Gender-based violence affects women and girls around the world (WHO, 2021). This phenomenon becomes even more complex in relation to women with disabilities, who are two to five times more likely to experience violence than women without disabilities (WHO, UN Women & HRP, 2024).
From the perspectives of Feminist Disabilities Studies (Garland-Thomson, 2005; Mays, 2006) and the Intersectionality Approach (Crenshaw, 1989), women with disabilities experience the intersection of multiple systems of oppression (i.e. sexism, ableism, classism, etc.) which expose them to multiple discrimination and multidimensional violence (EDF, 2021). Particularly concerning are physical and sexual forms of violence, which disproportionately affect women with intellectual disabilities and occur mainly within intimate relationships and caregiving or family contexts (Meyer et al., 2022; García-Cuéllar et al., 2022).
A further critical issue concerns the invisibility of victims, described as “bodies without weight on the scales of social justice”(Bernardini, 2018, p. 12).
Women with disabilities are often excluded both from official statistics on gender-based violence and from policies aimed at preventing and addressing violence (WHO, UN Women & HRP, 2024).
This invisibility is also reflected in the functioning of support services, from which they remain excluded due to multidimensional accessibility barriers and insufficient professional competence on the intersections between gender-based violence and disability (Robinson et al., 2021).
Considering these critical issues, the contribution reflects on the educational challenges that Special Education should address to promote prevention strategies and emancipatory pathways for women with disabilities who have experienced violence (Romano and Taddei, 2024; UN, 2015, SDG 5.2).
Attention is paid to the role of narrative and autobiographical practices as pedagogical devices capable of fostering processes of personal and social transformation (Giaconi and Capellini, 2019; Taddei, 2020; 2022).
Through narrative, women with disabilities can reinterpret their experiences, recognize their rights, and strengthen processes of empowerment. At the same time, narratives contribute to challenging the sexist and ableist stereotypes that sustain violence and discrimination. At least, it provides researchers and practitioners with valuable insights for the development of inclusive anti-violence services and support interventions.
Within this perspective, peer counselling (Patterson, 1990) emerges as a particularly effective transforming training strategy based on the sharing of personal experiences and mutual support. The literature highlights its emancipatory potential with women with disabilities (Barbuto et al., 2006).
The processes of mirroring, empathy, and recognition of lived experience that develop between the counselor and the counselee foster the learning of trauma coping strategies, increased self-confidence, and hope for a self-determined and emancipated future (Collings, et al., 2020; Aguillard et al., 2021).
In conclusion, the need to promote participatory research projects in synergy between the scientific community, services, and women with disabilities is emphasized. As illustrated in a recent study (Buettgen et al., 2025), leveraging the experiential knowledge of women with disabilities is a key element in designing inclusive anti-violence services that include educational strategies that truly address the support needs of women with disabilities.
