DOCUMENT RESUME ED 413 721 EC 305 995 AUTHOR Traustadottir, Rannveig; Harris, Perri TITLE Women with Disabilities: Issues, Resources, Connections. Revised. INSTITUTION Syracuse Univ., NY. Center on Human Policy. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1997-06-00 NOTE 158p. CONTRACT H133D50037 PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) Reference Materials Bibliographies (131) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC07 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Disabilities; *Equal Opportunities (Jobs); *Females; Internet; Organizations (Groups); Resource Materials; *Sex Discrimination; *Sex Role; *Sex Stereotypes; Social Networks ABSTRACT The materials compiled into this information package focus on women and girls with disabilities and the specific issues they face in society. Part 1 contains the overview article "Obstacles to Equality: The Double Discrimination of Women with Disabilities" (Rannveig Traustadottir), which reviews the existing literature on women with disabilities and compares how women with disabilities fare in the traditional female sphere of reproduction and nurturing, education, and employment as compared to women without disabilities and men with disabilities. Part 2 is an annotated listing of resources written by and/or about women and girls with disabilities. Subjects in this section include general issues, life histories, education, employment and rehabilitation, health issues, women and care, motherhood and reproductive rights, sexuality, sexual abuse, and fiction. Part 3 provides information on teaching materials about women and girls with disabilities. This part also lists other practical materials, such as a manual for accessibility. Part 4 provides information about support groups for women and girls with disabilities and how to start networking projects. This section also contains information about women's periodicals and organizations which include women with disabilities. Part 5 provides information about women and disability that is available on the Internet. (CR) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** WOMEN WITH DISABILFITES: Issues, Resources, Connections Revised Prepared by. Rannveig Traustadottir Updated by Perri Harris The Center on Human Policy Syracuse University 805 South Crouse Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2280 (315) 443-3851 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and nd Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) gefhis document has been reproducedas received from the person or organization originating it. June 1997 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. The materials in this information packet were compiled for anyone interested in learning about the lives of women and girls with disabilities. Preparation of these resource materials was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) under Contract No. H133D50037 awarded to the Center on Human Policy, Division of Special Education and Rehabilitation, School of Education, Syracuse University.The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and no endorsement by NIDRR should be inferred. WOMEN WITH DISABILFITES: Issued Resource.% Connections Revised CONTENTS: PART I. Overview Article: Obstacles to Equality. The Double Discrimination of Women with Disabilities PART II. Annotated Bibliography: Articles, journals, books, and other resources on women with disabilities 1.General Issues 2.Life Histories and Personal Accounts 3.Education 4.Employment and Rehabilitation 5.Health Issues 6. Motherhood and Reproductive Rights 7.Sexuality 8. Sexual Abuse 9.Fiction PART III. Teaching Others: An annotated listing of resource and teaching materials about women and girls with disabilities PART IV. Building Connections: Where to find further resources for and about women with disabilities. Including services, support groups, organizations, and periodicals PART V. World Wide Web Pages: This section provides web sites about and by women with disabilities and covers a variety of topics. WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES: Issues, Resources,Connections Revised Preface The materials that have been compiled into this information package are intended to serve as an introduction for those who are interested in learning about the lives of women and girls with disabilities and the specific issues they face in todays society. The review of the material already available about women with disabilities reveals a new and growing body of literature, most of which as been published within the past decade. These writings cross disciplines and have been published within different fields of study making it hard to gain overview of what already exists and even harder to know where to look for these materials. In addition to introducing the lives and experiences of women with disabilities, the primary purpose of this package is to provide an overview of the existing materials in an attempt to make them more accessible to those who are interested in this topic. This package is divided into five parts. PART I, written by Rannveig Traustadottir, contains an article which provides an overview of the literature and some of the major issues facing women with disabilities in todays society. PART II is an annotated listing of resources written by and/or about women and girls with disabilities. Subjects in this section indude general issues, life histories and personal accounts, education, employment and rehabilitation, health issues, women and care, motherhood and reproductive rights, sexuality, sexual abuse, and fiction. PART III provides information about teaching materials about women and girls with disabilities. This part also lists other practical materials, such as a manual for accessibility. PART IV, Building Connections, provides information about where to find services and support groups for women and girls with disabilities and how to start networking projects. This section also contains information about women's periodicals and organizations which indude women with disabilities. PART V is a new section which provides information about women and disability that is available on the internet Perri Harris Center on Human Policy Syracuse University June 1997 4 PART I Obstacles to Equality: The Double Discrimination of Women with Disabilities Overview Article: by Rannveig Traustadottir Center on Human Policy Syracuse University 805 South Crouse Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2280 July 1990 5 INTRODUCTION People with disabilities face many obstacles in their struggle for equality. Although men and women with disabilities are subject to discrimination because of their disabilities, women with disabilities are at a further disadvantage because of the combined discrimination based on gender and discrimination based on disability. This paper examines the lives of women with disabilities and explores the effects of this double discrimination.It demonstrates how women with disabilities have been neglected by the disability field and the feminist movement alike and reviews the existing literature on women with disabilities, most of which has been written within the last decade. The paper will also examine three major areas of life and how women with disabilities fare within these areas, compared to women without disabilities and men with disabilities. These three areas are (1) the traditional female sphere of reproduction and nurturing; (2) education; and (3) employment HISTORY OF NEGLECT Women with disabilities have historically been neglected by disability studies and feminist scholarship alike and issues of importance to women with disabilities have, for the most part, been ignored by the disability rights movement as well as the women's movement The Disability Field Almost all research on people with disabilities has assumed the irrelevance of gender as well as other social dimensions such as social class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. 'Having a disability presumably eclipses these dimensions of social experience.Even sensitive students of disability...have focused on disability as a unitary concept and have taken it to be not merely the 'master' status, but apparently the exclusive status for disabled people° (Asch & Fine, 1988: 3). Disability studies have traditionally used a gender blind approach to examine the lives of people with disabilities and have neglected to explore the influence of gender in the lives of men and women with disabilities. The field of disability has not yet recognized the combined discrimination of gender and disability experienced by women who have disabilities, and policies and practices in the field have not been designed to meet the specific needs of women with disabilities (Asch & Fine, 1988; Kutza, 1985; Mud rick, 1988). The disability rights movement has also ignored issues of importance to women with disabilities and many feminists with disabilities have complained about its male domination and male orientation (Blackwell-Stratton, et al., 1988; Toews, 1985). Deegan and Brooks (1985: 1) have criticized the disability rights movement for directing most of its attention to male concerns while women's issues,