BY NYANZA NEWS REPORTER

While sexual gender-based violence is a risk to all women, Women and girls with Disabilities are more vulnerable and therefore at greater risk of violence compared to non disabled women, this is because of their gender and disability status. 

The perpetrators of violence particularly target women and girls with disabilities because of; social exclusion, limited mobility, a lack of support structures, communication barriers, and negative social perceptions.

In Migori County, Kuria community women and girls with disabilities are subjected to a myriad of challenges to the realization of sexual reproductive health rights; A misguided narrative that portrays women with disabilities as asexual leads to not being provided with adequate information about their reproductive health rights.

Informing young girls with disabilities about sexual reproductive health rights is often difficult because parents, educator and counsellors usually do not know how to broach the subject, as a result, many young people do not have /receive basic information about how their bodies

They have not been taught basic vocabulary about their bodies thus not able to describe when someone is taking advantage over them.

When cases of violence are presented to the law, justice is always compromised because at times the perpetrators are caregivers, close family members and this makes it hard to get justice. It is even sad that at some time, they are looked at as people who lack sound minds, so their cries of abuse are not trusted.

For the past 4 years , Vera has been working with women and girls with disabilities in different counties in Kenya.

Based in Nairobi, Vera works at the grassroots level of communities to advocate for the rights of women and girls with disabilities.

Vera works closely with the communities, service providers and policymakers to prevent violence against Women and girls with disabilities.

Recently having completed a professional fellow program on inclusive civic engagement at Temple University in Philadelphia, US, Vera aims to use a multi-sectoral approach by bringing the local government officials, women and girls with disabilities and the community at large on board to prevent and respond to sexual violence against women and girls with disabilities in Kuria West sub-county.

This is through creating more awareness and empowering women and girls with disabilities.

Vera is calling upon the stakeholders to design inclusive and accessible services and programs that protects women and girls with disabilities from all forms of violence including health care services, police stations, shelters and courts.

’’Let us invest in empowering women with disabilities to know their sexual rights and how to protect themselves.’