Collective Action and Emancipatory Aims: Applying Principles of Feminist Practice in a Shelter for Domestic Violence Survivors with Disabilities

Women with disabilities who experience domestic violence must contend not only with the trauma of the violence itself, but also with a system that is inadequate and often misinformed about how to serve their needs. As a result of this systemic inadequacy, women
with disabilities are severely under-served and are at risk for remaining in abusive relationships. Thus, there is a crucial need for domestic violence shelters that serve women with disabilities. This Paper focuses on Freedom House, a fully accessible New York City shelter for domestic violence survivors with disabilities and their families. The shelter itself is a recently constructed
building developed using state-of-the-art design and technology for accessibility. As the only shelter of its kind, Freedom House represents a unique opportunity to implement an innovative, transformative approach to service provision designed specifically to address the co-occurrence of domestic violence and disability in the lives of shelter residents. The purpose of this Paper is to outline one such approach as a viable model of care that is feminist, liberatory, and essential to recovery from trauma among domestic violence survivors with disabilities. Our theoretical framework is informed by the psychological theory of empowerment feminist practice (Worell and Remer, 2003) and by feminist disability theory (Garland-Thomson, 2001; Mays, 2006; Morris, 1991; Thomas, 1999). This emergent model provides both a theoretical argument for empowerment and a framework for responsive feminist practice for women with disabilities within a shelter setting.

Read the full report here.