CRPD/C/GC/3 under articles 5 and 6.25 An example of reasonable accommodation could be an accessible facility in the workplace that would allow a woman with a disability to breastfeed. 16. The concept of intersectional discrimination recognizes that individuals do not experience discrimination as members of a homogenous group but, rather, as individuals with multidimensional layers of identities, statuses and life circumstances. It acknowledges the lived realities and experiences of heightened disadvantage of individuals caused by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, which requires targeted measures to be taken with respect to disaggregated data collection, consultation, policymaking, the enforceability of non-discrimination policies and the provision of effective remedies. 17. Discrimination against women and girls with disabilities can take many forms: (a) direct discrimination; (b) indirect discrimination; (c) discrimination by association; (d) denial of reasonable accommodation; and (e) structural, or systemic, discrimination. Irrespective of the form it takes, the impact of discrimination violates the rights of women with disabilities: (a) Direct discrimination occurs when women with disabilities are treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation for a reason related to a prohibited ground. It also includes detrimental acts or omissions on the basis of prohibited grounds where there is no comparable similar situation. 26 For example, direct discrimination occurs when the testimonies of women with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are dismissed in court proceedings because of legal capacity, thus denying those women justice and effective remedies as victims of violence; (b) Indirect discrimination refers to laws, policies or practices that appear neutral when taken at face value but that nonetheless have a disproportionately negative impact 27 on women with disabilities. For example, health-care facilities may appear neutral but are discriminatory when they do not include accessible examination beds for gynaecological screenings; (c) Discrimination by association is discrimination against persons on the basis of their association with a person with a disability. Often, women in a caregiver role experience discrimination by association. For example, the mother of a child with a disability may be discriminated against by a potential employer who fears that she may be a less engaged or available worker because of her child; (d) Denial of reasonable accommodation is discrimination that occurs when necessary and appropriate modifications and adjustments (that do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden) are denied despite being needed to ensure that women with disabilities enjoy, on an equal basis with others, their human rights and fundamental freedoms. 28 For example, a woman with a disability may be denied reasonable accommodation if she cannot undergo a mammogram at a health centre owing to the physical inaccessibility of the built environment; (e) Structural, or systemic, discrimination is reflected in hidden or overt patterns of discriminatory institutional behaviour, discriminatory cultural traditions and discriminatory social norms and/or rules. Harmful gender and disability stereotyping, which can lead to such discrimination, is inextricably linked to a lack of policies, regulations and services specifically for women with disabilities. For example, owing to stereotyping based on the intersection of gender and disability, women with disabilities may face barriers when 25 26 27 28 Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, general comment No. 2 (2014) on accessibility. See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009) on nondiscrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, para. 10. Ibid. See article 2 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 5