Indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, in Nepal, like in other parts of the world, are prone to higher rates of gender-based violence and specific forms of violence compared to their nonindigenous counterparts. However, there is very little official or unofficial data available on violence against indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, in Nepal. Indigenous peoples’ organizations have been making efforts to address the longstanding lack of adequate or disaggregated data on violence against indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, in Nepal. In order to contribute to the daunting need for specific and disaggregated data on violence against Nepal’s indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, and particularly in the context of COVID-19
pandemic, this report is the outcome of research carried out by the National Indigenous Disabled Women Association-Nepal (NIDWAN). The research is based primarily on an online survey among indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, to gather information and/or their perceptions on various forms of violence they have faced and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted such violence and redress thereof. The online survey was conducted in mid-2021 through Kobo Toolbox, whereby the respondents could also submit information anonymously. The data collected was analyzed and reviewed in the training and discussion organized by the NIDWAN in person and online through the last quarter of 2020 to early 2021.
Further, the research draws on the expert inputs provided for research design as well as on the topic during webinars with indigenous women’s organizations and those working with persons or women with disabilities. Three webinars were organized in November and December 2020, while expert presentations from other relevant consultations have also been taken into account. The research also builds on the review of existing literature and data on violence against women and indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, from various governmental and non-governmental sources. Reports of the relevant United Nations mechanisms as well as women’s rights organizations have been referred to. However, there are limitations in the research as it is primarily based on an online survey without prior education or guidance for the respondents on violence against women and various manifestations thereof. Information on violence or abuse faced by oneself, specifically of sexual nature, is a private or sensitive matter, particularly in societies like that of Nepal, which is difficult to gather in an online survey in absence of strong rapport building beforehand. Thus, while the survey sought and gathered limited information on experiences of violence and abuse, it generated significant data on perception of indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, on the violence they face and various forms thereof. At the same time, it was not within the scope of the research to undertake detailed documentation of cases of violence against indigenous women and girls although a number of cases were informed during the research. The survey and this report seeks to focus mainly on specific forms of violence that indigenous women and girls, including those with disabilities, face as a collective or at the community level and in a structural or systemic manner that are different from their non-indigenous counterparts. The report accordingly concludes with a list of recommendations to address violence against women and girls and those with disabilities.
