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SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CONCERNS OFPERSONS WITH DISABILITY IN INDIA: AN ISSUE OFDEEP-ROOTED SILENCE

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2018

Seema Sharma  and
Muthusamy Sivakami
Seema Sharma*
Affiliation:
School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
Muthusamy Sivakami
Affiliation:
School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India
*
1Corresponding author. Email: seema.sharma2014@tiss.edu
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Summary

Global estimates suggest that over a billion peoplelive with a disability that is significant enough toaffect their daily lives. According to the 2011Indian Census, India alone has about 26.8 millionpeople with disabilities. Research suggests thatpersons with disabilities (PwDs) in India are amongthe most neglected, stigmatized, poor and leasteducated of the world’s population, and women withdisabilities in India are the most marginalized,both socially and economically. They bear the tripleburden of being discriminated against through being‘women’ (socially marginal beings), ‘disabled’(incapacitated, inefficient and undesirable) and‘women with disabilities’ (the weakest of the weak),often becoming socially invisible. Although therehas been a general recognition over the years thatthe educational and employment opportunities of PwDsin India need to be improved, their sexual needs andaspirations, sexuality concerns and sexual andreproductive health and rights have been largelyignored. The objective of this paper is to highlightthe paucity of research on the sexual andreproductive health concerns of PwDs, particularlywomen, in the Indian context using existingliterature on India, and to identify the possiblereasons of this neglect. The study describes theobstacles faced by PwDs, particularly women, toacquiring good sexual and reproductive informationand services, based on the results of empiricalstudies. Given the lack of research on this inIndia, the evidence largely comes from studiesconducted elsewhere in the world. Lack ofinformation and education about sexual healthconcerns, physical and/or infrastructuralinaccessibility, judgemental provider attitudes,limited provider knowledge about disability issuesand individual factors, including inhibitions aboutseeking health care and financial barriers, areidentified as factors inhibiting the sexual andreproductive rights of people with disabilities inIndia.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 51 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 225 - 243
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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