We are Not Asexual Beings: Disabled Women in Zimbabwe Talk About Their Active Sexuality

‘You’re disabled, why did you have sex in the first place?’ An intersectional analysis of experiences of disabled women with regard to their sexual and reproductive health and rights in Gujarat State, India

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SRH services include but are not limited to: maternal and child health services; family planning services; S.T.I screening; and gynaecology services.​

Limited access derives from similar social, infrastructural, and economic barriers that ‘non-disabled’ women typically experience. However, some studies argue that these issues are compounded when they intersect with negative stereotypes of disabled women’s sexuality [2–5,8–12,42]. A study in north India with disabled women identified similar barriers in that context, though differences within the group of disabled women were underexplored [8].…”

“…Vaidya [36] describes the goal of disabled women’s sexual and reproductive rights as one that should transcend the right to decide about childbirth to include recognition of themselves as sexual beings. Furthermore, claiming the social position of motherhood (in a context where motherhood is highly valorised) allows a transition from dependency to independence; the role of motherhood can provide space for disabled women to resist dominant discourses surrounding disability and sexuality [42]. Nevertheless, both felt and enacted stigma surrounding disability and motherhood remain [36,42,46].…”

“…Furthermore, claiming the social position of motherhood (in a context where motherhood is highly valorised) allows a transition from dependency to independence; the role of motherhood can provide space for disabled women to resist dominant discourses surrounding disability and sexuality [42]. Nevertheless, both felt and enacted stigma surrounding disability and motherhood remain [36,42,46]. Neither is it helpful to uphold motherhood as a form of legitimisation, where women have historically struggled to seek legitimacy beyond this role (and for many women acceptance through motherhood may not be an option).…”

‘Don’t Stare at Me….’ Exploring the Lived Experiences of Adults With Disability

“…Persons with disabilities denied and challenged the prevalent myth of asexuality as found in the research (McKenzie 2013; Payne et al 2016;Peta et al 2016;Wheeler 2007). In relation to this myth of asexuality, men with learning disabilities affirmed that learning disability in no way marks them as asexual or labels them with no sexual urges; as one participant expressed:…”

“…People with disabilities are seen as either sexually inactive or like sex too much or asexual beings and owing to such myths they are deprived of sexual education (Hanass and Hancock 2009;Peta et al 2016). The issue of sexual activity or bearing children is discouraged for the persons with disabilities and thus they are deprived of sex education by their families and sexual knowledge is considered potentially harmful or unnecessary (McKenzie 2013).…”