Men
and women with disabilities face heightened rates of HIV infection (three times
higher than persons without disabilities).[1] Combined with disability, gender can be an intersecting
source of discrimination within society that makes women and girls more
vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. For example, women with disabilities are more likely to
experience human rights violations, such as sexual abuse, which expose
survivors to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. Disability can at times make it more
difficult for women to escape attackers and to report abuse.[2] Further, when abuse is reported by women with
disabilities, law enforcement officers often do not take cases seriously or do
not believe the survivors.
In
many societies, myths related to transmission and cures for HIV/AIDS negatively
impact women and girls with disabilities. For example, in certain countries people
believe that having sex with a woman with a disability can cure AIDS, and thus this
myth places them at a higher risk of being assaulted and contracting the
disease. In other cases, persons with
disabilities are denied treatment or information, based on the assumptions that
persons with disabilities are asexual or do not engage in high-risk behaviors
such as injectable drug use.[3]
Women
with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty due to reduced access to
education and employment opportunities, limited accessibility, and generally lower
earnings. Poverty decreases the
likelihood that women, and women with disabilities, will be able to access
quality and lifesaving healthcare. When
HIV/AIDS programmes are not designed with persons with disabilities in mind,
this creates another barrier to the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.
It
is critical that health and development programmes consider the diverse needs
of women with disabilities during design, implementation, and evaluation
stages. Disability inclusive programming
must not only consider the physical accessibility of health facilities, but
also how to provide information and outreach to persons with all types of
disabilities. Including women with disabilities and disabled people’s
organizations (DPOs) during the planning and implementation stages can help to
ensure that HIV/AIDS information and treatment are meeting the needs of women
and girls with disabilities.
At
the national level, HIV/AIDS strategies should be inclusive of all
citizens. National action plans
therefore must address how to prevent and reduce HIV/AIDS, particularly among
vulnerable populations, such as women with disabilities. DPOs and women’s civil
society organizations can be an important source of pressure to ensure that
governments consider women (and men) with disabilities in their HIV/AIDS
strategies.
Lastly,
women with disabilities must have access to information about their rights as well
as legal recourse when abuse occurs.
Training can help to sensitize law enforcement about sexual assault and
about the intersections of violence, disability and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Countries should also encourage recruitment
of women police officers who are more likely to take sexual assault cases
seriously. Women with disabilities
should not suffer higher rates of HIV/AIDS simply because they face greater
discrimination within society and are more likely to experience violations to
their human rights.
To
learn more about the intersection of HIV/AIDS and Disability, see HIV/AIDS, Disability and Discrimination: A Thematic Guide
on Inclusive Law, Policy, and Programming
[1] Human Rights Watch, “Fact Sheet:
HIV/AIDS and Disability,” 8 June 2011, accessed 15 March 2013,
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/06/08/fact-sheet-hivaids-and-disability.
[2] Shantha Rau Barriga, “Left Out Twice:
Living with HIV and Disabilities,” Human Rights Watch, 21 July 2010, accessed
15 March 2013, http://www.hrw.org/news/2010/07/21/left-out-twice-living-hiv-and-disabilities.
[3] UNAIDS, WHO and, OHCHR, “Disability
and HIV Policy Brief,” April 2009, accessed 15 March 2013, pg. 3 http://www.who.int/disabilities/jc1632_policy_brief_disability_en.pdf.
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