While pursuing a major in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies I have studied the concept of intersectionality, an idea that states that different identities interact with one another to contribute to the person’s place in society with respect to systems of privilege and, conversely, oppression. The idea that oppression is never just based on race, class, gender, or ability but an interlocking of all these identities is an idea that I find extremely important. I am also interested in how these systems operate within a culture that marginalizes and stigmatizes disability, especially amongst women and girls.
This summer I had the opportunity to intern with the National Trust, which is an organization under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in New Delhi, India. Its primary function is to ensure the legal protection of rights of people with disabilities. The Center was working on a legal guideline to help protect children with disabilities from exploitation, violence, and sexual abuse. The guideline is intended to bridge the gap between existing laws regarding children and people with disabilities to ensure that the Indian legal framework was equipped to deal with violations, especially those involving sexual abuse, in a stringent manner.
Furthermore, what made the guideline urgent was the fact that the government and private institutions that looked after these children were currently operating without a system in place to correct violations including exploitation, violence, neglect, and sexual abuse. The protection and well-being of children admitted to homes supported by government and non-governmental agencies are pivotal. Some of the key features of the guidelines were:
1. Proper registration of institutions under the government, whether private or public entities, to make sure these institutions were complying under the existing laws of the country. The drafting committee found that because of the structure of facilities that dealt with children with disabilities, they were registered with the government under laws related to either child protection or disability. The committee was keen to consolidate this data and ensure that every facility was accounted for by both laws.
2. Mandatory sensitivity training for all people involved in the administrative structure of these institutions. The guideline emphasized the use of language and gestures while interacting with children with disability. It is crucial that all administration including support staff and cleaning staff should interact with the children according to their training. Hurtful language and gestures not only affect the child, but also make the facility an unsafe and inhospitable place.
3. Developing a sex education program targeting adolescents with disabilities. While protecting children with disabilities from sexual abuse was obviously an important goal of the policy, I was pleasantly surprised to note that there was a clause on sex education for adolescents with disabilities. Sex education is not a component in the education curriculum in India, and so to have it included in this sphere is progressive, even groundbreaking. This gave adolescents with disabilities an opportunity to own their desire, an idea that is often ignored even today. While efficient implementation of this guideline remains to be seen, it is certainly a first and most important step towards the protection and prevention of violence and sexual abuse amongst children with disabilities.
Damini Mohan is a junior at Barnard College majoring in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies and South Asian Studies. She is a Student Research Assistant at the Barnard Center for Research on Women.
Related: