The Adult Advocacy Centers Granted Consultative Status to the United Nations

August 2, 2023 / Adult Advocacy Centers

The United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) has voted to grant the Adult Advocacy Centers (AACs) special consultative status under the ECOSOC’s Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Consultative status to the UN will allow the AACs to learn, collaborate and share about the issues facing crime victims with disabilities around the world as well as attend ECOSOC sessions and events.

According to the UN, only 45 countries in the world have anti-discrimination and other disability-specific laws. Whether or not such laws are in place, people with disabilities around the world are more likely to be victims of violent crime than non-disabled people. In the U.S., the statistic stands at four times more likely, even with the Americans with Disabilities Act in place.

“We are so honored that the UN has voted to accredit the AACs as a non-governmental organization with consultative status,” says Katherine Yoder, Executive Director of the AACs. “With this important new role, the AACs will be able to foster relationships and learn from disabled people from around the world and collaborate with international experts to advance the services, supports and rights of crime victims with disabilities. We will accomplish this by respecting the fact that members of the disabled community have always had individual voices. The AACs just teach everyone else new ways to listen to their voices, in whatever way they choose or choose not to communicate. We are looking forward to learning from international communities and cultures with the unifying factors of victimization, accommodations, accessibility and empowerment.”