CRPD/C/GC/3 C. Discrimination against women with disabilities in other articles of the Convention Awareness-raising (art. 8) 47. Women with disabilities are exposed to compounded stereotypes that can be particularly harmful. Gender and disability stereotypes affecting women with disabilities include: being burdensome to others (i.e., they must be cared for, are a cause of hardship, an affliction and a responsibility, or require protection); being vulnerable (i.e., they are considered defenceless, dependent, reliant or unsafe); being victims (i.e., they are considered to be suffering, passive or helpless) or inferior (i.e., they are considered unable, inadequate, weak or worthless); having a sexual abnormality (e.g., they are stereotyped as asexual, inactive, overactive, incapable or sexually perverse); or being mystical or sinister (stereotyped as cursed, possessed by spirits, practitioners of witchcraft, harmful or bring either good or bad luck). Gender and/or disability stereotyping is the practice of ascribing to a specific individual a stereotypical belief; it is wrongful when it results in a violation or in violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. An example of this is the failure of the justice system to hold the perpetrator of sexual violence against a woman with disability accountable based on stereotypical views about the women’s sexuality or her credibility as a witness. Accessibility (art. 9) 48. The lack of consideration given to gender and/or disability aspects in policies relating to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and rural areas, prevents women with disabilities from living independently and participating fully in all areas of life on an equal basis with others. This is especially relevant in terms of women with disabilities’ access to safe houses, support services and procedures that provide effective and meaningful protection from violence, abuse and exploitation or in terms of providing health care, in particular reproductive health care. 58 Situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies (art. 11) 49. In situations of armed conflict, occupation of territories, natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, women with disabilities are at an increased risk of sexual violence and are less likely to have access to recovery and rehabilitation services or access to justice.59 Women refugees, migrants and asylum seekers with disabilities may also face an increased risk of violence because they are denied the right to access health and justice systems because of their citizenship status. 50. Women with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies are at an increased risk of sexual violence, as outlined in the previous section. In addition, the lack of sanitation facilities increases discrimination against women with disabilities, who face a number of barriers to accessing humanitarian aid. Although women and children are prioritized in the distribution of humanitarian relief, women with disabilities cannot always obtain information on relief projects, as that information is often not available in accessible formats. When women with disabilities do receive information, they may not be able to 58 59 12 See See Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility. Statement of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on disability inclusion for the World Humanitarian Summit, available from the Committee’s web page (www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx).