Resources on Women with Disabilities
Sections Included
1.
Advocacy and empowerment .............................................................................................. 1
2.
Education ............................................................................................................................ 3
3.
Employment and Women with Disabilities ........................................................................... 4
4.
Experiences of women with disabilities in specific areas/countries .....................................12
5.
Health care ........................................................................................................................19
6.
Identity ...............................................................................................................................26
7.
Motherhood........................................................................................................................30
8.
Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women with Disabilities ..............................................33
9.
Social interaction and relationships ....................................................................................39
10.
Sport ..............................................................................................................................41
11.
Violence & Access to Justice for Women with Disabilities ..............................................43
12.
Welfare programs and social assistance ........................................................................58
13.
Other topics ....................................................................................................................60
1. Advocacy and empowerment
Disability Issues are Women's Issues.
By: Mijoo Kim. Development, Jun2009, Vol. 52 Issue 2, p230-232, 3p; DOI:
10.1057/dev.2009.10
Mijoo Kim from Women with Disabilities Arts and Culture Network, Korea, speaks on
behalf of women with disabilities when she underlines that disability issues are women's
issues. She asks why women with disabilities have been invisible in the women's
movement, based on her work over the past 15 years in the movement of women with
disabilities in Korea and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
1
Inclusion: A catalyst for change.
By: Maiuri, Jana; Shula, Lydia. Development, Mar2006, Vol. 49 Issue 1, p84-85, 2p;
DOI: 10.1057/palgrave.development.1100228
Jana Maiuri and Lydia Shula argue that women's movements can expand their
perspective and scope of influence by supporting the participation and contributions of
women and girls with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The paradox of discriminatory practices as a means of emancipatory strategies.
By: Helmius, Gisela. Community, Work & Family, Dec2001, Vol. 4 Issue 3, p273-284,
12p; DOI: 10.1080/01405110120089341
This article draws on a qualitative study in Sweden in which 21 women from three
generations were interviewed about their daily lives. The women studied were all born
with a mobility impairment. Inspired by feminist-sociological thought, the article
highlights the situation of these women with particular regard to work, education and
family. The focus is on potentials for individual empowerment and emancipatory
strategies. It is argued that the impairment might be identified as a driving force that
allows the transcending of constraints of traditional work and family gender roles.
Paradoxically enough, discriminatory practices in a specific societal context can in the
same context result in emancipatory strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Politics of Disability and Feminism: Discord or Synthesis?
By: Lloyd, Margaret. Sociology, Aug2001, Vol. 35 Issue 3, p715-728, 14p
Early formulations of the social model of disability have been subject to critical
amendment by disabled women. Disabled women activists have, however, been equally
critical of the failure of mainstream feminism to recognise the disability perspective. This
article continues the approach taken by the author in an earlier paper in which she
proposed the development of a model which understands the concerns of disabled
women as central to both feminism and disability politics. It explores some of the
complexities of a feminist agenda for disabled women in the linked arenas of sexuality,
reproduction and motherhood, considering the contribution of a disability rights
perspective to these core areas of feminist debate. It moves on to examine the potential
contribution of a feminist disability perspective to the reconceptualisation of informal
caring, where the experience of disabled women might help to untangle some of the
dilemmas experienced by both men and women in the critical issues of caring and
dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
2
2. Education
Deaf women: educational experiences and self-identity.
By: Najarian, Cheryl G.. Disability & Society, Mar2008, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p117-128, 12p;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590701841141
Using life history interviews with 10 college educated Deaf women this paper
investigates connections between early education and college experience and how they
identified as Deaf. The women developed strategies as they managed their impressions
while employing Goffman's practices of loyalty, discipline and circumspection.
Acknowledging deafness and their own decisions about education affected their
identities. The women experienced a cultural shift after attending a college for the deaf
or after their exposure to the Deaf community and learning American Sign Language.
The women developed strategies of becoming 'lifetime educators' and 'self-advocates'.
Their experiences show the role of language in the identity making process and how the
women navigated this in their schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Disabilities Institute Hoping to Help Women Reach Goals.
By: Benedict, Ruth. Crain's Detroit Business, 10/23/95, Vol. 11 Issue 43, p16, 3/8p, 1
Black and White Photograph
Reports that Wayne State University's Developmental Disabilities Institute is launching
`Bridges to Educational Opportunities and Career Advancement,' a far-reaching project
intended to help women with disabilities meet their educational and career goals.
Features of the Bridges program; Targets; Utilization of participatory action research.
An African‐American woman with disabilities: the intersection of gender, race and
disability.
By: Petersen, Amy. Disability & Society, Dec2006, Vol. 21 Issue 7, p721-734, 14p; DOI:
10.1080/09687590600995345
This qualitative study explores the educational experiences of an African‐American
adult woman with disabilities. The intersections of gender, race and disability are
theorized through the lenses of disability, feminist and critical theory. Specifically, I
address the following three questions. What are the experiences of an African‐American
woman with disabilities in schools? How might these experiences be theorized? Do
3
these experiences offer new ways of understanding oppression that may contribute to
empowering individuals labeled with multiple, intersecting identities? [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
3. Employment and Women with Disabilities
Accounting for Recent Declines in Employment Rates among Working-Aged Men
and Women with Disabilities.
By: Bound, John; Waidmann, Timothy. Journal of Human Resources, Spring2002, Vol.
37 Issue 2, p231-250, 20p, 1 Chart, 6 Graphs
During the 1990s, while overall employment rates for working-aged men and women
either remained roughly constant (men) or rose (women), employment rates for people
with disabilities fell. During the same period the fraction of the working-aged population
receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefits increased quite dramatically.
We present simple time series and cross-state evidence suggesting that the growth in
the DI program can account for much of the decline in the relative employment position
of men and women with disabilities [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Barriers to Employment Among Women With Complex Episodic Disabilities.
By: Vick, Andrea; Lightman, Ernie. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Sep2010, Vol. 21
Issue 2, p70-80, 11p; DOI: 10.1177/1044207309358588
The expansion of the global economy, characterized by shifts in the organization of
labor markets, has increased demands for flexible employment. Changes from
standard, permanent employment relationships to nonstandard or "precarious" work
arrangements have become the normative template in many work settings. Although
significant scholarship explores precarious employment among the nondisabled, little
work examines precarious work among persons with disabilities, especially women.
Drawing on a secondary analysis of a series of longitudinal, semistructured interviews,
this article explores the personal and structural barriers to employment that five women
with complex episodic disabilities identify as welfare recipients within the context of
precarious employment. Implications for practice relationships and policy that consider
an alternative understanding of (dis)ability and employability as a contingent, fluid
embodiment are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
4
Challenge and Success: A Qualitative Study of the Career Development of Highly
Achieving Women With Physical and Sensory Disabilities.
By: Noonan, Brigid M.; Gallor, Susanna M.; Hensler-McGinnis, Nancy F.; Fassinger,
Ruth E.; Shihwe Wang, Ruth E.; Goodman, Jennifer. Journal of Counseling Psychology,
Jan2004, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p68-80, 13p; DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.51.1.68
This qualitative study examined the career development experiences of 17 highly
achieving women with physical and sensory disabilities. Interviews were conducted and
data were analyzed using modified grounded theory strategies (A. L. Strauss & J.
Corbin, 1998). The emergent theoretical model was conceptualized as a system of
influences organized around a core Dynamic Self, which included identity constructs
(disability, gender, racial/ethnic/cultural), personality characteristics, and belief in self.
Myriad contextual inputs included Developmental Opportunities (education, peer
influences), Family Influences (background and current), Disability Impact (ableism,
stress and coping, health issues), Social Support (disabled and nondisabled
communities, role models and mentors), Career Attitudes and Behaviors (work
attitudes, success strategies, leadership/pioneering), and Sociopolitical Context (social
movements, advocacy). Implications for theory, research, practice, and policy are
discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Disability, Gender and the Labour Market in Wales.
By: Jones, Melanie K.; Latreille, Paul L.; Sloane, Peter J.. Regional Studies, Nov2006,
Vol. 40 Issue 8, p823-845, 23p, 17 Charts; DOI: 10.1080/00343400600984999
Wales exhibits high rates of disability and inactivity, and a higher incidence of mental
health problems than other parts of Britain. Using data from the Welsh Local Labour
Force Survey, 2001, the results indicate that the low participation rate of the disabled in
Wales is partly attributable to their having fewer qualifications; marginal effects suggest
education could be a potent remedy for improving their labour market status. In terms of
the pay differential between disabled and non-disabled individuals, it would appear that
disabled women in Wales suffer disproportionately to disabled men; only in the case of
women is there evidence consistent with the presence of discrimination, but this
estimate is relatively small.
Disability, Gender & Unemployment Relationships in the United States From the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
5
By: Randolph, Diane Smith; Andresen, Elena M.. Disability & Society, Jun2004, Vol. 19
Issue 4, p403-414, 12p, 2 Charts
Women with disabilities face simultaneous oppression in employment due to
discrimination with regard to disability and gender. This article investigates the potential
disparity in participation in employment for women, particularly women with disabilities.
We analysed weighted data from disability surveillance programs and the Behavioural
Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on over 47,000 respondents. The disability
BRFSS was a telephone survey in 11 states and Washington DC. Logistic regression
analyses produced adjusted models of the association between gender and
employment. Compared with people without disabilities, there were disparities found for
people with disabilities, and women with and without disabilities, with the larger
discrepancy for women without disabilities. Additional detail about level of employment
is needed to make conclusive statements; however, it is clear that disparities in
employment continue to exist for women, regardless of their disability status.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Disability Insurance Denial Rates and the Labor Force Participation of Older Men
and Women in Canada.
