Carew Mark T, Dhingra Smriti, Bash-Taqi Regina, Koroma Henrietta Kumba, Fraser Tania, McLaren Megan, Groce Nora
Policy & Research, Leonard Cheshire Disability, London, UK.
UCL International Disability Research Centre, University College London, London, UK.
Cult Health Sex. 2024 Mar;26(3):362-376. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2023.2212285. Epub 2023 May 29.
Women with disabilities face numerous barriers to achieving sexual health on an equitable basis to others, including stigma about disability and sexuality. Yet, how specific stigmatising beliefs about disability and sexuality influence the choices women with disabilities make about their sexual health has not been studied widely. The present study sought to address this gap in the context of Sierra Leone. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with women with disabilities ( = 32) and women without disabilities ( = 10). Societal stigma of disability linked with witchcraft was seen as a deterrent to accessing sexual and reproductive health services. Stigma about women with disabilities as burdens and about childless women with disabilities as pitiable were perceived as sources of pressure on disabled women's reproductive choices. Concurrently, women with disabilities rejected common stigmatising beliefs held about their lives. Results are discussed in terms of practical implications for healthcare providers and policymakers in Sierra Leone.
残疾女性在平等实现性健康方面面临诸多障碍，包括对残疾和性取向的污名化。然而，关于残疾和性取向的具体污名化观念如何影响残疾女性对自身性健康的选择，尚未得到广泛研究。本研究旨在塞拉利昂的背景下填补这一空白。对32名残疾女性和10名非残疾女性进行了半结构化访谈。与巫术相关的残疾社会污名被视为获得性健康和生殖健康服务的障碍。将残疾女性视为负担以及将无子女的残疾女性视为可怜之人的污名，被认为是残疾女性生殖选择压力的来源。同时，残疾女性拒绝了关于她们生活的常见污名化观念。文中讨论了这些结果对塞拉利昂医疗服务提供者和政策制定者的实际影响。
