Dr. Rosaleen McDonagh:

I will. Given what we know from other wars and conflicts, women, particularly deaf and disabled women, often do not disclose what happens to them. In general, we as women minimise and modify our experiences of violence. In a war-torn environment, women put up with lots of things because they have no choice.

Earlier, we spoke about having a child-, adult- or disability-centred approach. Services related to sexual violence and war crimes have built up a breadth of knowledge, and I would imagine if they were linked in when disability services were called upon, they would be only too willing and able to respond.

No one has mentioned resources in how we respond to this crisis. Rape and gender-based violence services are always undercut, but because of the nature and context of war and conflict, I hope that resources for disabled children and their mammies will not be spared. Their mothers are very vulnerable to violence in making choices and compromising their own safety over their child's by minimising the risk of sexual or gender-based violence.

There is something else that I wish to mention. We talk about language interpreters, which are essential in our humanitarian work. No operation will work unless they are involved. However, I am worried about the availability of deaf services and interpreters for disability questions and disability services. I know that this is all very complicated, but that is the nature of human beings.