By: Campolieti, Michele; Goldenberg, James. Atlantic Economic Journal, Mar2007, Vol.
35 Issue 1, p59-75, 17p, 4 Charts; DOI: 10.1007/s11293-006-9061-7
We examine the effect of denial rates from the Canada/Quebec Pension Plan (C/QPP)
disability program on the labor force participation of older men and women in Canada.
Our study uses data from a period in which there was a change in CPP disability
adjudication requirements, which also varied by province, but no change in the QPP
disability program requirements. This created variation in the CPP disability program’s
denial rates. The estimates from our preferred specifications indicate that denial rates
do not have the expected statistically significant negative effect on the participation
decisions of older men or women. These findings may be the result of a change in the
applicant pool for disability benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Employment status of women with disabilities from the Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance Survey (1995–2002).
By: Smith, Diane Lynn. Work, 2007, Vol. 29 Issue 2, p127-135, 9p, 3 Charts, 1 Graph
Among working aged adults (18–64) with disabilities, three out of 10 (32%) work full or
part-time, compared to eight out of 10 (81%) of those without disabilities [9]. In addition,
6
24.7% of women with a severe disability and 27.8% of men with a severe disability are
employed, while women with a non-severe disability have an employment rate of 68.4%
and men with a non-severe disability have an employment rate of 85.1% [14]. This
study examined data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey from 1995–
2002 to determine whether or not disparities exist in the rate of unemployment for
women with disabilities, compared to men with disabilities and women and men without
disabilities. In addition, regression analysis looked at the how disability and gender
predict the outcome of unemployment. Results showed that there has been essentially
no change with regard to employment for any of these populations. In addition, disability
and gender were found to be the strongest predictors of unemployment for women with
disabilities. Possible explanations were discussed as to the reasons for the results and
issues were presented for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Equal employment opportunity.
Labor Law Journal, Sep79, Vol. 30 Issue 9, p590-592, 3p
This article discusses various lawsuits related to equal employment opportunity laws
and legislation in the U.S. One of the lawsuits discussed is Southeastern Community
College v. Davis. A woman with a hearing disability was refused admission to a college
nursing program on the round that her handicap prevented her from safely performing in
the program and later in nursing employment. A claim that the college, as a recipient of
federal funds, violated Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act was rejected by a trial
court but later upheld on review by an appeals court. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed
the appellate court, holding that nothing in the language or history of Section 504 limited
an educational institution's freedom to require reasonable physical qualifications for
admission to its clinical training program. The line between illegal discrimination and a
lawful refusal to take affirmative action was unclear, the Court noted. Another lawsuit
discussed is De Santis v. Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Co. Male and female
homosexuals sought relief from alleged discrimination in employment because of their
sexual preferences of friends and partners. They claimed that they were entitled to the
protection of the ban on sex discrimination in the federal civil rights statutes. The court,
however, said that the ban offers no protection from bias against individuals with
preferences for persons of their own sex.
Gender, Disabilities, and Employment in the Health and Retirement Study.
By: Loprest, Pamela; Rupp, Kalman; Sandell, Steven H.. Journal of Human Resources,
1995 Supplement, Vol. 30 Issue 4, pS293-S318, 26p, 12 Charts
7
This paper examines disabilities of older women and men and analyzes gender
differences in the effect of disabilities on labor force participation using information on
men and women aged 51-61 from the early release of the first wave of the Health and
Retirement Survey. Our results demonstrate the importance of using multiple measures
of disabilities (we use work limitations, functional limitations, and specific health
impairments) to document gender differences and understand the connections between
disabilities and work. We find that men and women have different rates of disability, and
that both men and women working in occupations with greater physical requirements
exhibit higher rates of disabilities than other workers. We also find that measures of
functional limitations and health impairments both have significant negative effects on
labor force participation. The effects of disabilities on labor force participation are larger
for men and single women than for married women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Getting to know reality and breaking stereotypes: the experience of two
generations of working disabled women.
González, María López. Disability & Society, Jun2009, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p447-459, 13p,
1 Chart; DOI: 10.1080/09687590902879056
Spanish case study on two working women women with disabilities and on the impact
that working had on their identities, self-esteem and ultimately social integration.
Labor Market Discrimination against Women with Disabilities.
By: Baldwin, Marjorie L.; Johnson, William G.. Industrial Relations, Oct95, Vol. 34 Issue
4, p555-577, 23p, 6 Charts
Estimates the extent of wage discrimination and the employment effects of wage
discrimination against disabled women. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; Use of
1984 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); Oaxaca (1973) technique to
estimate discriminatory wage differentials; Offer wage differential.
Legislation & Litigation Involving the Employment of Disabled Women: An
Overview.
By: Johnson, S.S.; Janes, M.W.. Personnel & Guidance Journal, Feb84, Vol. 62 Issue
6, p346, 4p
A literature review of the current legislation, interpretive litigation, and court cases
relevant to the employment of disabled women is presented in this article in order that
8
human service personnel may advocate for disabled women. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Lifting Requirement Unreasonable for Disabled Employee.
Labor Law Journal, Jan71, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p61-61, 1/2p
The article deals with the termination of a disabled employee due to her inability to
comply with the lifting requirement of the company. After having worked at her job
successfully for twelve years following a spinal fusion and removal of a disc, an
employee was terminated for being unable to comply with a new job requirement that
she lift and stack 27-pound boxes. The heavy lifting aggravated the prior injury. The
company had a right to have an employee perform all the work in a given classification
in most instances. It could not, though, introduce the lifting requirement into this job
suddenly and without taking into consideration the ability of the employee concerned.
Here, the company's decision to make the woman do the work was patently
unreasonable. In view of the employee's unblemished 16-year work record with the
company, the fact that she was certainly not a cripple, prompted an order that she be
reinstated with full back pay and seniority.
The meaning of workplace discrimination for women with disabilities.
By: Randolph, Diane Smith. Work, 2005, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p369-380, 12p, 2 Charts
Studies have found that persons with disabilities who are also members of other
minority groups or women encounter dual discrimination [5]. This paper describes how
women with disabilities who are in the workplace experience discrimination. In order to
determine whether discrimination was a viable issue, theoretical contexts of feminist
theory, disability theory, and attribution theory were examined as well as literature
examining employment of women with disabilities. For this study, three women with
various disabilities were interviewed regarding the effect of their disability on their typical
workday, their employment and job seeking history, and employment opportunities.
Qualitative data were also provided through mapping by the participants and pictorial
data of worksites. Data were grouped into themes of pre-conceived notions of others,
attitudes of others, accommodation issues, inclusion issues and exploitation issues.
From these themes definitions of discrimination, nondiscrimination in the workplace
were developed. Conclusions include the need for more research on workplace
experiences of other or more specific populations that experience discrimination as well
as the need for ethical reflection on the part of the researcher regarding vulnerable
populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
9
The New Boys: Women with Disabilities and the Legal Profession.
By: Basas, Carrie Griffin. Berkeley Journal of Gender, Law & Justice, 2010, Vol. 25,
p32-124, 93p
This essay fuses the fields of law, feminist theory, and cultural studies to examine the
status of women attorneys with disabilities. It is the first study of its kind in the United
States. The author conducted an empirical, qualitative, and ethnographic study of thirtyeight women attorneys with disabilities in the United States. Their narratives form the
basis for a critical analysis of disability animus and discrimination in the legal profession.
The results show an alarming trend toward disabled women attorneys selfaccommodating in the workplace, rather than enforcing their employment rights under
the Americans with Disabilities Act. Relying on the scholarship of covering, passing, and
mitigation conducted in the law and social sciences, the author advances theories about
ableism in the legal profession, particularly with regard to disabled women. These
theories inform and complement strategies for increasing overall diversity in the
profession. She suggests litigation and professional-culture-based measures for
improving the status of disabled women attorneys and all attorneys stigmatized by
perceived differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Socialization of people with disabilities in the workplace.
By: Kulkarni, Mukta; Lengnick-Hall, Mark L.. Human Resource Management, Jul2011,
Vol. 50 Issue 4, p521-540, 20p; DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20436
Socialization has crucial outcomes for both the employee and the employer. Through an
exploratory qualitative study conducted in India, we examined how people with
disabilities (PWD) viewed various aspects of their socialization process. Specifically, we
looked at the role of coworkers, supervisors, organizational practices, and employee
proactive behaviors in influencing organizational integration. We found that integration
was most influenced by coworkers and supervisors. Organizational practices and
employee proactive behaviors were less important. Respondent gender and tenure also
influenced certain findings. Specifically, PWD with less tenure sought and accepted
more help from coworkers and supervisors. Further, more men with disabilities than
women with disabilities indicated that they were proactive in terms of obtaining training
to make themselves employable, and more men with disabilities indicated that having
coworkers with a disability helped them during socialization. We discuss both theoretical
and practical implications as well as future research directions based on our findings. ©
2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
10
Supported employment: Equal opportunities for severely disabled men and
women.
By: Konig, Andreas; Schalock, Robert L.. International Labour Review, 1991, Vol. 130
Issue 1, p21, 17p, 5 Charts
Describes the main forms of supported employment and the components of effective
vocational rehabilitation programs for the severely disabled. Provision of International
Labor Organization Convention number 159.
Twice Penalized.
