Structural violence, disability, and the struggle for dignity among disabled women and girls in Gaza.

Résumé

This study examines how structural violence shapes the lives of women and girls with disabilities in Gaza during the current genocide, showing how gender, disability, and displacement intersect to erode well-being and dignity. Based on qualitative fieldwork with thirty displaced participants living in camps in Rafah, it draws on in-depth, semi-structured interviews to document everyday struggles to access healthcare, mobility, education, and social inclusion. Thematic analysis, guided by Galtung's concept of structural violence, identifies patterns of restricted autonomy, fractured social relationships, heightened stigma, and uneven access to basic services. Participants described the loss or damage of mobility aids, severe barriers to reaching treatment, and the disruption of schooling and assistive support, which intensified isolation and dependence within crowded displacement settings. Many also reported escalating psychological strain and changing family roles as resources diminished. Yet their narratives highlight forms of resilience: creating informal care networks, sharing information, negotiating space and routines, and insisting on participation in community life despite exclusion. The findings show that disability and gendered vulnerability are amplified by genocide conditions, and that humanitarian responses must go beyond material relief to restore dignity, inclusion, and sustained protection for disabled women and girls. Responses must be disability-inclusive, locally informed.