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Guidance on Disability Inclusion for GBV Partners in Lebanon:

Outreach, Safe Identification, and Referral of Women, Children and Youth with Disabilities

February 2018

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This resource is a product of a partnership project between the Women's Refugee Commission (WRC) and UNICEF Lebanon entitled “Strengthening child protection and gender-based violence prevention and response for women, children, and youth with disabilities”. The overall goal of the project is to improve violence prevention and response programming for at-risk groups of women, girls, and boys with disabilities. It builds on existing initiatives of gender-based violence (GBV) and child protection (CP) actors to systematically advance disability inclusion across the CP and GBV prevention and response sectors in Lebanon.

This resource has been developed based on the findings of a needs assessment conducted in 2017 which:

• Assessed and analyzed existing guidance, tools and training resources related to GBV, CP and psychosocial support (PSS) for disability inclusion;
• Identified gaps and opportunities to strengthen the inclusion of women, children and youth with disabilities in community-based PSS and Focused PSS initiatives, and GBV prevention and response activities; and,
• Defined the capacity development needs and priorities of selected GBV and PSS actors on disability inclusion.

Other resources developed in the project include:

• Disability Inclusion in Gender-Based Violence Programs: Guidance for GBV Partners in Lebanon – Case Management of Survivors & At-Risk Women, Children and Youth with Disabilities
• Disability Inclusion in Psychosocial Support Programs in Lebanon: Guidance for Psychosocial Support Facilitators

The WRC and UNICEF Lebanon thank the following organizations and stakeholders for their contributions to the project, including participation in consultations, the needs assessment and feedback or review of tools and guidance:

• Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA)
• SGBV Task Force
• War Child Holland
• KAFA
• Amel Association
• ABAAD
• Rahma Special Needs
• Al Mithaq
• INTERSOS
• Akkar Network for Development (AND)
• Halba SDC
• UNHCR
• Lebanese Women Democratic Gathering (RDFL)
• Concern Worldwide
• University of Saint Joseph (USJ)
• Qitabi — World Learning
• Himaya
• International Medical Corp (IMC)
• SGBV Working Groups – South & Beirut/Mount Lebanon
• CPiE Working Group in the South 3
• National Disability and Older Age Working Group
• Hissa SDC
• Terre de Hommes — Italy
• Balamand University
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)
• World Vision
• Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
• Youth Network for Civic Activism (YNCA)
• Makhzoumi Foundation

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CONTENTS

• 1. INTRODUCTION 5
  • 1.1 Purpose of the Resource 6
  • 1.2 How to use this Resource 6
• 2. UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY 6
  • 2.1 Concept of disability 6
  • 2.2 Models of Disability 7
  • 2.3 Rights of Persons with Disabilities 8
• 3. EXPLORING INTERSECTION BETWEEN GENDER & DISABILITY 9
  • 3.1 GBV-related risks for women, children and youth with disabilities & caregivers 10
  • 3.2 Factors that increase risk of GBV for women, children and youth with disabilities 11
• 4. ADDRESSING ATTITIUDES & ASSUMPTIONS RELATED TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 12
• 5. FOSTERING EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES 15
  • 5.1 Understanding the rights of persons with disabilities 15
  • 5.2 Recognizing skills, capacities, and contributions of persons with disabilities 16
• 6. INCLUDING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN COMMUNITY-BASED GBV PROGRAMMING 18
  • 6.1 Identifying persons with disabilities and caregivers in the community 18
  • 6.2 Targeted messages for women, children and youth with disabilities & caregivers 19
  • 6.3 Identifying and addressing barriers to our GBV activities 19
  • 6.4 Making persons with disabilities feel welcome in our GBV activities 22
• 7. SAFE IDENTIFICATION & REFERRAL OF SURVIVORS WITH DISABILITIES 24
  • 7.1 Identifying persons with disabilities who are at risk 24
  • 7.2 Handling disclosures of violence 25
• 8. TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES 28
  • 8.1 Use respectful language 28
  • 8.2 Use a strengths-based approach 29
  • 8.3 General guidance 29

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1. INTRODUCTION

Approximately 15 per cent of any community may be persons with disabilities. 1 There may be even higher rates of disability in communities affected by crisis or conflict, 2 as people acquire new impairments from injuries and/or have reduced access to health care. In Lebanon, it is estimated that 900,000 persons are living with disabilities. 3 Persons with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable and socially excluded groups in any crisis-affected community. They may be in hidden in homes, overlooked during needs assessments and not consulted in the design of programs. 4 While gender-based violence (GBV) affects women, girls, men and boys, the vast majority of survivors globally are women and girls. 5 Persons with disabilities have difficulty accessing GBV programs, due to a variety of societal, environmental and communication barriers, increasing their risk of violence, abuse and exploitation. 6

The Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) 2017 – 2020 recognizes that children with disabilities are at a higher risk of violence, abuse and exploitation, both inside the home and in the wider community, with women and girls with disabilities being among the most vulnerable to GBV. Both the LCRP and the Ministry of Social Affairs National Plan to Safeguard Children and Women in Lebanon 2014 – 2015 highlight commitments to strengthening national protection, child protection (CP) and GBV systems ensuring that women, girls and boys at risk and survivors of violence, exploitation and abuse have access to improved and equitable prevention and response services. 7 8

A needs assessment conducted in 2017 confirmed that women, children and youth with disabilities in Lebanon and their caregivers are facing a range of GBV-related risks including:

• Child marriage among girls with disabilities: GBV actors, women with disabilities and caregivers report that girls with minor disabilities are more likely to be pressured into an early marriage before they are perceived as “less desirable” due to both their age and disability.
• Exploitation of women and adolescent girls with disabilities and female caregivers: Women and adolescent girls with disabilities report examples where family members have forced them to engage in begging on the street, which exposes them to the risk of sexual abuse. Additionally, female caregivers (mothers and wives of persons with disabilities) may be seen as “easy targets” for exploitation due to either shifting gender roles (e.g. wives are working out of home in place of husband with a disability) or due to growing economic stress in the household.
• Intimate partner violence (IPV) against women with disabilities: IPV was a pervasive problem for women with and without disabilities. Women with disabilities may be more likely to experience IPV because of extreme disempowerment in their relationship.
• Sexual harassment by male community members: Women with disabilities report facing constant harassment in the community, often by male taxi drivers or street vendors. They attribute this type of harassment to these men assuming that they did not have husbands or males to protect them, and that “there would be less repercussions”. 9

Despite these increased risks, women, children and youth with disabilities report a lack of information and awareness on GBV-related activities and how to access case management services, due to both physical and attitudinal barriers to accessing such services. 10

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Frontline workers, including community volunteers and mobilizers, play a critical role in ensuring that women, children, and youth with disabilities have information about GBV, and that those at-risk of GBV are safely identified and referred for support and follow-up.

2. UNDERSTANDING DISABILITY

It is important for all GBV actors to recognize persons with disabilities, and to understand different approaches that can be applied when working with persons with disabilities in the community.

3. EXPLORING INTERSECTION BETWEEN GENDER & DISABILITY

Frontline workers and community volunteers or mobilizers have the most intimate knowledge of the dynamics in the communities in which they work and how this may impact in GBV risks. As frontline workers are often tasked with raising awareness in the community on issues of gender and inequality, it is important that they also have a strong understanding on the intersections between gender and disability and how this might impact the GBV risks of women, children and youth with disabilities in their communities.

Women, children and youth with disabilities are not more vulnerable to violence because of their impairment, but rather because they are perceived as different, have less power and status, are marginalized and are even directly targeted for violence. 18 There are many factors that increase the vulnerability of persons with disabilities. However, the root causes of violence against persons with disabilities are the same as for other people:

• Abuse of power
• Inequality
• Disrespect for human rights

While GBV affects women, girls, boys and men, the vast majority of survivors of GBV are women and girls. 19 For women and girls with disabilities, the intersection of gender and disability increases their vulnerability to violence.

4. ADDRESSING ATTITIUDES & ASSUMPTIONS RELATED TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Social norms discriminate against and stigmatize people with disabilities. They may be ostracized or neglected in their communities and fear seeking support from family and community members. Service providers may also exclude persons with disabilities based on beliefs that GBV prevention and response services are not relevant to or appropriate for persons with disabilities, or out of fear of engaging with persons with disabilities.

Below are some common assumptions that are often made by service providers, caregivers, and community members about persons with disabilities, along with the facts and findings that challenge these assumptions.

