Kathmandu: A study has revealed that the judicial bodies should ensure facilitating and discrimination-free behaviour to ease the access of the women with disabilities to justice. Out of 200 respondents of the study ‘Voices of the Margin: Status of Women with Disability on Access to Justice in Nepal’ carried out by Access Planet, 95 said the judicial agencies should do facilitating and discrimination free conducts, and the agencies should be physically accessible.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the study undertaken in four provinces – Gandaki, Karnali, Koshi and Madhes – has explored experiences of the women with disabilities in regard to their access to justice. At an interaction ‘Role of Stakeholders for Promotion of Adolescents and Women Friendly Justice’, organized by National Women Commission in collaboration with Access Planet here today, principle researcher Dr Niti Aryal Khanal said access to justice of the women with disabilities is found complex and stressed the need for an enabling environment for enhancing their access to judicial agencies.
“Women with disabilities should be allowed to equally participate in judicial process. Nepal’s justice, structure, service, and policy have been developed based on the experience of the people without disabilities. Much have to be done to transform the already established setups,” the research report stated. The study also demonstrated that over one-fourth of the respondents (27.5 %) even do not know about any service of the judicial agencies.
The participants who shared they experienced violence said they did not look for justice for the injustice meted out against them. Only 36 percent women opted for justice, the study findings noted. The study has recommended making disability ID distribution easy and effective, improving policy implementation and lobby impacts, and increasing investment in constructing disable-friendly and secured structures.
Executive Director of Access Planet, Laxmi Nepal said there was a huge research and data gap about the people with disability which has pushed them to further injustice.