Convention of Rights 16: Freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) forms the foundation of disability rights laws in Uganda and is the model for the Persons With Disabilities Act (PWDA) 2006. The CRPD underlines and recognizes that persons with disabilities (PWDs) are entitled to all the human rights enunciated in the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you are a PWD the rights in the CRPD are your rights, if you do not have a disability it is your duty to uphold and promote these rights.

Article 15 of the CRPD says no one should be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. No one shall be the subject of experimentation without their free consent. All steps must be taken to ensure that PWDs are not subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading  treatment or punishment.

PWDs are at greater risk from abuse. When abuse happens it mostly goes unnoticed because it occurs in institutional settings or places hidden from public scrutiny. Like all human beings PWDs have an equal right to be free from all forms of violence. 

Why are PWDs often the subjects of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment? Consider these factors highlighted in Human Rights. Yes! Chapter 6: Freedom from Torture and Other Forms of Abuse:

Factors Contributing to Violence against Persons with Disabilities

• Negative myths and stereotypes about disability that relegate persons with disabilities to powerless positions and the perception of being an “easy target” for perpetrators.
• Power imbalances between persons with disabilities and their caregivers.
• Isolation in homes or institutions away from public and governmental scrutiny.
• Lack of education and training that helps to identify and address violence, especially for women and girls with disabilities.
• Lack of training by family members, caregivers, and health professionals on appropriate care for persons with disabilities.
• Armed conflict and certain environmental hazards, such as landmines.
• Poverty.
• Cultural practices, such as female genital mutilation, “virgin rape” of women with disabilities (based on the false assumption that they are asexual and often connected to notions of cure for HIV), and withholding food from infants with disabilities.

Women and girls with disabilities are at higher risk of gender based violence in their homes, schools, institutions, and the community. They are often excluded from prevention programs, support services, or access to the law due to stereotyped views about their sexuality, physical and communication barriers, and lack of materials in accessible formats. The 2015 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report Include Women, Girls With Disabilities in Anti-Violence Efforts continues:

The World Health Organization estimates that 35 percent of women worldwide experience gender-based violence in their lifetime. Women and children with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to violence. People with disabilities are up to three times as likely as others to be victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and rape. They face multiple forms of discrimination, including on the basis of their gender and disability – making them more isolated, marginalized, and vulnerable to violence. Adults and children with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities are among the most vulnerable – with nearly four times the risk of experiencing violence.

... in Uganda, HRW found that women with disabilities who experience rape find it especially difficult to get help because of inaccessible transportation and healthcare facilities, and lack of confidential sign language interpretation.

If you are a person with a mental health or intellectual disability you are 4 times more likely to be abused. Cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are against your human rights. Know your rights, demand your rights.

“As if We Weren’t Human”.
“My husband beat me seriously. He beat me intentionally many times, when he came home drunk. He beat me because of my disability. He said to others that I was useless, could not make love or cook.” Angela went to a local government official who advised her to stay with her husband. Four months passed and she was repeatedly beaten. Finally, she left.

This is written in Article 15 of the CRPD in the following way:

Article 15

Freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.