Women Enabled International Input Regarding the Country Visit to the United States of America by UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

November 17, 2021

Women Enabled International welcomes the official visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues to the United States and the calls for input by civil society. This submission focuses on the issues of imprisonment, access to justice, and access to education, for minorities who are women and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities in the United States, including the deaf community, who is also a minority and oppressed language group.

When disability intersects with race and gender the oppression people experience is further heightened and qualitatively different. Like race and gender, the experience of disability is largely socially constructed. People with disabilities consistently face ableism – attitudinal, environmental, economic, structural, and policy barriers that hinder their equitable participation in society and put them at great risk of victimization and discrimination. Women and other gender minorities with disabilities, especially from minoritized races, linguistic, and ethnic groups face disparities within the educational system and the criminal justice system.