By: O'Hara, Brett. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Summer2004, Vol. 15 Issue 1,
p27-34, 8p, 3 Charts
This article examines wage discrimination during the initial stages of employment using
panel data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Women with
disabilities are twice disadvantaged in the labor market: They face possible
discrimination based on both gender and disability status. This article focuses on
transitions into new employment. Two key variables indicate the circumstances in which
a woman starts working at a new employer: (a) a planned employment transition or (b)
finding employment after leaving a former employer for an unplanned reason or after
being unemployed. The empirical evidence suggests that wage discrimination is
prevalent; discrimination occurs across personal and employment characteristics.
Although employment transitions resulted in lower wages, reasonable scenarios that
involve personal choices as opposed to discrimination could not be eliminated. For
instance, a worker with disabilities may change employers and accept a lower wage if
she gains nonwage benefits (e.g., accommodations or health insurance). [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
Vocational Training for Women With Disabilities.
By: Stace, Sheila. International Labour Review, 1987, Vol. 126 Issue 3, p301, 16p
The article focuses on the inadequacies of present rehabilitation systems in meeting the
needs of women with disabilities, on the limited access of women with disabilities to the
labor market and on the improvement of the employment opportunities of disabled
women.
11
Wage Discrimination against Handicapped Men and Women.
By: Johnson, William G.; Lambrinos, James. Journal of Human Resources, Spring85,
Vol. 20 Issue 2, p264-277, 14p
The extent of discrimination against handicapped men and women is estimated in this
paper. Observed wage differentials are corrected for selectivity bias. The results
indicate that almost one-third of the wage differential for men and close to one-half for
women can be attributed to discrimination. Interestingly, handicapped women are also
subjected to sex discrimination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Women and work: A ten year retrospective.
By: MacRae, Nancy. Work, 2005, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p331-339, 9p
A look back, after a decade, at the issues surrounding women and work. Work options,
childcare and family concerns, the glass ceiling, sexual harassment, women
entrepreneurs, race and poverty, unpaid work, and women with disabilities are
discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Women with disabilities making the transition back to work: Psychosocial
barriers and interventions.
By: Cheryl A. Reed. Work, 1999, Vol. 13 Issue 1, p67, 6p
The economic impact of disability on employment, earnings, and education appears to
be more devastating for women than for men. Women with disabilities who are making
the transition either back into the workforce or into the workforce for the first time often
face barriers that are unique to this population. Many researchers have described
women with disabilities as having a ``double disadvantage'' that results in social and
psychological barriers to their transition back to work. The purpose of this article is to
help vocational and career development programs better address the psychosocial
needs of women with disabilities by (a) describing key psychosocial barriers faced by
women with disabilities in their transition back to work and (b) providing career
development strategies designed to ease this transition process for women with
disabilities and enhance their employment outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
4. Experiences of women with disabilities in specific areas/countries
12
The accomplishments of disabled women's advocacy organizations and their
future in Korea.
Kyung Mee Kim. Disability & Society; Mar2010,Vol. 25 Issue 2, p219-230.
The article features a qualitative description of the achievements of disabled women’s
advocacy in Korea, especially in terms of visibility, inclusion of a gender perspective in
disability policies and networking.
An African‐American woman with disabilities: the intersection of gender, race and
disability.
By: Petersen, Amy. Disability & Society, Dec2006, Vol. 21 Issue 7, p721-734, 14p; DOI:
10.1080/09687590600995345
This qualitative study explores the educational experiences of an African‐American
adult woman with disabilities. The intersections of gender, race and disability are
theorized through the lenses of disability, feminist and critical theory. Specifically, I
address the following three questions. What are the experiences of an African‐American
woman with disabilities in schools? How might these experiences be theorized? Do
these experiences offer new ways of understanding oppression that may contribute to
empowering individuals labeled with multiple, intersecting identities? [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
'Can anything good come out of this mouth?' Female experiences of disability in
Malawi.
By: Braathen, Stine Hellum; Kvam, Marit Hoem. Disability & Society, Aug2008, Vol. 23
Issue 5, p461-474, 14p, 2 Charts, 1 Graph; DOI: 10.1080/09687590802177023
The aim of this article is to give an overview of the daily life stories of 23 women with
disabilities in Malawi. The stories were gained through qualitative interviews that
covered aspects of being a woman and living with a disability in Malawi. Recent studies
from countries in southern Africa have documented how people with disabilities
experience poorer living conditions than people without disabilities. It is generally
assumed that the living conditions of women are worse than those of men. There is,
however, a large gap in the literature concerning women with disabilities in Africa. The
results present a mixed picture. While several of the informants had experienced
discrimination and exclusion because of their impairments, most of the women had
been well taken care of and were treated equally by their closest family and friends.
13
They had a strong wish to be empowered through education and employment.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Gender and Disability: Women's Experiences in the Middle East
by Lina Abu-Habib, Oxfam Publishing, (Paperback - Nov 1, 1997)
The book describes the life of many women with different disabilities in the Middle East.
Case studies include stories from Lebanon, Yemen, and the Occupied Palestinian
Territories and take into analysis specific aspects of being a woman with a disability.
Gender Differences in Physical Disability Among Older Adults in Underprivileged
Communities in Lebanon.
By: Al Hazzouri, Adina Zeki; Sibai, Abla Mehio; Chaaya, Monique; Mahfoud, Ziyad;
Yount, Kathryn M.. Journal of Aging & Health, Mar2011, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p367-382, 16p;
DOI: 10.1177/0898264310385454
Objective: To examine the role of health conditions, socioeconomic, and
socioenvironmental factors in explaining gender differences in physical disability among
older adults. Method: We compared 412 women and 328 men residing in
underprivileged communities in Lebanon on their activities of daily living (ADL),
instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and physical tasks (PT). Binary logistic
regression analyses adjusting for possible explanatory covariates were conducted
sequentially. Results: Women showed higher prevalence rates of ADL, IADL, and PT
compared to men. Gender disparities in ADL disability were explained by chronicdisease risk factors and health conditions (OR = 1.46; 95% CI = 0.94-2.25). The odds of
disability in IADL and PT remained significantly higher for women compared to men
after accounting for all available covariates. Discussion: These results suggest
underlying differences in functional status between women and men, yet, may have
been influenced by the sensitivity of the measures to the social context and gendered
environment surrounding daily activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]
The lives of disabled women in Nepal: vulnerability without support.
By: Dhungana, Bishnu Maya. Disability & Society, Mar2006, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p133-146,
14p, 1 Chart; DOI: 10.1080/09687590500498051
The study examines a broad range of problems faced by physically disabled women.
Qualitative interviews with 30 women with physical disabilities (congenital and acquired)
14
were administered to understand various aspects of their lives. The research explores
the causes of disability, which include gender discrimination, poverty, an inactive state
security system, inadequate family support, negative attitudes and a lack of commitment
on the part of government. The available services from non-governmental organizations
have been proved to be unsatisfactory and gender biased in terms of training and
employment. The importance of disability and its relation to gender has not been
recognized by the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
No African renaissance without disabled women: a communal approach to
human development in Cape Town South Africa.
By: Lorenzo, Theresa. Disability & Society, Oct2003, Vol. 18 Issue 6, p759, 20p, 1
Diagram
The African Renaissance is upon us. Those who have eyes to see, let them see.
Disabled women who live in wooden shacks in the peri-urban areas of Khayelitsha in
Cape Town, South Africa, participated in storytelling workshops over a two-and-a-halfyear period. They shared experiences of what helped or hindered their social and
economic development since becoming disabled. The workshops were part of a
participatory action research (PAR) study of the Division of Occupational Therapy,
University of Cape Town, together with Disabled People South Africa (DPSA) and the
Zanempilo Health Trust [formerly South African Christian Leadership Assembly
(SACLA) Primary Health Care Project]. The findings revealed the struggles and
sadness, as well as the strengths and spirit that the women experienced within their
every day context at an individual, family and community level. The women spoke
strongly about meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs (human development)
as the means to social and economic development. The discussion reflects on the many
paradoxes of disability encapsulated in the essence of interdependence of Ubuntu.
Three themes discussed are building emotional resourcefulness: nurturing children and
families in disability issues; and renewing spirituality and Ubuntu in disability and
development programmes. In conclusion, managing the paradoxes of disability, the
creation of a new individual and collective identity, and the capacity to change are
proposed as the way forward. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Out of the SHADOWS.
By: Moloney, Anastasia. New Internationalist, Nov2005, Issue 384, p20-21, 2p, 2 Color
Photographs
15
Relates on the experiences of Beatriz Satizabal, the director of Finance and
Administration for Latin America With Sense International, as a woman with disabilities
in Colombia. Organization of group meetings for disabled women and form local support
networks; Assistance to people with disabilities in applying for government aid despite
the tedious bureaucratic process; Difficulty in finding employment.
Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities in
Tanzania
By: Msafiri Msedi Ngololo,
Women with disabilities need good health. Good health is more than the absence of
disease. When a disabled woman has good health it means she experiences Well-being
of her body, mind, and spirit; Women with disabilities can take charge of their own
health when they have information that affirms their own experience of their bodies and
health needs. They can also use this information to change the way people think about
disability. As women with disabilities take charge of their lives, they will gain respect and
support in their communities. While disability itself may not be a health problem, many
times the health problems of women with disabilities go untreated. This can mean that a
simple health problem in a woman with disability, if left untreated, can become a life
threatening problem. We must remove the barriers that keep disabled women from
achieving good health.
