"Esther"

Esther is a 27-year-old woman who cannot walk or speak, so her parents told us her story on her behalf. Remember that this is a third-party account, but it does highlight the realities of what being a disabled person may look like and why disabled folks historically are more vulnerable to sexual harm than their peers. This vulnerability was socially created because we see able-bodied people as "normal." On top of this, people with physical or mental disabilities are less likely to be believed when they come forward. Please fact-check this yourself if you feel like you need to, but this is what the literature and statistics suggest globally. I also recognize that stats are usually not accurate, but we take what we can get.

People with disabilities are often left out of discussing sexual harm, which is no different from other issues. Many of the people I have spoken to thus far have an intellectual or physical disability, but I feel this story particularly highlights the above. Please note that this account is detailed and may be distressing to some. Please read if you think you have the capacity to do so.

Esther has been unable to walk or speak since she was two years old. Her parents call it hysteria, but upon looking further into her medication and symptoms, she may have had a stroke or some apraxia. She also gets seizures which she is on medication for. However, her parents are unsure, so it is not our place to diagnose. They also tell me it is seasonal; sometimes, she can walk and form a word or two, and sometimes she needs to be carried to get from point A to B.

One day, her parents noticed Esther walking with her legs open as if to get air. They saw vaginal tears and blood and immediately rushed her to the hospital upon checking. Esther was born with her vagina "shut," known as Vaginal Atresia. The doctors told her whoever had taken advantage of her had ripped through the closing and broken her hymen. Since no one saw what happened and Esther herself is not verbal, there is no way of being able to tell who did this or what happened. There is also no way of knowing if this has happened before. DNA testing is also unavailable in Malawi, so there was no way to collect evidence or data.

This experience highlights a stark problem in Malawi, specifically for people who have disabilities such as Esther's. When speaking to her parents, they told me that they believe because Esther cannot advocate for herself, people are more likely to take advantage of her and her body. After all, they know they will not be held accountable. On top of this, people are aware that DNA testing and the inability to identify the person harmed gives room for people to get away with atrocious instances such as this one. This kind of story is not unique to areas of Malawi; this is a global issue. People with disabilities often cannot come forward, and when they do, they are told that there is nothing they can do, or even worse, they are not believed. I have seen the same cases in Philadelphia and New York. When we talk about sexual violence, we need to make it intersectional and remember that the most vulnerable experience violence at the highest rates. When we think of this, we tend to think about trans people of color, which is undoubtedly a stark truth. We also need to think of people with disabilities, as the world has been set up for able-bodied (both physically and mentally) people. These are the things that spread globally, not just in one place.