Dr Amy Kavanagh discusses disabled women’s experience of sexual harassment and assault. Watch the video and access our resources from the fourth event in our Gender Based Violence series.
Dr Amy Kavanagh discussed disabled women’s experience of sexual harassment and assault in our series of events covering the many and varied aspects and causes of Gender Based Violence.
Disabled Women, Sexual Harassment and Assault
Dr Kavanagh shared her lived experiences as a disabled woman, the six simple steps of her #JustAskDontGrab campaign on how to respectfully offer and provide consensual assistance to disabled people, and how bystanders can offer support to someone who has just experienced non-consensual touching.
Access the Presentation
The Disabled Women: Sexual Harassment and Assault Presentation is available in PDF Format here.
About the Speaker
Dr Amy Kavanagh is a visually impaired disability activist and campaigner. She launched the #JustAskDontGrab campaign in May 2018 to encourage people to offer assistance in a respectful, consensual and helpful way. By using her experiences, positive and negative, she demonstrates the impact of friendly assistance as well as the distress caused by unwanted touching.
Disabled women are twice as likely to experience sexual harassment as able-bodied women but Dr Kavanagh says they are just not taken seriously, as you can see in her recent appearance on Steph's Packed Lunch.
'Dr Amy Kavanagh on Steph’s Packed Lunch', Steph’s Packed Lunch, 12:30 15/03/2021, Channel 4, 100 mins. 01:05:27-01:13:55. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/clip/197149?bcast=134073287 (Accessed 25 Mar 2021)
Find out more about Gender Based Violence
Gender-Based violence refers to harmful acts directed at an individual based on their gender. It is rooted in gender inequality, the abuse of power and harmful norms. You can read more about Gender Based Violence from the Women's Staff Network.
About the Women's Staff Network
The Women's Network represents Academic and Professional Services staff and welcomes everyone who identifies as a woman. We want the voices of all women to be heard; intersectionality is woven into our network. If you would like to get involved, please do so via the Women's Network webpage, you can either Join our Team or Contact Us from the home page.