Individually, I have grown up with a disability after contracting polio. I was interested to
write this paper to convince NGOs, societies and Governments to become more aware
of our rights and more inclusive of our needs. It was indeed a pleasure to be invited by
the Center for Women Policy Studies to write a paper with a focus on HIV/AIDS and
violence against women and girls with disabilities in Tanzania. I hope that with more
such studies, people with disabilities will enjoy and experience the kind of liberation they
have never had before. Data on HIV/AIDS and violence among women and girls with
disabilities is important not only as a lobbying tool for the disability movement but also
as an important guide to the government, development agencies and other stakeholders
that have an interest in improving the services they provide to people with disabilities.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/documents/BFWFP_Prev
entionofHIV_AIDSandViolenceAgainstWomenandGirlswithDisabilitiesinTanzania.pdf
The Rights of Women With Disabilities in Africa: Does the Protocol on the Rights
of Women in Africa Offer Any Hope?
By: Serges Alain Djoyou Kamga, Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, 2011
The aim of this paper is to analyze how women with disabilities can fully benefit from the
legal framework afforded to African women by the African Women’s Protocol. The paper
16
argues that the challenges faced by women with disabilities are huge and therefore
should not be confined to a single provision, especially if disabled women’s rights are to
be addressed efficiently. The Paper presents the situation of women with disabilities in
Africa, discusses the implications of having a stand-alone provision on the rights of
women with disabilities, and makes use of the guidelines for States’ reporting under the
African Women’s Protocol with special attention to reporting on “Special Protection of
Women with Disabilities” (article 23) to demonstrate the added value of having many
and more explicit provisions on the rights of women with disabilities.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/BFWFP_TheRightsofWo
menWithDisabilitiesinAfrica_DoestheProtocolontheRightsofWomeninAfric.pdf
Tanzanian Women in Their Own Words: Stories of Disability and Illness
By: Sheryl Feinstein, Nicole C. D'Errico and Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Lexington Books
(Jan 28, 2010)
The book is a compilation of oral histories by Tanzanian women experiencing
disabilities or chronic illnesses. The stories, embedded in elements proper of the
Tanzanian culture, tell their life from childhood to adulthood and describe the hardship
and exclusion they often had to endure.
The tips are my toes.
By: Hossain, Mosharraf. New Internationalist, Nov2005, Issue 384, p10-11, 2p, 2 Color
Photographs
Discusses issues related to the treatment of the society to people with disabilities in
Bangladesh. Experience of the author on how he got affected by polio and what caused
it; Forms of discrimination encountered by the author from social institutions and
government agencies; Types of discrimination against women with disabilities in the
society; Efforts made by the government and organizations to protect the rights of
disabled persons.
What’s A Leg Got To Do With It?: Black, Female and Disabled in America
By: Donna R. Walton, Ed.D. Barbara Faye Waxman Fiduccia Papers on Women and
Girls with Disabilities Center for Women Policy Studies
The goal of this paper is to go beyond the discussion of the impact of “triple jeopardy
syndrome” with respect to Glenn’s (1992) aforementioned aspects and to focus on other
aspects that impact the lives of African American women with disabilities, such as selfesteem, self-efficacy, and sexual identity. One objective of this paper is to scrutinize
17
how race and disability affect the self-esteem of African American women with
disabilities, and how they overcome attitudinal challenges to manifest a new standard of
“normalcy” in order to become successful, adjusted women in a society that lauds
physical attractiveness. Another objective of this paper is to examine how African
American women with physical disabilities overcome struggles with imposed standards
of beauty ( body image) in a society where African American women and disabled
persons are absent or dismally addressed in literature, the media (television, cinema)
and policy.
This paper also discusses remedies for policy makers and rehabilitation programs to
consider when serving African American women with disabilities. The Paper concludes
with a discussion about ways in which African American women with disabilities can
confront the challenges of discrimination and misperceptions about what it is like to be
African American, female, and disabled in America. The Paper then proposes policies
which, if adopted, can help to ameliorate the conditions that keep African American
women with disabilities from attaining recognition in the media and status in the
workplace.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/BFWFP_WhatsALegGotT
oDoWithIt_BlackFemaleandDisabledinAmerica_DonnaRWalton.pdf.pdf
Women With Disabilities in Lebanon: From Marginalization to Resistance.
By: Wehbi, Samantha; Lakkis, Sylvana. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work,
Feb2010, Vol. 25 Issue 1, p56-67, 12p
This article explores the intersections of gender and disability in Lebanon, with a
particular focus on education and employment. On the basis of a recent study on
education and employment in Bekaa, a rural region of Lebanon, as well as practice
experience, the authors highlight the main findings and discuss the role of social work in
addressing the marginalization of women with disabilities. Throughout the discussion,
the authors adopt a feminist critical-disability theoretical perspective that steers clear of
conceptions of women with disabilities as passive victims of oppressive social
conditions. The article ends with two examples of grassroots activist efforts to address
the marginalization of women with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Women with disabilities in the North West province of Cameroon: resilient and
deserving of greater attention.
Kiani, Shirin. Disability & Society, Jun2009, Vol. 24 Issue 4, p517-531, 15p, 2 Charts;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590902879205
18
The article assesses the physical and attitudinal barriers and the daily life obstacles
experienced by women with disabilities in the North West province of Cameroon. Inputs
for improvement elaborated by the women who participated in the study are also listed
in the article.
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ipid/ipid/Kiani.pdf#
5. Health care
Access to Breast Cancer Screening Services for Women With Disabilities.
By: Mele, Nancy; Archer, Jeanne; Pusch, Burton D.. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric,
Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, Jul/Aug2005, Vol. 34 Issue 4, p453-464, 12p, 1
Diagram, 5 Charts
Objective: To identify barriers to breast cancer screening services encountered by
women with physical disabilities. Design: Phenomenologic design using a semistructured interview guide to explore the experiences of women with disabilities seeking
breast cancer screening services. Setting: Face-to face interviews conducted in the
homes of women from the urban and rural mid-south. Patients/Participants: A purposive
sample of women with motor or sensory disabilities, age 21 to 65, was recruited for this
study based on community type and type and severity of disability. Community
collaborators working with people with disabilities identified eligible participants. Results:
Although the study focused on breast cancer screening services, women also described
financial, architectural, environmental, and attitudinal barriers that affected all of their
health care services. Women described poor transportation, heavy doors, and
inaccessible exam tables and bathrooms. They felt devalued by their providers and
believed that their symptoms were often overlooked. Women with disabilities want to be
partners in their own health care. Conclusions: Women with physical disabilities face
both financial and nonfinancial barriers to access that may result in delayed detection
and increased risk of poorer outcomes from breast cancer. Providers require education
about working with women with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Barriers to Adherence to Screening Mammography Among Women With
Disabilities.
Yankaskas, Bonnie C.; Dickens, Pamela; Bowling, J. Michael; Jarman, Molly P.; Luken,
Karen; Salisbury, Kathryn; Halladay, Jacqueline; Lorenz, Carol E.. American Journal of
Public Health, May2010, Vol. 100 Issue 5, p947-953, 7p, 4 Charts; DOI:
10.2105/AJPH.2008.150318
19
Objectives. Given the lack of screening mammography studies specific to women with
disabilities, we compared reasons offered by women with and without disabilities for not
scheduling routine screening visits.
Methods. We surveyed women in the Carolina Mammography Registry aged 40 to 79
years (n = 2970), who had been screened from 2001 through 2003 and did not return
for at least 3 years, to determine reasons for noncompliance. In addition to women
without disabilities, women with visual, hearing, physical, and multiple (any combination
of visual, hearing, and physical) limitations were included in our analyses.
Results. The most common reasons cited by women both with and without disabilities
for not returning for screening were lack of a breast problem, pain and expense
associated with a mammogram, and lack of a physician recommendation. Women with
disabilities were less likely to receive a physician recommendation.
Conclusions. Women with disabilities are less likely than those without disabilities to
receive a physician recommendation for screening mammography, and this is
particularly the case among older women and those with multiple disabilities. There is a
need for equitable preventive health care in this population.
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/content/short/100/5/947
Breast cancer screening barriers and disability
By: Ana Todd, Alexa Stuifbergen. Rehabilitation Nursing. Volume 37, Issue 2, pages
74–79, March/April 2012
There is evidence that early detection from breast cancer screening is an effective
means to reduce overall mortality from breast cancer. Findings from multiple research
studies suggest that women with chronic disabling conditions are less likely to
participate in breast cancer screening due to the multiple barriers they face. Barriers
include those related to finances, environment, physical limitations, health carers'
attitudes and lack of knowledge, and psychosocial issues. The purpose of this article is
to provide an overview of the existing evidence of the barriers to breast cancer
screening experienced by women with physical disabilities. Rehabilitation nurses that
work with women who have chronic disabling conditions can be instrumental in
eliminating these barriers to breast cancer screening through their efforts to promote
health which is consistent with the philosophy of maximizing the health potential and
quality of life of these women whose needs are often overlooked.
Correlates of Depression in Rural Women With Physical Disabilities.
