Defining Disability

There are many different definitions of disability. Ideally, disability would be something that is self-defined. Due to a prevailing medical model of disability instead of a social model of disability, disability is often defined in order to determine eligibility for services or money. This unfortunately may aid in gatekeeping access to community and individuals with disabilities may miss out on the support that they are entitled to or deserve.

Below are two different ways that disability may be defined. It is important to remember that in the context of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition, "disability" is a legal term rather than a medical one. The Sins Invalid definition of disability aims to be more inclusive and reflective of the disability justice movement, which aims to be intersectional and comprehensive.

ADA Definition:

The ADA defines a person with a disability as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. 

World Health Organization: The 3 Dimensions of Disability

1. Impairment in a person’s body structure or function, or mental functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss.

2. Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or problem solving.

3. Participation restrictions in normal daily activities, such as working, engaging in social and recreational activities, and obtaining health care and preventive services.

SINS Invalid:

“We define disability broadly to include people with physical impairments, people who belong to a sensory minority, people with emotional disabilities, people with cognitive challenges, and those with chronic/severe illness. We understand the experience of disability to occur within any and all walks of life, with deeply felt connections to all communities impacted by the medicalization of their bodies, including trans, gender variant and intersex people, and others whose bodies do not conform to our culture(s)' notions of "normal" or "functional." 

Defining Domestic and Sexual Violence

Domestic Violence

"Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse. The frequency and severity of domestic violence can vary dramatically; however, the one constant component of domestic violence is one partner’s consistent efforts to maintain power and control over the other." (from the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence)

Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is a broad category of actions in which a person exerts their power and control over another person through unwanted or harmful sexual actions. 

We know sexual violence often is intertwined with someone that the survivor is in a relationship with (acquaintance, therapist, partner, landlord, caregiver, neighbor).

(from the Open Doors Sexual Violence and Disability training)

What is Ableism?

Ableism is "The practices and dominant attitudes in society that devalue and limit the potential of persons with disabilities. It is a set of practices and beliefs that assign inferior value (worth) to people who have developmental, emotional, physical or psychiatric disabilities." (Stop Ableism)

How does ableism show up with gender-based violence? Fran Odette, the author of "Ableism - A Form of Violence Against Women" shares many thoughts about the ways in which ableism impacts survivors. Odette names that ableism dictates the kinds of services that folks with disabilities have available and are able to access. For example, limited access to sexual health information for women with disabilities is based on the belief that disabled women will not be sexually active and will therefore, not need reliable sexual health and reproductive health information. The result is an increase in the risk for sexual and physical abuse of women with disabilities. This is one of many examples of how ableism can show up for the survivors we serve.

What language should I use when referring to people with disabilities?

The two most prominent ways to refer to people with disabilities are person-first language and identity first language.

Person-first language ("person with a disability")

The person-first language movement began in 1974 at the first self-advocacy conference for people with disabilities. The movement wanted to place people before their disabilities. Since that time, this has often been seen as the most respectful way to refer to a person with disabilities. While the disability community is seeing a shift towards more individuals using identity-first language (discussed below), Open Doors recommends using person-first language when in doubt of the correct language to use. 

Identity-first language ("disabled person")

The identity-first movement is a more recent movement, and first gained traction in the deaf and hard of hearing community. Identity-first language maintains that disability is not separate from a person's way of existing and experiencing the world. Identity-first language rejects the idea of "cure culture", which is the ableist idea that a person with a disability needs to be cured in order to be "normal" or "healthy". Identity-first language can sometimes be perceived as language only to be used by people with disabilities. This may change as culture shifts away from using person-first language to identity-first language. When in doubt, Open Doors recommends asking the survivor what language they would like used when referring to their status as a person with a disability.

Additional Resources & Reading

• Vera Institute of Justice / End Abuse PWD

• Recommendations for Advancing Disability Justice in Oregon

• Timeline of Disability Movement

• Anti-Ableist Glossary of Disability Terms