Women’s History Month 2026 - Leading The Change

Leading The Change: How women with learning disabilities are shaping systems in gender-based violence

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate progress, honour resilience, and confront the injustices that continue to shape women’s lives. One of the most overlooked of these injustices sits at the intersection of gender‑based violence and learning disabilities. When we talk about violence against women, we often forget that not all women face the same risks, the same barriers, or the same pathways to safety and justice.

The power imbalance at the core

Women with learning disabilities often face a double invisibility: one rooted in gender, the other in disability. In addition to experiencing gender‑based violence at disproportionately high rates, society tends to underestimate their autonomy, their relationships, and even their capacity to experience trauma.

Gender‑based violence is fundamentally about power. Systems can deepen existing power imbalances, making it harder for women with learning disabilities to be seen and heard, to assert boundaries, seek help, or navigate complex systems like healthcare, policing, or social services.

These dynamics don’t reflect a lack of capability, they reflect a lack of accessible, respectful, and inclusive systems and support. When systems are not built for everyone, they fail the people who need them most.

Neither do they exist in isolation; they are deeply intertwined, and they compound. Women, particularly from marginalized communities, often experience their impacts most acutely. When systems fail to recognise the unique needs of women with learning disabilities, the violence they face becomes easier to hide.

SCLD’s gender-based violence and learning disability project aims to change this by putting the experiences and expertise of women with learning disabilities at the centre of Scotland’s efforts to prevent and respond to violence against women.

We believe that every woman has the right to safety, dignity, and respect. And we believe that women with learning disabilities must be included in shaping the solutions.

Four years ago, as part of our Delivering Equally Safe project, we partnered with People First (Scotland)’s Equally Safe Group to co-design and deliver projects that tackle these systemic injustices.

Leading the change

‘I take part in many groups but this group and the work we have done together…is making the change that is needed for women with learning disabilities’.

(Equally Safe Group Member, 2025)

The Equally Safe Group brings women with learning disabilities together to share knowledge, skills, and experiences, that have shaped Scotland’s response to gender‑based violence.

The group has been leading the way towards lasting change and solutions over the last four years. Their leadership is not only addressing today’s most urgent challenges, but also laying the foundation for a more resilient and inclusive future that is rooted in equity, justice, and opportunity for all.

This is a significant contribution from women whose insights are too often overlooked. Their leadership shapes every aspect of our Delivering Equally Safe work, and is available to inform practice, policy, and planning across sectors, in the resources section below.

Building a future where every woman is safe

Women’s History Month is not only about celebrating achievements, but also about imagining a better future.

Being Equally Safe means recognising that women with learning disabilities are at greater risk and doing something about it. It means removing barriers, challenging attitudes, and making sure support is accessible to every woman, not just those who fit the system.

Women with learning disabilities deserve to live free from violence, free from fear, and free from systems that overlook them. Their stories are part of women’s history, and their rights must be part of our future.

For more information on any of this work please contact: Michelle Mair, Gender-Based Violence Project Adviser, SCLD

E-mail: michelle.m@scld.co.uk