Deaf Women and Diversity in the Deaf Community

Deaf women are an important part of the deaf community in Europe. This article explains who deaf women are, the challenges they face, and how they work together to create change.

Who are Deaf Women?

Deaf women are women who are deaf. They use sign language. In Europe, there are many deaf women with different backgrounds, ages, and life experiences. This is what we call “diversity” – it means people are different from each other in many ways.

Around 16% of women in the European Union have some form of disability, including deafness [1]. In the Netherlands, there are about 1.5 million deaf and hard of hearing people, with 30,000 who are deaf from birth or young age [2].

Challenges Deaf Women Face

Deaf women often face two types of challenges at the same time:

Challenges because they are deaf
Challenges because they are women

This is called “multiple (layered) discrimination” [1]. For example:

23% of women with disabilities are at risk of being poor, compared to 20% of men with disabilities and 16% of women without disabilities [1]
Only 20% of women with disabilities have full-time jobs, compared to 28% of men with disabilities [1]
Only 15% of women with disabilities finish higher education, compared to 18% of men with disabilities [1]
9% of women with disabilities cannot get the medical help they need [1]

Deaf women also face problems with:

Getting help in their own sign language when they experience violence [3]
Finding people who understand their unique needs [3]
Getting good health care and education [1]

Organizations Supporting Deaf Women

Several European organizations work to support deaf women:

The European Union of the Deaf (EUD): The main organization representing deaf people in Europe with 31 member countries [4][5]
The Women’s Committee of the European Disability Forum: A group of 12 members and 4 observers who work on women’s rights [6]
National deaf associations like ANEPS in Slovakia [9]
Women’s shelters in sign language such as NKJT in Sweden, which supports deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafblind women.

Events and Community

Deaf women meet at special events to share experiences and learn from each other. For example, the 3rd European Deaf Women’s Forum will happen in November 2024 in the Czech Republic [10]. At this event, deaf women will talk about leadership, education, jobs, and social inclusion.

The EUD publicized a report about stopping violence against deaf women and girls in 2024 [12].

Working Together for Equality

When deaf women work together, they can create positive change. Organizations are trying to make sure deaf women have equal rights and opportunities in education, jobs, and healthcare. They also want to make sure deaf women can access services in their national sign languages.

By understanding and accepting diversity in the Deaf community, we can help create a more equal society for everyone.