Women of colour with disabilities often face overlapping forms of discrimination that leave them vulnerable to exclusion from healthcare, employment and other essential services, according to a new study by Ella vzw.
Fatma Arikoglu, Ella vzw’s Equal Opportunities Officer, told Belga News Agency that these women are frequently overlooked by policymakers and institutions that fail to recognise the combined impact of racism, sexism and ableism.
“What they experience is more than the sum of their individual characteristics,” Arikoglu said. “It is a unique intersection of different forms of discrimination.”
One woman said that her doctor initially dismissed her symptoms as a "normal course of events," a decision she believes came from negative stereotypes that individuals with a migrant background often exaggerate their medical complaints.
Her concerns were only taken seriously after her condition deteriorated to a point where it was apparent she needed immediate medical attention.
Ella vzw also found that these women encounter barriers in other areas of daily life like finding housing and employment, accessing public transport and dealing with institutional racism. All of these factors can contribute to an individual feeling excluded and marginalised from society.
The organisation argues that these issues cannot be addressed effectively when gender, ethnicity and disability are considered separately. They argue that policymakers must recognise how different forms of discrimination can interact and reinforce one another.
Ella vzw also stresses that women affected by these inequalities shouldn’t be portrayed as victims. Instead, they emphasise that they want more of these women to have an active role in shaping the policies that affect their lives.
