CRPD/C/GC/3 attitudinal barriers to fertility and hormone treatments. In addition, physical and psychological rehabilitation services, including counselling for acts of gender-based violence, may not be accessible, inclusive or age- or gender-sensitive. Employment (art. 27) 58. Besides the general barriers that persons with disabilities face when trying to exercise their right to work, women with disabilities also face unique barriers to their equal participation in the workplace, including sexual harassment and unequal pay and the lack of access to seek redress because of discriminatory attitudes dismissing their claims, as well as physical, information and communications barriers. 71 Social protection (art. 28) 59. As a consequence of discrimination, women represent a disproportionate percentage of the world’s poor, which leads to a lack of choice and opportunities, especially in terms of formal employment income. Poverty is both a compounding factor and the result of multiple discrimination. Older women with disabilities especially face many difficulties in accessing adequate housing, are more likely to be institutionalized and do not have equal access to social protection and poverty reduction programmes. 72 Participation in political and public life (art. 29) 60. The voices of women and girls with disabilities have historically been silenced, which is why they are disproportionately underrepresented in public decision-making. Owing to power imbalances and multiple discrimination, they have had fewer opportunities to establish or join organizations that can represent their needs as women, children and persons with disabilities. V. National implementation 61. In its examination of States parties’ reports, the Committee has noted that States parties face a number of consistent challenges to guaranteeing to women with disabilities the full enjoyment of all their rights without discrimination and on an equal basis with others, in compliance with article 6 and other related articles of the Convention. 62. In the light of the normative content and obligations outlined above, States parties should take the steps set out below to ensure full implementation of article 6 and provide adequate resources in that regard. 63. States parties should combat multiple discrimination by, inter alia: (a) Repealing discriminatory laws, policies and practices that prevent women with disabilities from enjoying all the rights enshrined in the Convention, outlawing gender- and disability-based discrimination and its intersectional forms, criminalizing sexual violence against girls and women with disabilities, prohibiting all forms of forced sterilization, forced abortion and non-consensual birth control, prohibiting all forms of forced gender- and/or disability-related medical treatment and taking all appropriate legislative steps to protect women with disabilities against discrimination; (b) Adopting appropriate laws, policies and actions to ensure that the rights of women with disabilities are included in all policies, especially in policies related to women in general and policies on disability; 71 72 See A/HRC/20/5 and Corr.1, para. 40, and A/67/227, para. 67. See A/70/297. 15

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