disability Rights International Submission to the CEDAW Committee for its half-day of general discussion on trafficking in the context of migration →

Co-authored by WEI, La Liga Colombiana de Autismo, Asdown Colombia, Programa de Acción por la Igualdad y la Inclusión Social, and Profamilia January 28, 2019 – This submission outlines human rights violations in Colombia that uniquely or disproportionately affect women Continue reading Submission to the CEDAW Committee for its 2019 Review of Colombia→

January 17, 2019 – This document provides practical tips to organizations that will be holding events during the upcoming UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), being held from March 11-22, 2019, on how to ensure that those events Continue reading Making CSW Events Accessible to and Inclusive of Persons with Disabilities→

January 14, 2019 – This is a preliminary submission that provides a brief overview of some of the civil and political rights violations facing women, girls, and nonbinary persons with disabilities in the U.S.  This submission provides a brief factual Continue reading Submission on Women, Girls, and Non-binary Persons with Disabilities in the United States of America for the Human Rights Committee’s List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR)→

In June, States elected women with disabilities to serve as members of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee). These expert groups monitor State Continue reading Election Results: States Elect Women with Disabilities to CRPD and CEDAW Committees →