Women and girls with disabilities are just as likely to be sexually active and have the same sexual and reproductive health needs as women and girls without disabilities. Due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination on the basis of gender and disability, however, women and girls with disabilities face unique and pervasive barriers to full realization of their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Women and girls with disabilities are at least two to three times more likely than women without disabilities to experience gender-based violence in various spheres. Women with also experience distinct barriers to escaping such violence and seeking justice. However, existing laws, policies, and programs on gender-based violence seldom address the specific concerns of women and girls with disabilities.

Despite having the same rights to education as their male counterparts and non-disabled peers, girls with disabilities are the most excluded group of children from all educational settings from primary school to higher education settings due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination on the basis of both their gender and their disability. However, existing laws, policies, and programs do not adequately address the various educational barriers faced by women and girls with disabilities.

Women and girls with disabilities face significant barriers to accessing justice, due to discrimination on the basis of both gender and disability, accessibility barriers to the justice system, and lack of reasonable accommodations throughout judicial proceedings. Lack of access to justice can reinforce vulnerability to rights violations, particularly where perpetrators may feel emboldened when they know the justice system is unlikely to respond to complaints by women with disabilities.

Discriminatory laws frequently deny women with disabilities their right to legal capacity under substituted decision-making regimes, such as guardianship, conservatorship, and health laws that permit forced treatment. The denial of legal capacity gives rise to numerous other violations of fundamental rights, including the rights to marry and found a family; make autonomous and voluntary decisions about sexual and reproductive health; give or withhold consent to intimate relationships; and seek accountability for various forms of abuse through the justice system.

Women, girls, and gender non-conforming people with disabilities are disproportionally impacted by conflict and humanitarian emergencies due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that heighten their exclusion and risks. Despite the distinct challenges facing women with disabilities—and thus the important perspective they can bring to addressing these challenges—women with disabilities are routinely excluded from both peacebuilding processes and recovery following natural disasters.