Translating knowledge into action in health promoting communities in Iceland

Through an Intersectional Lens: Prevalence of Violence Against Disabled Women in Iceland

“…This article analyses data from a national health survey collected in Iceland in 2017 (Sigbjörnsdóttir et al, 2017). Heilsa og líðan (Health and Wellbeing) is a population survey that has been carried out regularly since 2007 by the Directorate of Health.…”

“…Heilsa og líðan (Health and Wellbeing) is a population survey that has been carried out regularly since 2007 by the Directorate of Health. The survey is the only one of its kind in Iceland, intended as a regular measurement focusing on primary health factors and living conditions of Icelandic citizens (Sigbjörnsdóttir et al, 2017). The survey includes health-related questions, questions about sexual, emotional, and physical violence, as well as questions about impairment, disability pension, gender, sexual orientation, and perceived financial strain.…”

“…Finally, predicted probabilities of women of different social locations having experienced any violence and sexual violence were calculated using parameters from the regression to illustrate how the odds of having experienced violence increase with each marginalized social location women inhabit (see Figure 1). To make the sample nationally representative and compensate for under-representation of younger participants and those living in the capital region, weights were used when reporting descriptive statistics (Table 2) (Sigbjörnsdóttir et al, 2017). Variables for age and residence (capital region vs. rural region) were entered into the regression models to control for their effects.…”

“…With data from a national telephone survey of US adults, Basile et al (2016) showed that disabled women were more likely to have experienced rape in the 12 months preceding the survey than non-disabled women (odds ratio 3.3) and that an estimated 29% of women who had experienced sexual violence other than rape in that same timespan had been disabled. Research has frequently focused on intimate partner violence, revealing that disabled women, much like non-disabled women, experience violence by family members and partners but are at higher risk of such violence (Barrett et al, 2009; Brownridge, 2006; Copel, 2006; Smith, 2008). Not only do disabled women experience violence at a disproportionately higher rate than non-disabled women (Basile et al, 2016; Hughes et al, 2011, 2012; Khalifeh et al, 2013; Krnjacki et al, 2016; Shah & Bradbury-Jones, 2018), they are also met with disbelief when they speak up about violence and often receive insufficient support when they do (Åker & Johnson, 2020; Harpur & Douglas, 2014; Thiara et al, 2011).…”

“…Thus, there is a need for research that sheds light on the interplay of different social locations 2 (Weber, 2010) and the prevalence of violence among those who inhabit more than one marginalized social location. This gap in knowledge was the inspiration for this study, which analyses data from an Icelandic national health survey carried out by the Directorate of Health (Sigbjörnsdóttir et al, 2017). The aim was to identify the prevalence of violence against disabled people in Iceland, and in particular disabled women, and map the increased precarity 3 of disabled women who are marginalized by different dominant social hierarchies.…”