Background
There are approximately 300,000 women with disabilities currently living in Israel. This population is doubly discriminated against, both as women and as people with disabilities.
Examples of Discrimination
- Women's health services, for the most part, are not accessible to women with disabilities due to problems in the physical structure of the health-care facilities, the medical equipment, the professional capacity of the staff to deal with patients with disabilities, and their manner in relating to such patients. Because of this, women with various disabilities are unable to perform essential diagnostic tests, such as gynecological exams, breast cancer examinations, and bone density scans. In a 2002 survey of Israeli health facilities, undertaken by Bizchut in cooperation with the Occupational Therapy Department of the University of Tel-Aviv under the direction of Dr. Nava Ratson and Michal Avarekh-Bar, not one of the twenty-three gynecological clinics surveyed complied with all the basic accessibility requirements, and only six of the twenty-three clinics scored higher than 50% compliance with the accessibility criteria surveyed. Because of the absence of accessibility, very often examinations and treatments are administered in uncomfortable ways and sometimes in humiliating ways. Many women with disabilities choose to forego these examinations, rather than subject themselves to pain and humiliation.
- Among women with disabilities, both unemployment rates are higher and the average salary is lower when compared to women without disabilities or to men with disabilities.
- The percentage of women with disabilities who are victims of sex crimes or of violent crimes is much higher than the percentage of women without disabilities who are victims of these crimes. (Generally, these are women with emotional disabilities or mental illness.) Israel lacks the awareness and the professional knowledge of how to deal with women with disabilities who have been attacked. Welfare services aren't experienced in giving support and counseling to them, and there are no accessible shelters for them.
- The image of the woman with disabilities as being hopeless, passive, and totally dependent does not match society's traditional expectations of what a woman should be. As a result of this negative image, many believe that women with disabilities are incapable of taking responsibility and thus are not fit to be mothers of children. This negative stereotype can make it harder for a woman with disabilities to receive, among other things, fertilization therapy or authorization for adoption.
Forum of Women with Disabilities for Women with Disabilities
With the goal of changing the current situation, Bizchut along with Joint Israel established the Forum of Women with Disabilities. The purpose of the forum is to raise public awareness of the problem in general, and specifically to establish policies that address the special needs of women with disabilities. Accordingly, the Forum aims to act as a pressure group, lobbying various decision-making bodies in order to change the existing order until women with disabilities achieve equality and full realization of their rights.
The primary areas of activity of the Forum include:
Health Care
The Forum works to make medical care more accessible by modifying it to meet the needs of women with disabilities. It does so by raising the awareness of policy-makers, such as the Parliamentary Committee for Advancing the Status of Women, representatives of the Ministry of Health and the HMO's, etc. In December 2002, the Forum published its report of the situation in cooperation with the Ruth and Emmanuel Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women, in the Faculty of Law, Bar-Ilan University.
Employment
In order to increase the integration of women with disabilities into the free job market, the Forum works to raise public awareness by holding lectures. These lectures explain the employment rights enshrined in the Equal Rights Law for People with Disabilities, and they also give information about the database of job seekers with disabilities established by Bizchut. The lectures also offer practical advice and help in gaining employment.
Treating Victims of Violence
In order to provide fair treatment to people with disabilities injured by violence, the Forum works to raise awareness within the relevant frameworks, including the Jerusalem Municipal Council for Preventing Violence, and the Parliamentary Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women.
The Forum uses various methods to promote the rights of women with disabilities, including:
- Data collection and research
- Information and publicity campaigns
- Membership on relevant committees
- Lobbying
We invite and encourage all women with disabilities to donate their energies and their knowledge in the struggle towards realizing our rights. Please contact Nili Breuer - Forum Coordinator, at telephone: 02-6521308 or by fax: 02-621-1219.
