Invisibilisation of sexual violence against women with disabilities
This article is authored by Meghna Sharma, assistant professor and Rafa Khan, LLB student, School of Law, RV University.
There are so many daily reports of rape and sexual violence against women that at times, it would seem that society has become almost desensitised to the issue. Once in a while, a case is able to garner enough attention to trigger a nationwide discourse on rape and the vulnerability of women. Currently, the Kolkata rape case has moved as the 2012 Delhi gangrape case did. While cases like these stir public outrage, countless others are ignored, rendering them invisible-- particularly those involving women with disabilities.
The recent remarks of the Justice Chandrachud, highlighting the vulnerability of women with disabilities in cases of sexual violence, comes at an opportune moment. Just last month, a woman with mental disabilities was gang-raped in Chhattisgarh. In the same month, in Chhattisgarh itself, another woman with speech and hearing disabilities was raped. In August this year, a woman with intellectual disabilities was raped in Andhra Pradesh. In July, a girl child with physical disabilities was gang-raped in Uttar Pradesh. Similar stories have surfaced in other states earlier this year.
Tragically, for every reported case of rape and sexual violence against women with disabilities, there are many others which fall through the cracks. Research reveals two primary factors behind this invisibility. First, the justice system is often inaccessible to women with disabilities, compounded by lack of sensitivity on disability issues among law enforcement officials. Second, many perpetrators are individuals with whom victims have close relationships, including male partners, health care professionals, and caregivers. Financial and social dependencies on these relationships discourage women from reporting.
As most crimes against persons with disabilities go unreported, the gravity of this issue is not reflected in statistics. Sexual violence against women with disabilities, in particular, remains shrouded in secrecy. Notably, the National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB) does not release any disaggregated data on persons with disabilities, thereby rendering even reported cases invisible in crime statistics.
While invisibility in data certainly contributes to the lack of social awareness about this issue, it still doesn’t explain why even reported stories of sexual violence against women with disabilities are not able to gain much traction. It is an unfortunate reality that the discourse around sexual violence in India has been built around certain critical events: Kolkata rape case (2024), Delhi rape case (2012), Mathura Rameeza Bee (1979), Maya Tyagi (1980), Suman Rani (1989), Bhanwari Devi (1992), and Mathura (1972).
Given this dependency on such critical events, the discourse has been rendered cyclical in nature: A brief period of public outrage followed by a long silence, while statistics on rape and sexual violence continue to rise. Such cyclical nature of public discourse is able to cater to only a specific number of cases that affect the mainstream consciousness; ignoring the same issues that the subaltern class is facing on a more frequent basis.
In such a case, the role of social movements becomes fundamental. It is to the credit of the feminist movement that rape has been defined as a social problem--a political tool of male oppression. However, the feminist movement has not been able to cater to the intersectional issues of women with disabilities. With its focus on critical events, it has almost exclusively focused on issues occurring in public spaces, ignoring the more routine nature of rape and sexual violence that occurs in private spaces. As sexual violence against women with disabilities occurs mostly in private spaces, the issue has not been able to get the required space in social discourse.
This issue has largely been ignored by the disability rights movement as well. As disability intersects with various identities such as class, caste, race, and gender, the movement has often prioritised cross-disability demands to enhance mobilisation. Although there have been recent efforts to incorporate gender-based concerns, the movement struggles to assert a political identity. For instance, attempts to advocate for a respectful identity for persons with disabilities have received minimal political support. The movement's opposition to the term divyangjan (divine beings) has been largely ignored. In contrast, the use of terms like Harijan for Dalits is legally prohibited due to its derogatory connotations. This challenge to maintain a political identity has hindered the movement's capacity to frame sexual violence as a political tool of both ableist and patriarchal oppression.
It is clear that the struggle for justice and safety for women with disabilities in India is ongoing and deeply complex. These women are not only fighting against gender-based violence, but also against a system that often overlooks their needs as women with disabilities. If we want real change, the legal system needs to recognise the unique challenges they face. And we as a society need to ensure that they are not invisible in the discourse around rape and vulnerability of women.
This article is authored by Meghna Sharma, assistant professor and Rafa Khan, LLB student, School of Law, RV University.


