Violence 
Against 
Women 


OVW’s 
2009 
Disabilities 
Grantee 
Meeting 
San 
Jose, 
California 
May 
26, 
2010 



Learning 
Objectives 


• 
Recognize 
the 
historical 
context 
of 
the 
Violence 
Against 
Women 
Movement 
on 
domestic 
and 
sexual 
violence 
programs 
today 
• 
Identify 
the 
tensions 
and 
their 
impact 
that 
exist 
among 
competing 
philosophies 
and 
operations 
models 
within 
the 
movement 
• 
Explore 
the 
myriad 
of 
core 
services 
and 
how 
these 
services 
can 
promote 
or 
detract 
from 
individual 
survivor 
autonomy 
• 
Engage 
in 
critical 
thinking 
and 
explore 
strategies 
to 
change 
systems 
impacting 
violence 
against 
women 
with 
disabilities 
and 
Deaf 
women 

Historical 
Context 


• 
Influences: 
– 
Women’s 
Rights 
(First, 
Second 
& 
Third 
Waves) 
– 
Feminism
Feminism 


– 
Violence 
Against 
Women 
Act 
• 
Violence 
Against 
Women 
Movement: 
– 
Strengths 
– 
Challenges 

Impact 
of 
Historical 
Context 


• 
For 
you, 
individually, 
how 
would 
you 
describe 
the 
movement, 
its 
philosophies 
and 
work 
currently? 
• 
For 
your 
Disabilities 
Grant 
focus, 
how
y, 
would 
you 
describe 
the 
impact 
of 
the 
movement, 
its 
philosophies 
and 
work 
as 
it 
relates 
to 
securing 
systems 
change 
for 
victims 
and 
survivors 
with 
disabilities 
and 
Deaf 
victims 
and 
survivors? 



Models 
for 
Response 


• 
Feminist 
analysis 
= 
sexism 
as 
the 
root 
of 
violence 
against 
women. 
• 
Social 
service 
focus 
= 
helping 
women 
and 
children 
in 
need. 
• 
Institutionalization 
of 
services 
& 
support. 

Identifying 
the 
Tensions 


• 
Question: 
How 
might 
these 
differing 
models 
and 
philosophies 
impact 
systems 
responding 
to 
violence 
against 
women? 
• 
Question: 
How 
do 
these 
models 
and 
philosophies 
address 
the 
complex 
matrix 
of 
social 
inequalities 
(race, 
class, 
ability)

Feminist 
Analysis: 
Impact 


• 
Violence 
against 
women 
is 
a 
feminist 
issue 
• 
Male 
dominance 
over 
women 
• 
Affects 
other 
male-dominated 
systems 
– 
Criminal 
justice 
– 
Civil 
justice 
– 
Medical 
field 

Social 
Service 
Analysis: 
Impact 


• 
Helping 
women 
and 
children 
in 
need 
due 
to 
violence 
• 
Service 
systems 
involvement 
• 
Professionals 
and 
peers 
• 
Advocacy 
• 
Other 
systems 
affected: 

Institutionalization 
Analysis: 
Impact 


• 
Advocacy 
involves 
… 
– 
Political 
action 
– 
Counseling 
– 
SSupport 
t 
• 
Community/Systems 
responses 
– 
Positive 
impact 
for 
survivors 
– 
Conflicts 
of 
interest 
for 
advocates 
– 
Collusion 
with 
systems 
of 
oppression 

Survivors 
as 
Autonomous 
Agents 


• 
Survivors 
as 
“agents 
of 
their 
own 
survival” 
• 
Core 
services 
of 
violence 
against 
women 
programs: 
– 
Advocacy 
(legal, 
medical, 
personal) 
– 
Counseling 
(professional 
and 
peer) 
– 
Crisis 
lines 
or 
hotlines 
– 
Emergency 
shelter 

Services 
and 
Survivor 
Autonomy 


• 
What 
do 
we 
envision 
when 
we 
say 
“survivor?
” 
•
• 
QuestionQuestion:
: 
How 
could 
these 
core 
services 
How 
could 
these 
core 
services 
be 
constructed 
and 
provided 
to 
promote 
survivor 
autonomy? 


• 
Question: 
How 
could 
these 
core 
services 
be 
constructed 
and 
provided 
to 
detract 
from 
survivor 
autonomy? 

Dialogue 
for 
Systems 
Change 


• 
Think 
about: 
– 
Movement, 
systems, 
philosophies and 
operations of 
violence 
against 
women 
efforts 
– 
Movement, 
systems, 
philosophies and 
operations of 
disability-related 
efforts 
– 
Victims and 
survivors with 
disabilities and 
Deaf 
victims and 
survivors: 
• 
Psychiatric 
• 
Developmental 
(intellectual/cogntive) 
• 
Physical 
• 
Sensory 

Challenges 
and 
Opportunities 


• 
Challenges 
to 
changing 
systems 
for 
and 
with 
victims 
and 
survivors 
• 
Opportunities 
for 
changing 
systems 
for 
and 
with 
victims 
and 
survivors 
• 
Considerations: 
– 
Current 
landscape 
of 
violence 
against 
women 
programs 
– 
Current 
landscape 
of 
disability-related 
services 
and 
supports 

Strategies 
for 
Meaningful 
Change 


• 
Remember: 
– 
Historical 
context 
of 
violence 
against 
women 
– 
Tensions 
among 
differing 
models 
and 
philosophies 
for 
responding 
to 
violence
philosophies 
for 
responding 
to 
violence 
against 
women 


– 
Impact 
of 
services 
designed 
for 
victims 
and 
survivors 
– 
History, 
experiences 
and 
systems 
relating 
to 
women 
with 
disabilities 
and 
Deaf 
women 

Meaningful 
Strategies 


• 
Where 
to 
begin? 
• 
Dialogue 
about 
the 
current 
landscape 
• 
Meaningful 
inclusion 
and 
integration 
of 
women 
with 
disabilities 
and 
Deaf 
women 
• 
Victims 
and 
survivors 
fitting 
within 
current 
systems 
• 
Current 
systems 
fitting 
the 
needs 
of 
victims 
and 
survivors 

Nothing 
About 
Us 
Without 
Us 


• 
Philosophy 
for 
collaboration: 
– 
Requires 
genuine 
dialogue 
– 
Engages 
us 
to 
balance 
individual 
lives 
with 
institutional 
processes
institutional 
processes 


– 
Requires 
attention 
to 
myths, 
attitudes, 
oppression 
across 
peoples, 
systems 
and 
movements 
– 
Embraces 
social 
change 

Thank 
you! 


Amy 
Judy 
Project 
Coordinator 
Disability 
Rights 
Wisconsin 


Email: 
amyj@drwi.org 


Web 
site: 
www.disabilityrightswi.org