SRHR for the Disabled

Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) is the concept of human rights applied to the fields of sexuality, reproductive system, and health for both men and women. In a country where basic requirements such as education, food and shelter are not met with, one's sexuality could very well be at the end of the list of priorities; but should it really?

There are many important predicaments of SRHR that are important to address in order for a person to survive, sustain and flourish in both the public and private spheres of life, to find his or her place in society. Starting from birth control options for a couple to mental health needs of garment workers, to a prisoner's living conditions (both reproductive and health wise), SRHR addresses and ensures many of life's basic fundamentals that are often shoved underneath the rug, in order to deal with other "urgent priorities".

In the context of Bangladesh, SRHR is a relevantly new area that has only been recognised by the government as well as the development sector, the latter putting much more emphasis on it, especially those working towards better living or working conditions. When it comes to minority groups, such as the disabled, SRHR becomes an unexplored territory even though people with disabilities have the same sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs as others. According to the UNFPA, an estimated 10 percent of the world's population –650 million people – live with a disability. In Bangladesh, there is no specific data on the number of disabled people in the country and some results say that it is in between 9 to 16 percent. Further research shows that 50 percent women with disabilities had never married, 72 percent lived with their parents or a sibling and 40 percent reported sometimes being mistreated by their families. The Government of Bangladesh has already taken some legislative steps towards improving situation of the disable people. But do these steps entail SRHR? The plain and simple answer to that is a big "No" although countries around the world have taken voracious steps to incorporate SRHR needs of those most deeply affected by poverty, the disabled being one of them.

CREA, in association with ASEAN Disability Forum (ADF) has been advocating for disabled people's SRHR rights since the year 2015. Various publications have come out recently on the said topic, noteworthy among them being Sightsavers International's, "Disability and the SDGs: from words to action". Why are the disabled a group in dire need of SRHR rights specifically? Because they have an increased vulnerability to abuse; as one recent study estimated, persons with disabilities have 130 percent more chance of being a victim of violence, mostly domestic violence and sexual violence, than persons without disabilities. The fact that disabled people (and their families) very often do not attribute SRHR to be a basic need is a problem. Further, challenges persist because of the stigma and discrimination, lack of social attention, legal protection, accessibility of services, understanding and support for this group. 

The disabled have been an excluded group for centuries now, but they have a lot to offer, to the country as well as its economy; but firstly their need and active presence in society needs to be acknowledged. In this day and age, better treatment, rehabilitation, skill development, income generating, safety net programs that the government promises will not be enough. What we can start by doing is educating the masses on disability inclusion. More importantly, what we need to do is include the disabled and other minorities and design specific interventions for them when talking about any and all kinds of human rights, while incorporating SRHR. Inclusiveness, be it for sexual or religious minorities, is an important agenda that needs to be addressed, if we want to ensure equality for all that is coincidentally one of the goals of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). In order to reach this goal by the year 2030, advocacy and creative as well as careful designs will be of utmost importance for SRHR of disabled people.