20
By: Hughes, Rosemary B.; Nosek, Margaret A.; Robinson-Whelen, Susan. JOGNN:
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing, Jan2007, Vol. 36 Issue 1, p105114, 10p, 5 Charts; DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00122.x
Objective: To describe demographic and disability-related characteristics, to examine
the patterns of treatment for depression, and to investigate correlates of depression
severity and predictors of who receives treatment among a sample of depressed rural
women with physical disabilities. Design: A correlational analysis of data gathered from
women recruited for a depression intervention study. Setting: Rural centers for
independent living located in nine different states across the United States. Participants:
Women (N = 134) who reported at least mild depression and expressed interest in
participating in a depression intervention study. Main outcome measures: Depressive
symptomatology based on the Beck Depression Inventory-II; treatment for depression in
the past 3 months. Results: The majority of participants reported moderate to severe
depression (n = 101, 75.4%), with nearly 20% reporting thoughts of suicide. At risk of
severe depression were women who were younger, had greater problems with pain,
had more limited mobility, and were less satisfied with their social network. Despite the
high levels of depressive symptomatology in the sample, more than one third of the
women had not received recent treatment for depression. Conclusions: This study
suggests that depression and access to treatment are critical issues for women with
physical disabilities living in rural areas. JOGNN, 36, 105-114; 2007. DOI:
10.1111/J.1552-6909.2006.00122.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Health-Care Access of Women Medicaid Recipients.
By: Parish, Susan L.; Ellison-Martin, M. Jennifer. Journal of Disability Policy Studies,
Fall2007, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p109-116, 8p, 2 Charts
Little is known about the health care received by women with disabilities, who comprise
a substantial subset of the population. This article describes the health care of a
national sample of low-income female Medicaid recipients. Despite having similar
potential for care (health insurance, usual source of care, and having a physician as a
usual source of care) as compared to nondisabled women, women with disabilities had
substantially worse rates of receiving medical care and medication when they were
needed and of cervical cancer screenings. Women with disabilities were also much less
likely to be satisfied with their care than were nondisabled women. These results
support calls to mandate quality-based reimbursement incentives within Medicaid,
specifically for women with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
21
Health Care Needs of Women With Disabilities.
By: Snell, Linda; Piotrowski, Karen. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic &
Neonatal Nursing, Jan2007, Vol. 36 Issue 1, p78-78, 1p; DOI: 10.1111/j.15526909.2006.00119.x
The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Dr.
Suzanne Smeltzer on pregnancy related information for the health care providers
working with women with disabilities(WWD) and another by Dr. Heather Becker on
menopausal transition of WWD.
The global health challenge for women, adolescents, and children with
disabilities in developing countries.
By: Wilson, A. In John Ehiri (Ed.), Maternal and child health: Global challenges,
programs and policies. New York: Springer Press.
Health Needs of Women With Disabilities Across the Lifespan.
By: Piotrowski, Karen; Snell, Linda. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic &
Neonatal Nursing, Jan2007, Vol. 36 Issue 1, p79-87, 9p, 2 Charts; DOI: 10.1111/j.15526909.2006.00120.x
Women with disabilities experience a variety of unique health needs from adolescence
to older age. They require compassionate and comprehensive health care services to
manage their physical disabilities and to prevent secondary conditions. Unfortunately,
many women with disabilities encounter attitudinal, informational, environmental, and
geographic barriers as they seek access to health care. A variety of measures can be
implemented to overcome these barriers and to improve the quality of health care that
women with disabilities receive. JOGNN, 36, 79-87; 2007. DOI: 10.1111/J.15526909.2006.00120.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Many Women "Needlessly Blind.".
Gender, Technology & Development, Jul2009, Vol. 13 Issue 2, p310-311, 2p
The article reports on a study by the company Sightsavers International which stated
that over two-thirds of all blind people in the world are women. As stated, the reason for
this is that women are still often the last one to get the medical care which is mainly due
to their gender and disability. Another issue is the cost which include the direct costs of
treatment and also the indirect costs such as transport to the hospital.
22
This article can also be accessed at:
http://www.newsciencejournalism.net/index.php?/news_articles/view/many_women_nee
dlessly_blind/
Mentally Disordered Women in Jail: Who Receives Services?
By: Teplin, Linda A.; Abram, Karen M.; McClelland, Gary M.. American Journal of Public
Health, Apr97, Vol. 87 Issue 4, p604-609, 6p, 2 Charts
Objectives. Many jail inmates have severe psychiatric disorders (e.g., schizophrenia,
major affective disorders). The courts have mandated that detainees have a
constitutional right to treatment. We investigated what proportion of female jail
detainees needed mental health services, what proportion received services, and what
variables predicted who received services. Methods. Trained interviewers administered
a psychiatric evaluation (the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule) to 1272 randomly
selected female jail detainees during jail intake in a large Midwestern city. Project staff
then documented whether women subsequently received services, using records and
case files. Results. Of the women who needed services, 23.5% received them while
they were in jail. Type of disorder, treatment history, and socio-demographic variables
all affected the odds of a mentally ill woman's receiving services. Conclusions.
Correctional health care is a growing national public health problem. The magnitude of
mental health service needs far exceeds current resources. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Navigating healthcare: gateways to cancer screening.
By: Devaney, Julie; Seto, Lisa; Barry, Nancy; Odette, Fran; Muraca, Linda; Fernando,
Sharmini; Chandani, Samira; Angus, Jan. Disability & Society, Oct2009, Vol. 24 Issue 6,
p739-751, 13p, 1 Chart; DOI: 10.1080/09687590903160233
This article is the first phase in the Gateways to Cancer Screening project - a userdriven participatory research project that examines barriers and facilitators to preventive
cancer screening for women with physical mobility disabilities. Through a systematic
review of the existing literature on this subject we discover that, despite the fact that
women with disabilities have the same biological risk of developing cancer as nondisabled women, women with mobility impairments face systemic, architectural,
procedural and attitudinal barriers to preventive cancer screening. Our goals are to
identify barriers and facilitators to screening, identify the gaps in the existing literature
related to issues of diversity and ultimately set the stage for disabled women to effect
change through the telling of their own stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
23
Perinatal outcomes in women with multiple sclerosis exposed to diseasemodifying drugs
By: E. Lu et al. Mult Scler April 2012 vol. 18 no. 4 460-467.
Background: The incidence of disease-modifying drug (DMD) exposure during
pregnancy in multiple sclerosis (MS) is unknown and limited data exists regarding the
potential harm of DMD exposure during pregnancy.
Objective: To investigate the incidence and effect of in utero DMD exposure on perinatal
outcomes.
Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis by linking two provincial, populationbased databases, the British Columbia (BC) MS database with the BC Perinatal
Database Registry. Delivery (duration of the second stage of labor, assisted vaginal
delivery and Cesarean section) and neonatal (birth weight, gestational age, 5-minute
Apgar score and congenital anomalies) outcomes were compared between women
exposed and unexposed to a DMD within 1 month prior to conception and/or during
pregnancy. Findings were reported as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals
(CIs).
Results: In all, 311 women with relapsing–remitting MS delivered 418 singleton babies
between April 1998 and March 2009. 21/101 (21%) of births to MS women treated with
DMD prior to pregnancy were exposed to a DMD. In all cases, exposure was
documented as unintentional and DMD treatment was stopped within 2 months of
gestation. The overall incidence of exposure was 21/418 (5%). DMD exposure was
associated with a trend towards a greater risk of assisted vaginal delivery compared to
the DMD naïve groups (OR = 3.0; 95% CI: 1.0–9.2). All other comparisons of perinatal
outcomes were unremarkable.
Conclusion: The incidence of DMD exposure was relatively low and no cases were
intentional. Further studies are needed to ascertain the safety of DMD exposure during
pregnancy in MS.
Structural Equation Modeling of Disability in Women with Fibromyalgia or
Multiple Sclerosis.
By: Phillips, Lorraine J.; Stuifbergen, Alexa K.. Western Journal of Nursing Research,
Feb2009, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p89-109, 21p
Structural equation modeling (SEM), a popular statistical technique for analysis of
multivariate data in the social sciences, is increasingly being used in the behavioral and
clinical sciences. SEM is appropriate for posing complex models that evaluate the direct
24
and indirect influence of several variables on one or more outcome variables. A
biosocial model of disability, the Disablement Process Model, lends itself to evaluation
by SEM. Using SEM, this study examined predictors of disability (Age, Education,
Duration of Illness, and Economic Adequacy Functional Limitations, Depressive
Symptoms, and Social Support) separately in women with multiple sclerosis (MS) and
women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and compared the respective models across
groups. Data were analyzed with Analysis of Moment Structures (Amos) 7.0. Problems
identified in initial confirmatory model testing included collateral correlated errors, a
negative error variance, and poor performance of the disability indicators. After
specifying well-fitting confirmatory models for each group, a structural model for the
larger FMS group was estimated. Model refinement resulted in the reversal of the path
between Depressive Symptoms and Social Support. Further model revisions were
based on comparative fit statistics and theoretical logic. The structural model developed
from the FMS sample required minimal changes to fit the MS sample. The multisample
model explained greater variance in disability in women with FMS than in women with
MS. Social support and depressive symptoms mediated the effect of functional
limitations on disability. Interventions that target modifiable characteristics, such as
depression and social support, may improve outcomes such as disability. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
Timing of Impairment and Health-Promoting Lifestyles in Women With
Disabilities.
By: Harrison, Tracie C.; Umberson, Deborah; Li-Chen Lin; Hsui-Rong Cheng.
Qualitative Health Research, Jun2010, Vol. 20 Issue 6, p816-829, 14p; DOI:
10.1177/1049732310362987
The purpose of this study was to develop a substantive theory to explain how the timing
of impairment in women's lives influenced health-promoting lifestyles among 45 women
age 43 to 79 years with impairments of varying onset across the life course. From this
grounded theory exploration, we suggest that women created health-related lifestyles
that were comprised of changing abilities, roles, and rituals in support of perceived self.
