Video
15 December 2025

Violence against persons with disabilities in institutions

Our recent report looks at the breadth and depth of violence and neglect faced by people with disabilities living in institutions. It highlights the shortcomings by EU Member States in preventing violence and protecting those who are at a higher risk of experiencing it, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This video explains the key issues as well as the actions needed to ensure that a person’s need for care and support should never come at the expense of their safety and dignity.

Transcript

What happens when people are closed off from society and their choice and safety are taken away? 

They don’t live, they simply exist. 

More than 1.4 million people with disabilities in the EU live in institutions. 

FRA’s findings show that behind closed doors, many face neglect, abuse, and even violence – verbal, physical, and sexual. 

Children, older people, and people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities are more at risk.

Too often, their voices are silenced and violence remains hidden. 

But we can change this 

By protecting their rights. 

By empowering them. 

By acting. 

FRA calls for: 

  • Stronger laws grounded in human rights.
  • Independent monitoring.
  • Safe and accessible ways to report abuse.
  • Involving people with disabilities in shaping policies that affect them.
  • And upholding their right to live in dignity, self-determination and inclusion in society. 

A person’s need for care and support should never come at the expense of their safety and dignity.