Ensuring the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights of People with Disabilities in Humanitarian Settings

By Doris Kathia

The World Health Organization estimates that 15 % of the world’s population live with a disability. In Kenya, 4.6% people experience some form of disability and 10% of persons with disabilities live without assistive devices.

People with disabilities are often programmatically invisible: as a result of attitudinal, physical and social barriers, they are excluded from or unable to access mainstream assistance programs, and they have historically been deprived of their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

A diagram with consisting six images arranged in a rectangle. From left to right, 1. a form; 2. a magnifying glass; 3. scales; 4. a DNA symbol; 5. a bottle of pills; 6. a pregnancy test.

When facing displacement, such invisibility is heightened. People with disabilities remain among the most hidden, neglected and socially excluded of all displaced people today. According to a 2013 study in partnership with International Rescue Committee in Kakuma Refugee Camp, 2084 of the 128,560 refugees in the camp were registered as having disabilities, representing 1.6 % of the total population, but there is a limitation on the means of identifying people with disabilities in humanitarian settings.

Forced displacement affects people differently. People with disabilities have specific disability-related needs, which are often not adequately recognized in humanitarian response, for instance, in cases where they lose their assistants or assistive devices. What is also not adequately recognized in humanitarian response is that people with disabilities are entitled to the same range, quality, and standard of free or affordable health care as people without disabilities. This of course includes the provision of SRHR in times of crisis.

Failure to recognize and guarantee access to these basic rights leaves people with disabilities — especially people with intellectual disabilities — uninformed and unprotected, facing a higher risk of experiencing violence in general and sexual violence in particular. It also leaves them at risk of being subjected to sexual exploitation and of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. When these rights are not recognized, they are also more likely to be subjected to forced sterilization, abortion, and marriage due to long-standing stigmatization.

A close-up of a wire fence. On the other side, a clear blue sky and a large body of water are visible. Credit: Canva

The barriers to accessing SRHR are many, particularly when in the context of crisis, but two of the most important obstacles include: a) misconceptions surrounding people with disabilities, for instance, the belief that they are either asexual or hyper-sexual, and b) the lack of proper training and respect by service providers, with women with disabilities often being scolded for becoming pregnant.

Embracing human diversity poses all of us with the challenge to remove barriers and prejudices about people with disabilities and provide outreach support to those who are most at risk, including those affected by forced displacement.

Here are few ways governments can help ensure support is in place:

1. Make funds available to put accessibility measures in place and implement the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, including articles 9, 16, 22, 23 and 25,
2. Train providers on respectful, disability-friendly communication skills,
3. Provide information in multiple accessible formats, including Easy Read and Sign Language,
4. Include people with disabilities in policy-making, and
5. Partner with organizations of people with disabilities to promote SRHR.

You can learn more about the rights of women and girls with disabilities in humanitarian emergencies here.

About the author

Ms. Kathia is a youth advocate at the Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa (NAYA) Kenya.