The ultimate goal of a healthy lifestyle was healthy aging, which was self-determination
in the support of positive relationships. Environment and resources had direct influence
on the perceived self. Our proposed substantive theory provides an understanding of
how women develop a healthy lifestyle after the onset of permanent sensory or physical
impairment. It also takes steps toward an understanding of how timing of impairment
influences the perceptions women have of themselves and their health behaviors.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
25
Women and Men With Mental Illnesses.
By: Scheyett, Anna M.; McCarthy, Erin. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work,
Winter2006, Vol. 21 Issue 4, p407-418, 12p; DOI: 10.1177/0886109906292114
Women with mental illnesses have reported that one painful aspect of living with their
diagnosis is the loss of personal identity when they are labeled ‘mentally ill.’ Although a
number of studies have focused on services to address issues of relevance to women,
few have explored the different ways in which women and men view services within the
mental health system. Using a focus-group approach, the authors conducted a study
that examined the service needs and views of women and men with mental illnesses.
This article reports on this study and identifies the participants' common and unique
needs and views and discusses the implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
6. Identity
Deaf women: educational experiences and self-identity.
By: Najarian, Cheryl G.. Disability & Society, Mar2008, Vol. 23 Issue 2, p117-128, 12p;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590701841141
Using life history interviews with 10 college educated Deaf women this paper
investigates connections between early education and college experience and how they
identified as Deaf. The women developed strategies as they managed their impressions
while employing Goffman's practices of loyalty, discipline and circumspection.
Acknowledging deafness and their own decisions about education affected their
identities. The women experienced a cultural shift after attending a college for the deaf
or after their exposure to the Deaf community and learning American Sign Language.
The women developed strategies of becoming 'lifetime educators' and 'self-advocates'.
Their experiences show the role of language in the identity making process and how the
women navigated this in their schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Expanding the View: The Lives of Women With Severe Work Disabilities in
Context.
By: Moore, Dena L.. Journal of Counseling & Development, Summer2005, Vol. 83 Issue
3, p343-348, 6p
26
The purpose of this investigation was to explore the ways that women with severe work
disabilities (SWDs) attributed meaning to their lives, experiences, and decisions. The
author used qualitative research methodology and grounded theory procedures to
analyze data obtained from videotaped interviews, discussion of videotaped interviews,
and prolonged and persistent participant observations to shed light on the lives and
experiences of women with SWDs, a previously understudied group. Implications for
counseling are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
From Mental Illness to Disability: Choices for Women Users/Survivors of
Psychiatry in Self and Identity Constructions.
By: DAVAR, BHARGAVI V.. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, May-Aug2008, Vol. 15
Issue 2, p261-290, 30p; DOI: 10.1177/097152150801500204
This article traces the critical engagement of the women's movement with psychiatry,
mental .health and disability in India over the past two decades. Three phases can be
discerned in this history. The first was a phase of radical intellectual disbelief about the
very existence of mental illness as a valid knowledge category. In the second phase the
experiential reality of women, who had to engage with their own emotional states, found
expression in a variety of discourses about women and mental health. The
marginalisation of women by the mainstream medical sciences was addressed, and the
right to care was redefined as the creation of gender-sensitive sciences. In the third and
present phase I interrogate the paths we have taken in the creation of such gendersensitive mental health practices. A mental illness language has been exhausted of any
positive content. The rights orientation to mental health can be developed from disability
thinking, which is providing an alternative vision for the world, as well for persons
labelled mentally ill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Identity Formation and Transnational Discourses: Thinking Beyond Identity
Politics.
By: FRIEDNER, MICHELE. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, May-Aug2008, Vol. 15
Issue 2, p365-385, 21p; DOI: 10.1177/097152150801500208
This article is an attempt to explore the role, if any, that transnational deaf identity
politics plays within the lives of members of the Delhi Foundation of Deaf Women
(DFDW). Taking a two-pronged ethnographic and historical approach, I will examine
how the DFD W came to exist, situating it within the field of organisations serving the
deaf in Delhi, as well as providing an overview of its structure and client profile. I will
also examine the terrain of identity politics within the deaf community of the DFDW, and
27
ask questions about what identity, deafness and kinship mean to its members. Most
theory coming out of Deaf studies has ignored, until relatively recently, the category of
gender. This article seeks to explore how culture and gender modify the constructions
and experiences of Deaf identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Inner World of Adolescent Girls with Hearing Impairment: Two Case Studies.
By: LIMAYE, SANDHYA. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, May-Aug2008, Vol. 15
Issue 2, p387-406, 20p; DOI: 10.1177/097152150801500209
This article explores how young females with hearing impairment respond to the
developmental tasks of adolescence. Using a case study approach, the author explores
Radha and Hasina's understanding and attitudes towards issues such as bodily
changes, peer relationships, autonomy, economic independence, marriage and family,
and personal identity. The limitations imposed by the impairment, combined with the
environment to which they are exposed, may not be conducive to normal development.
So, while on the one hand adolescents with hearing impairment face the same
developmental needs and tasks that confront hearing adolescents, yet their passage
through normal developmental stages may become more complicated. This is because
the basic deprivation due to deafness is not just the sensory one of sound, but also the
acquisition of communication skills. Nonetheless, instead of submitting meekly to their
disability and the authority of their families, both Radha and Hasina emerge as selfassertive, individualistic and high-spirited persons who contest popular negative
stereotypes of persons with disabilities. The article does not claim that the ideas
contained in the two accounts are in any way representative of and equally applicable to
all deaf adolescents. It is only an exploratory study, an attempt to throw light on the
impact of deafness on the developmental tasks of adolescents with hearing impairment.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
(In)visibility: accounts of embodiment of women with physical disabilities and
differences.
By: Zitzelsberger, Hilde. Disability & Society, Jun2005, Vol. 20 Issue 4, p389-403, 15p;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590500086492
This qualitative study explored relationships between contemporary western cultural
representations of bodies and the experiences of women born with physical disabilities
and differences. In multiple, in-depth interviews, 14 women described the ways their
embodiments are shaped by cultural discourses of disability, difference and gender. The
findings indicated myriad ways in which the participating women experienced their
28
embodied selves, paradoxically as both invisible and visible across sociomaterial
places. Given the narrow range of normative appearances and capacities of
‘acceptable’ bodies, the women’s bodies were frequently seen as undesirable whereas
their subjectivities and lives were rendered invisible. The women articulated accounts of
imposed ways of being seen by others and how these views structured and delimited
their agency and resistances. This article highlights the fluid and multiple ways
embodiment is produced, seen and experienced, and the importance of taking into
account the interplay of gender with experiences of physical disability and difference.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
South Asian disabled women: negotiating identities.
By: Hussain, Yasmin. Sociological Review, Aug2005, Vol. 53 Issue 3, p522-538, 17p;
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-954X.2005.00564.x
This paper is concerned with the identities of disabled South Asian women within
Britain. It presents empirical evidence concerning how disability, gender and ethnicity
are negotiated simultaneously for young disabled Muslim and Sikh women. How these
identities are negotiated is analysed in the realms of family, religion and marriage
drawing on qualitative interviews with the young women, their parents and siblings. The
paper argues against ideas of singular identity or the hierarchisation of identities or
oppressions. The paper contributes to contemporary debates about how young South
Asian women are constructing new forms of identity in Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Using discourse analysis to study the experiences of women with learning
disabilities.
By: Scior, Katrina. Disability & Society, Oct2003, Vol. 18 Issue 6, p779, 17p
There has been a steady rise in interest in qualitative research methods in the area of
learning disability over recent years. Discourse analysis has found relatively little use
though, particularly in studying the experiences of people with learning disabilities
directly, rather than the accounts of non-disabled informants. The present study used a
discourse analytic approach in examining the accounts of women with learning
disabilities, in order to arrive at an understanding how they position themselves in
relation to gender and disability. The results indicate that, while the learning disability
literature and services are largely 'gender blind', for women with learning disabilities
gender and disability cannot be separated. Instead, they may be faced with marked
contradictions and dilemmas when they position themselves within dominant discourses
29
of gender, while also subject to powerful discourses of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Women and Men With Mental Illnesses.
By: Scheyett, Anna M.; McCarthy, Erin. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work,
Winter2006, Vol. 21 Issue 4, p407-418, 12p; DOI: 10.1177/0886109906292114
Women with mental illnesses have reported that one painful aspect of living with their
diagnosis is the loss of personal identity when they are labeled ‘mentally ill.’ Although a
number of studies have focused on services to address issues of relevance to women,
few have explored the different ways in which women and men view services within the
mental health system. Using a focus-group approach, the authors conducted a study
that examined the service needs and views of women and men with mental illnesses.
This article reports on this study and identifies the participants' common and unique
needs and views and discusses the implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
'Working at Disability': a qualitative study of the meaning of health and disability
for women with physical impairments.
By: Tighe, Cynthia Anne. Disability & Society, Jun2001, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p511-529, 19p;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590120059513
Seven women with cerebral palsy and one woman with a spinal cord injury were
interviewed about the meaning of health and disability in their lives. The most
compelling feature of their narratives was the pressure to define their health by ablebodied standards. These women 'worked at' fitting their bodies and experiences into the
limited societal understanding of a body. Paradoxically, the women seemed to come to
a deeper personal understanding of disability and themselves through this work. The
women's stories of health, impairment and disability, as told in the interviews, blended
into rich chapters of their life stories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
7. Motherhood
A Comparison of Mothers with Co-occurring Disorders and Histories of Violence
Living with or Separated from Minor Children.