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Common Assumptions	Findings & Facts
A person's disability defines their identity as an individual.	Persons with disabilities are women, girls, sisters, brothers, cousins and parents. They have unique skills and capacities and many roles that they play in their families and communities. It is important to let persons with disabilities define which group or characteristic they identify with the most. “I always want to tell new people that I am more than my disability and that I have many characteristics that define me better than just my disability. For example, nationality, my religion, the fact that I am a woman and a wife and someone who teaches religious lessons to children – all of these things make up my identity.”- Women with a sensory disability in Lebanon
You can tell if someone has a disability by looking at them.	Some disabilities are visible – for example if a person uses a wheelchair. Many disabilities, such as psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, may not be visible. However, people with these types of disabilities may still be stigmatized in communities and experience discrimination.
Persons with disabilities can't make their own decisions.	Adults with disabilities have the right to make their own decisions and know what the best option is for them. Even people with more profound communication difficulties may understand everything that is being said to them, and with appropriate support, may be able to indicate their wishes and preferences to others. “They started to yell at my family for bringing me and making me ‘suffer’. I got very defensive and told them ‘I am the one who wanted to go, they didn't want to take me, and I convinced them to. This was my choice because I wanted the chance to meet other people and learn from the training.’” — Older woman with a physical disability in Lebanon
Women, children, and youth with intellectual disabilities do not need knowledge and awareness about GBV.	Persons with intellectual disabilities need knowledge and awareness of GBV, as they are at higher risk of experiencing sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers. 26 They also have the right to safe and healthy sexual relationships. 27 Persons with intellectual disabilities can learn new things and participate in our activities, with just some small changes to the way we work and share information. For example, pictures can also be used to communicate messages to people with intellectual impairments – these are sometimes called “Easy to Read” documents.
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Persons with disabilities need a lot of additional support and adaptations to participate in our activities.	Most persons with disabilities require very few adaptations to participate in our activities. They just need to be invited and given the chance to participate. Individuals with disabilities are the experts in the type of support and adaptations needed and can advise you appropriately. “I tell people not to feel badly for me and not to baby me ... I go to the park and do things on my own – sometimes I need help with my wheelchair, but that's about it.” – Young woman with multiple disabilities in Lebanon
Persons with disabilities are safer in residential facilities.	Globally, research demonstrates that persons with disabilities who are living in residential institutions are at higher risk of sexual violence than those living in the community. 28
Persons with disabilities will be harmed or get sick from coming to our activities or services.	Most persons with disabilities are not sick or in pain. During the needs assessment in Lebanon, none of the people consulted reported harm from attending GBV prevention and response activities. Instead, they shared that attending these activities had a positive impact on their mental and physical health and helped them to expand their peer networks. “Sometimes parents or staff get are worried about keeping these people safe – however, we have never had anyone get sick or injured while they are here – most are really happy to be invited and the parents are seeing the benefits.” – Staff member from SDC in Mount Lebanon Concerns that staff may have about the health or harm can be directly addressed with the person with the disability — they can share strategies that they use to avoid injuries in their everyday life.

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It is important that all GBV staff engage in learning activities that reflect on their attitudes and assumptions about persons with disabilities. Supervisors can encourage this process by having staff engage in an initial activity to assess their attitudes and assumptions, and from there start open conversations about their ideas and beliefs in relation to persons with disabilities.

5. FOSTERING EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND YOUTH WITH DISABILITIES

Persons with disabilities have often experienced a long history of discrimination and disempowerment by family members, caregivers, partners, and even service providers. Working to empower persons with disabilities in the community should be a key goal for frontline workers and all staff at GBV organizations. By informing persons with disabilities of their rights and working to break down barriers in the community, frontline workers can play a key role in decreasing the vulnerability of women, children and youth with disabilities to GBV.

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6. INCLUDING PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN COMMUNITY-BASED GBV PROGRAMMING

As detailed in previous sections of this guidance, persons with disabilities are present in all communities, but are often isolated in their homes and / or face high levels of exclusion when trying to access public places and community activities. This section describes steps that should be taken to effectively engage women, children and youth in community activities.

7. SAFE IDENTIFICATION & REFERRAL OF SURVIVORS WITH DISABILITIES

Frontline workers are key to ensuring that community members are well informed about important services in their area and that referral pathways work for all persons in need of services. According the Inter-Agency Standard Operating Procedures for SGBV Prevention and Response in Lebanon, frontline workers should “inform and train persons with disabilities as well as their families and caregivers on how to recognize, avoid and report acts of SGBV.” 31 The information provided in this section complements existing standard operating procedures, and should not be used in isolation of these. In the unlikely event that a frontline worker is having difficulty implementing the standard operating procedures with a survivor and / or someone at-risk, they should immediately contact their supervisor for additional support.

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8. TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

In most cases, persons with disabilities can communicate directly with staff with no adaptions, or relatively small adaptions. In other cases, it may be more difficult to determine the best way to communicate with the individual, and additional steps may be required. It is important when working with persons with disabilities that you take time to watch and listen. Each time you meet the person you will learn something new about them and understand better how they communicate and what they mean. 32

Below are some tips for frontline workers on ways to adapt verbal and non-verbal communication when interacting with persons with disabilities. 33

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Notes