Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights

Experiences of Women and Girls with Disabilities around Gender Based Violence and Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. Surveys show women and girls with disabilities having faced a form of violence and that “the perpetrators of these heinous acts are mostly people known to the victims.” (Jun, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)

Interventions around Menstrual Health and Hygiene Must Be Inclusive of Women and Girls with Disabilities:

“The most rarely spoken about is how menstrual product manufacturers overlook consumers with disabilities. Most sanitary pads, tampons, or menstrual cups are not a better fit for women and girls who use assistive devices or have no limbs (hands and/or legs).

For women and girls who use prosthesis legs, wheelchairs, calipers, or crutches, the sanitary pad cannot be properly kept in place, which in the process causes leakage or even worse falls off during movement. Those without hands or fingers also find it difficult to tear the packet and insert the sanitary pad into their panty or insert the tampon or menstrual cup correctly.

Availability and high cost of menstrual products pauses a challenge to women and girls with disabilities in the rural areas causing them to opt for alternative solutions such as using rags, leaves, animal skins, and even cow dung that exposes them to multiple infections.” (May, Kenya Network of Women and Girls with Disabilities)