30
By: Nicholson, Joanne; Finkelstein, Norma; Williams, Valerie; Thom, Jennifer; Noether,
Chanson; De Vilbiss, Megan. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research,
Apr2006, Vol. 33 Issue 2, p225-243, 19p, 4 Charts
The article presents a comparison of women with co-occurring disorders and histories of
violence living with or separated from minor children by examining the characteristics of
mothers currently providing care for all their minor children and mothers which are
separated from one or more children. Data shows that mothers separated from children
have more children on average and are more likely to be homeless while women living
with all their children have more education.
Disability and Mothering: Liminal Spaces of Embodied Knowledge
By: Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson and Jen Cellio, Syracuse Univ Pr (Sep 30, 2011)
The book is composed of 21 unpublished essays and focuses on the relation between
disability and mothering, both from a cultural and a personal point of view. Particular
attention is given to the borderline issues between personal and social spheres, like the
word “liminal” included in the title suggests. It is of interest to note that many of the
contributors to the book are themselves disabled or mothers of children with a disability.
'Doing Motherhood': some experiences of mothers with physical disabilities.
By: Grue, Lars; LæJrum, Kristin Tafjord. Disability & Society, Oct2002, Vol. 17 Issue 6,
p671-683, 13p; DOI: 10.1080/0968759022000010443
In this paper, we discuss the experiences of physically disabled mothers. We
interviewed 30 women in the age group 28–49 with medical diagnoses such as: multiple
sclerosis, neuromuscular diseases, cerebral palsy and spinal cord injury Becoming a
mother implied for many 'capturing' a gender or 'recapturing' a lost gender. They women
felt they had to go to great lengths to 'present' themselves and their children as
managing 'normally' in order to be accepted as 'ordinary' mothers. Eventually, they
feared that their children might be taken away from them if they did not live up to other
people's expectations. One possible explanation for what they experienced as other
people's scepticism might be that disabled people on the whole are primarily still looked
upon as being dependent on other people's help and care. In short, they are often
looked upon by professionals and lay people as receivers, and not as carers.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
31
It's Just That Much Harder.
By: Parish, Susan L.; Magaña, Sandra; Cassiman, Shawn A.. Affilia: Journal of Women
& Social Work, Feb2008, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p51-65, 15p
This article reports on a focus-group study that examined the experiences and
perspectives of low-income mothers with disabilities who were receiving disability
income transfers. The women faced severe deprivation and multilayered hardships.
Their impairments were not their central problem, but they intersected with the
challenges associated with the women's poverty and single-parent status. The women
coped with or resisted their hardships by serving as advocates for their and their
children's needs, accessing resources from safety-net services and their families, and
relying on their religious beliefs. The women's aspirations included setting a moral
example for their children, securing a better life for their children, and wanting to work.
Implications for policy and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Maternity Rolls: Pregnancy, Childbirth and Disability
By: Heather Kuttai, Fernwood Publishing Co., Ltd (Jul 16, 2010)
Heather Kuttai is a paraplegic woman who, in this book, describes her motherhood
experience, from the previous search for medical advice to the normal birth of her two
children. A book that “challenges the belief that people in wheelchairs need care, and
cannot be caregivers”1.
My child is not my carer: mothers with physical disabilities and the well-being of
children.
By: Prilleltensky, Ora. Disability & Society, May2004, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p209-223, 15p;
DOI: 10.1080/0968759042000204185
This article describes a qualitative study on the experiences of mothers with physical
disabilities. Two focus groups were held for mothers with young children and mothers of
older children. Eight mothers also participated in in-depth interviews. All have a physical
impairment, most are wheelchair users. This article focuses on (a) participants' attempts
to ensure the physical and psychological well-being of their children; (b) their childrearing philosophies and practices; and (c) the overall nature of the parent-child
relationship. A range of parenting practices, experiences and relationships was
reported. The variability of experiences notwithstanding, participants' life stories
1
Judi Lipp from Northcott Disability Services in Volume 26, No 4, of the Journal of Independent Living Centres
Australia
32
demonstrate a strong commitment to children, actions to ensure their care and wellbeing, and attempts to shield them from any burden related to the maternal disability.
Whilst challenges and barriers were candidly reported, by and large, they do not
overshadow the joy and fulfilment that these women derive from motherhood.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
8. Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women with Disabilities
The Decision to Take Hormone Replacement Therapy Among Women With
Disabilities.
By: Becker, Heather; Stuifbergen, Alexa K.; Gordon, Dorothy. Western Journal of
Nursing Research, Apr2002, Vol. 24 Issue 3, p264, 18p, 3 Charts
Whereas making decisions during menopause can be challenging for all women, those
with physical impairments face special issues with respect to menopause in general and
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in particular. In this correlational study, the authors
explored the factors such women consider when making decisions about HRT One
hundred sixty-seven women with physical impairments throughout the United States
completed surveys concerning their attitudes and knowledge about HRT. Approximately
half the menopausal women were currently taking HRT. The strongest predictor of HRT
use was women's perceptions of their health care providers' opinions about their taking
HRT, combined with their motivation to comply with the provider's recommendation.
This finding points to the significant role that nurses and other health care providers play
in assisting women to make informed health care choices during menopause.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Gynecologic Care of Women with Disabilities.
By: Sudduth, Ardith; Linton, Denise. Nursing for Women's Health, Apr/May2011, Vol. 15
Issue 2, p138-148, 11p, 1 Color Photograph, 2 Charts; DOI: 10.1111/j.1751486X.2011.01622.x
The article discusses the implications for nurses regarding gynecologic care of women
with disabilities. Topics include specific considerations to optimize the health care
experience for both the patient and the nurses who provide gynecologic care to women
with physical and/or mental disabilities, the importance of communication in the
gynecologic care of women with disabilities, and specific care practices, such as
understanding the type of disability before the gynecologic examination.
33
Impact of Cognitive Impairment on Screening Mammography Use in Older US
Women.
By: Mehta, Kala M.; Fung, Kathy Z.; Kistler, Christine E.; Chang, Anna; Walter, Louise
C.. American Journal of Public Health, Oct2010, Vol. 100 Issue 10, p1917-1923, 7p, 3
Charts, 2 Graphs; DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2008.158485
Objectives. We evaluated mammography rates for cognitively impaired women in the
context of their life expectancies, given that guidelines do not recommend screening
mammography in women with limited life expectancies because harms outweigh
benefits. Methods. We evaluated Medicare claims for women aged 70 years or older
from the 2002 wave of the Health and Retirement Study to determine which women had
screening mammography. We calculated population-based estimates of 2-year
screening mammography prevalence and 4-year survival by cognitive status and age.
Results. Women with severe cognitive impairment had lower rates of mammography
(18%) compared with women with normal cognition (45%). Nationally, an estimated
120000 screening mammograms were performed among women with severe cognitive
impairment despite this group's median survival of 3.3 years (95% confidence
interval=2.8, 3.7). Cognitively impaired women who had high net worth and were
married had screening rates approaching 50%. Conclusions. Although severe cognitive
impairment is associated with lower screening mammography rates, certain subgroups
with cognitive impairment are often screened despite lack of probable benefit. Given the
limited life expectancy of women with severe cognitive impairment, guidelines should
explicitly recommend against screening these women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
"It stops the eggs, or something...".
By: McCarthy, Michelle. Learning Disability Today, Dec2009, Vol. 9 Issue 9, p14-15, 2p,
1 Color Photograph
The article illustrates the finding of a survey on women with learning disabilities in Great
Britain, revealing that most women lack knowledge on contraception. These results are
reinforced by physicians who affirm having a small number of women with learning
disabilities among their patients.
Menopause Health Decision Support for Women With Physical Disabilities.
34
By: Dormire, Sharon; Becker, Heather. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic &
Neonatal Nursing, Jan2007, Vol. 36 Issue 1, p97-104, 8p; DOI: 10.1111/j.15526909.2006.00123.x
Menopausal women with disabilities present health care providers with unique and
challenging health issues. Many women with disabilities already face an ongoing
struggle to promote their health and prevent secondary disabling conditions, which may
be exacerbated by menopause. This article highlights some of the special health
concerns of this population and to suggest ways in which a health care professional
might tailor general clinical guidance to meet these women’s needs. JOGNN, 36, 97104; 2007. DOI: 10.1111/J.1552-6909.2006.00123.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Moving Forward: sterilisation and reproductive health of women and girls with
disabilities
By: Leanne Dowse; Carolyn Frohmader; Rosny Park, Tas. : Women with Disabilities
Australia, 2001.
"Moving Forward" gives a voice to the many women who have experienced sterilisation
against their will and who have been denied their right to reproductive choice and
parenting. The report reflects the experiences and perspectives of women and girls with
disabilities in reporting on the National Forum on Sterilisation and Reproductive Health
for Women and Girls with Disabilities held in Sydney in February 2001. It also contains
the proceedings of the Sterilisation and Reproductive Health Special Interest Group,
which was convened by WWDA at the Disability With Attitude International Conference
(Sydney 2001). The report contains a thought provoking paper by Professor Adrienne
Asch (USA) entitled "Sterilisation, Reproduction and Parenthood for Women and Girls
With Disabilities". This paper advocates new ways of thinking about sterilisation,
reproduction and parenting for women and girls with disabilities. The Report discusses
issues of advocacy, policy, and practice for service providers, academics and people
with disabilities. "Moving Forward" also outlines WWDA's recommendations in seven
key areas aimed at redressing the past and creating a coordinated and consultative
process for progressing the issue into the future in a way that holds the human rights of
women and girls with disabilities as paramount.
http://www.wwda.org.au/moveforw.htm
Politicizing Sexual Pleasure, Oppression and Disability: Recognizing and
Undoing the Impacts of Ableism on Sexual and Reproductive Health
By: Bethany Stevens, JD, MA, Center for leadership in Disability, College of Health and
Human Sciences, Georgia State University
35
This piece is a renewed call to action to recognize and dismantle the root of much of the
communal sexual oppression of disabled people: ableism, which is a system of social
power that
simultaneously devalues disabled people and exalts supposed able bodiedness.
