‘We Got Lucky with the Judge’: Access to Justice for Disabled Women in Iceland

Abstract

In this paper we aim to make a valuable contribution to the surprisingly limited body of research on access to justice for disabled women who have been subjected to violence. Using an interdisciplinary sociolegal approach, this paper carries out an empirical qualitative study of one Icelandic court case and draws on this to provide a critical analysis of access to justice issues for disabled women who have been subjected to gender-based violence. Much about this case suggests that it is a positive example of justice being accessed, and we identify a number of features of the case as particularly significant in this regard. We reflect on how these positive aspects of the case can inform initiatives to enhance access to justice for disabled women and highlight ways in which Icelandic justice processes could more firmly embed the international human rights standards set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.