Protecting reproductive rights and sexual and reproductive health of women and girls with disabilities

On March 30,  In Bishkek the PIL Research Company with technical support from the UNFPA in Kyrgyzstan and with financial support from the UK government presented the results of study on assessing the needs of women and girls with disabilities in accessing reproductive health services and gender-based violence.

he aim of the study is to assess the needs of women and girls with disabilities in accessing reproductive health services and gender-based violence.

The surveys were conducted within the preparation for the research, where about 300 women with disabilities took part. The target group was represented by women over 18 years of age with four different types of disabilities: vision, hearing, musculoskeletal disorders, and others.

Despite the fact that people with disabilities have the same rights to sexual and reproductive health as people without disabilities, society still continues to challenge this fact, treating women with disabilities in a discriminatory manner.

The study found that the rights and personal dignity of women and girls with disabilities are not recognized at the family and community level. According to the assessment, more than a quarter of survey respondents (26%) cannot decide to go outside of their homes; more than a third of respondents believe that they have no right to decide whether or not to have a romantic, sexual relationship with a person; more than a fifth cannot decide about marriage (23%), about divorce (22%), about their own fertility (have or not have children - 21%).

The results of this study will be integrated into mechanisms of interagency response to gender-based violence and improving access to reproductive health services for women and girls with disabilities.