Violence against persons with disabilities in institutions remains widespread yet largely under-reported across Europe. Acts of violence include a wide spectrum of exploitative, abusive and degrading acts that contravene EU and EU Member States’ obligations under international and European human rights law. Protection against violence is grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the primary human rights treaty for the equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities.
The CRPD obliges States Parties to ensure that the rights to life, freedom from violence, autonomy, liberty and security are upheld within institutions. The absolute prohibition of torture and obligations to prevent torture and investigate torture allegations are enshrined in the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. States are required to protect against torture and ill treatment in all contexts, including in institutions – understood as segregated settings where people live together without choice and lack control over their lives.