Violence against women with disabilities continues to be a serious issue. Women with disabilities face a 2 to 5 times higher risk of experiencing violence compared to women without disabilities. According to the 2024 annual report from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), there were 330,097 reported cases of gender-based violence, with 98.5 percent occurring in domestic settings.
Dr. Ratna Noviani, a lecturer at the Graduate School’s Cultural and Media Studies Program, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), stated that there are still various obstacles to creating safe spaces for women with disabilities, despite the existence of legal instruments intended to protect them.
The first challenge, she explained, lies in weak law enforcement and a lack of genuine commitment.
“The government often stops at rhetoric or ceremonial gestures without providing substantial and concrete infrastructure. Existing regulations are frequently not accompanied by technical guidelines or implementing rules, leaving the real needs of women with disabilities unaddressed,” said Dr. Noviani on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025.
The second challenge, she continued, is the limited accessibility of inclusive programs for women with disabilities.
The infrastructure that supports their needs remains inadequate and often fails to consider practical realities.
“For example, while there are shelters for victims of violence, few of them are wheelchair-friendly or accessible for people with sensory disabilities,” she explained.
The third challenge is the persistence of patriarchy and discrimination across many institutions, which normalizes stigma against women with disabilities.
According to Dr. Noviani, silences their voices and renders them invisible in both public and private spheres.
Building safe spaces for women with disabilities, she emphasized, cannot rely solely on policy-making but must start with everyday awareness within immediate social environments.
“Creating safe spaces for women with disabilities is not just about providing facilities or enacting regulations; it requires disrupting the social logic that normalizes ableism and systemic injustice toward persons with disabilities,” she asserted.
For Dr. Noviani, the family serves as the most fundamental safe space, while education plays a key role in shaping awareness.
Schools and universities, she said, can cultivate anti-ableism consciousness from an early age, not only through formal curricula but also through everyday practices.
“UGM has a Disability Services Unit and a Peduli Difabel Student Activity Unit, which are excellent initiatives that other educational institutions should emulate. Awareness should not only emerge from classroom discussions but also from daily empirical practices through relationships and social interactions,” she remarked.
Dr. Noviani further added that digital media can serve as an effective tool to strengthen these safe spaces by raising awareness of gender justice and anti-ableism.
Media platforms, she noted, allow for rapid campaigns, cross-regional solidarity, and the promotion of empowering representations of women with disabilities.
“Digital media can be an effective instrument to amplify the voices of women with disabilities, highlight their capacities, and challenge ableist norms,” she concluded.
Author: Jesi
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Post-editor: Lintang Andwyna
Illustration: Freepik