A/HRC/20/5 infanticide, early and forced marriage 31 and forced sterilization perpetrated by family members, members of the community and by those with specific responsibilities towards them, including teachers and employees of children institutions.32 Their social isolation and dependence also makes them vulnerable to female genital mutilation and cutting, even in countries where such practices are banned. Furthermore, they are also particularly vulnerable to other types of violence, such as “virgin rapes” in the context of the AIDS epidemic.33 25. Women and girls with disabilities may in some cases be targeted for exploitation because of their disability, which can in turn expose them to further violence. There is evidence that some forms of disability are directly linked to different patterns of trafficking (such as forced begging and labour exploitative practices). There have been reports of persons, particularly women and girls, 34 with physical or visual impairments being trafficked into forced begging because a visible disability may have a stronger impact on public sympathy.35 26. Women and girls with disabilities are also particularly vulnerable to violence during situations of conflict and other natural disasters, which may force migration and or displacement. Disasters compound the social effects of disability, especially for girls and women, who face other barriers. A report by Human Rights Watch in 2010 on violence against women with disabilities in Northern Uganda documented frequent abuse and discrimination by strangers, neighbours and even family members against women and girls with disabilities during the conflict in the country. Women interviewed for the report stated that they had no access to provisions, such as food, clothing and shelter, in camps for displaced persons or even in their own communities. 36 27. Insufficient information was given in the submissions on the situation of women who develop a disability as result of violence. This may have been partly be due to the lack of disaggregated data and information. Nonetheless, research has found that gender-based 31 32 33 34 35 36 See Rachael Clawson and Pam Vallance, Forced Marriage and Learning Disabilities: Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines, December 2010, (available from www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/travel-livingabroad/when-things-go-wrong/fm-disability-guidelines), p. 6. See World Health Organization (WHO), Preventing gender-biased sex selection, Interagency statement (OHCHR, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN-Women and WHO (available from http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4df751442.html); and “Sterilization of women and girls with disabilities: a briefing paper jointly prepared by Women with Disabilities Australia, Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Foundations and the International Disability Alliance as part of the Global Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care, 19 November 2011. Studies indicate that, in countries experiencing the AIDS epidemic, girls with disabilities are three to five times more likely to be sexually assaulted and raped than girls without disabilities. See Crosscurrents and Crosscutting Themes, Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean and the Middle East, vol. III, edited by Kagendo Mutua and Cynthia Szymanski Sunal, 30 June 2006, p. 117; and “Elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child”, Report of the Expert Group Meeting (available from www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/elim-disc-violgirlchild/EGM%20Report_FINAL.pdf), Division for the Advancement of Women in collaboration with UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre, Florence, Italy, 25-28 September 2006. See European Roma Rights Centre, Parallel submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women for the Czech Republic. Available from www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/ngos/ERRC_2_CzechRepublic_CEDAW47.pdf); and contribution of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Caring for Trafficked Persons. Guidance for Health Providers, IOM, Geneva, 2009 (available from http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/CT_Handbook.pdf). “As if We Weren’t Human”, Discrimination and Violence against Women with Disabilities in Northern Uganda, Human Rights Watch, August 2010. 9