Pregnancy and birth outcomes of women with intellectual disability in Sweden: a
national register study
By: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica. Volume 91, Issue 12, pages 1381–
1387, December 2012
Objective. To investigate the antenatal health and demographic factors as well as
pregnancy and delivery outcomes in women with intellectual disability (ID) in Sweden.
Design. A population-based register study. Setting. The National Patient Register (NPR)
linked to the Medical Birth Register (MBR). Sample. Women with ID classified as
International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 8–10 who gave birth in 1999–2007 (n =
326), identified from the NPR linked to the MBR, were compared with all first-time,
singleton mothers without ID or any other psychiatric diagnoses during this period in
Sweden (n = 340 624). Methods. Population-based data were extracted from the NPR
and the MBR. Main outcome measures. Health and socio-demography at first antenatal
visit, mode of delivery, pain relief during labor, preterm birth and discharge from
hospital. Results. A higher proportion of women with ID were teenagers (18.4 vs. 3.3%),
obese (20.1 vs. 8.6%) and single (36.6 vs. 6.2%) compared with women without ID, and
women with ID smoked more often (27.9 vs. 7.9%). Women with ID had more often a
preterm birth (12.2 vs. 6.1%), a cesarean section (CS) (24.5 vs. 17.7%) and used less
nitrous oxide as pain relief during labor (59.5 vs. 75.8%). Women with ID had a higher
risk for preterm birth [odds ratio (OR) 1.68], CS (OR1.55), non-use of nitrous oxide (OR
1.89) and discharge from hospital to a place other than home (OR 2.24). Conclusion.
Pregnant women with ID should be considered a risk group suggesting that better
tailored pre- and intrapartum care and support are needed for these women.
Pregnancy in Women with Physical Disabilities.
By: Smeltzer, Suzanne C. JOGNN: Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal
Nursing, Jan2007, Vol. 36 Issue 1, p88-96, 9p, 1 Chart; DOI: 10.1111/j.15526909.2006.00121.x
Women with disabilities are growing in number and increasingly interested in becoming
mothers and raising children. However, health care providers are often unfamiliar with
the health care needs of this group of women and overlook the important issues that
36
make the difference between positive and negative experiences of these women. This
article describes the preconception, antenatal, pregnancy, and postpartum issues of
women with disabilities and suggests approaches to ensuring that women with
disabilities have successful reproductive experiences. JOGNN, 36, 88-96; 2007. DOI:
10.1111/J.1552-6909.2006.00121.x [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Reproductive Health Justice for Women with Disabilities
By: Lisa Alvares, MSN, RN; Heidi A. Case, BA; Emily J. Kronenberger, MS, MPH,
CHES; Stephanie Ortoleva, Esq.; Joanne L. Tosti-Vasey, Ph.D.; NOW Foundation
Disability Rights Advisory Committee
This paper highlights the added discrimination that women with disabilities often face in
the context of their disparate access to health care, especially in the areas of
reproductive health services and sexual health education, and offers recommendations
for a twenty-first century response to the vast health care gaps that impact this
population. The scope of this paper is primarily domestic, and focuses on US policies,
demographics, and data on women and girls with disabilities living in the United States
and the reproductive health disparities they experience. Disability is defined broadly to
include physical, cognitive, behavioral, learning, psychiatric, and multiple disabilities. A
global perspective is also presented to make the case for the adoption of political and
social policies that include women with disabilities around the world in order to improve
their reproductive health status and outcomes. In addition, this paper demonstrates the
ways in which United States ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) would make a significant impact on access to
health care services for women and girls with disabilities in the US and globally.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/documents/BFWFP_Repr
oductiveHealthJusticeforWomenwithDisabilities_NOWFoundationDisabilityRightsAdviso
r.pdf
Sexuality, identity and women with spinal cord injury
By: Malorie G. Parker, Matthew K. Yau. Sexuality and Disability. March 2012, Volume
30, Issue 1, pp 15-27
Sexuality is an integral component of every individual’s identity. The literature offers
limited information about the sexuality and sexual identity of women with spinal cord
injury (SCI), beyond the physiological and neurological aspects. The qualitative study
described in this paper aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of a small
37
sample of adult women with SCI regarding their sexuality post-injury. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with four women, which were audio-taped and then
transcribed. Thematic analysis was adopted for analyzing the narrative data. Themes
that were identified include: factors facilitating positive sexual adjustment, barriers to
sexuality post-injury and lack of sexual education in the rehabilitation process. Women
with SCI echoed the need to be recognized as sexual beings, despite disability. Health
professionals must be willing to discuss issues of a sexual nature and need an
understanding of how illness or disability may impact on sexuality, in order to
adequately assist individuals with physical disabilities address sexual and intimacy
issues.
Sexuality and Women with Learning Disabilities.
By: Michelle McCarthy, 1999, London, Jessica Kingsley, 288 pp
In this study of women with mild and moderate learning disabilities, Michelle McCarthy
investigates how these women experience their sexual lives. She discusses her findings
in relation to the cultural forces which shape Western perceptions of sexuality, in
relation to feminism, and in relation to theories and prejudices about learning
disabilities. She also studies the impact of institutional and community settings on the
sexuality of the women. Her findings, which are based on interviews with women with
learning disabilities, suggest that they commonly find themselves engaging in sexual
activity which is not to their liking and not of their choosing. A very high level of abuse
was reported. In sex and Women with learning Disabilities McCarthy makes
recommendations for policy and practice which will protect this vulnerable group, and
advises on education, support and seeking justice for abused women.
http://books.google.com/books/about/Sexuality_and_women_with_learning_disabi.html
?id=GSbb2gRSpEMC
Sterilization of Girls & Women With Intellectual Disabilities.
By: Brady, Susan M.. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p432, 30p
This article describes findings from empirical research examining sterilization
applications for minors made to the Family Court of Australia between 1992 and 1999.
Original materials and written reports from "experts," family members, and judicial
officers are used to highlight the dominant discourse and themes. These are compared
with historical characterizations of young women with disabilities used during the
notorious eugenics period in the first half of the 20th century. The new ways of justifying
sterilization use the sanitized language of "best interests," silencing constructionist
38
approaches to disability and gender issues. The new ways are reminiscent of the old
ways of discrimination, prejudice, and violation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Sterilisation of Women and Girls with Disabilities: a Briefing Paper
By: Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Open
Society Foundations, and the International Disability Alliance (IDA). November 2011
In many parts of the world, women rely on access to a range of methods to control their
fertility, including voluntary sterilisation. However, too often, sterilisation is not a choice.
Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to forced sterilisations performed
under the auspices of legitimate medical care. The practice of forced sterilisation is part
of a broader pattern of denial of the human rights of women and girls with disabilities.
This denial also includes systematic exclusion from comprehensive reproductive and
sexual health care, limited voluntary contraceptive choices, a focus on menstrual
suppression, poorly managed pregnancy and birth, involuntary abortion, and the denial
of rights to parenting. These practices are framed within traditional social attitudes that
characterize disability as a personal tragedy or a matter for medical management and
rehabilitation. The difficulty some women with disabilities may have in understanding or
communicating what was done to them increases their vulnerability to forced
sterilisation. A further aggravating factor is the widespread practice of legal guardians or
others making life-altering decisions for persons with disabilities, including consenting to
sterilisation on their behalf.
This briefing paper has been jointly prepared by Women With Disabilities Australia
(WWDA), Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Open Society Foundations, and the
International Disability Alliance (IDA) as part of the Global Campaign to Stop Torture in
Health Care. The paper gives a background to the issue of forced sterilisation, outlines
various international human rights standards that prohibit forced sterilisation, and offers
several recommendations for improving laws, policies, and professional guidelines
governing sterilisation practices.
PDF format:
http://www.wwda.org.au/Sterilization_Disability_Briefing_Paper_October2011.pdf
Word format:
http://www.wwda.org.au/Sterilization_Disability_Briefing_Paper_October2011.doc
9. Social interaction and relationships
39
Disability, marginality and the nation‐state – negotiating social markers of
difference: Fahimeh’s story.
By: Dossa, Parin. Disability & Society, Jun2006, Vol. 21 Issue 4, p345-358, 14p; DOI:
10.1080/09687590600680111
Testimonial narratives of racialized women with disabilities bring into relief subjugated
knowledge that reveal how the state constitutes and is reconstituted at the margins.
Fahimeh’s case example, drawn from a larger study on immigrant Muslim women in
metropolis Vancouver, shows how women resist and rework the stigmatized labels of
disability and race from their social locations at the margins. Our analysis of particular
events and critical episodes show how Fahimeh, speaking in a collective voice,
implicates the state to bring home the message that racialized persons with disabilities
are human. Their humanness (desire for a just world) is affirmed through blurring of
boundaries of the private and the public, and everyday life and state institutions.
Fahimeh’s testimonial shows that margins are not merely territorial; they are sites of
practice that point to the makings of a just world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Midlife Women With Disabilities: Another Challenge for Social Workers.
By: Quinn, Peggy; Walsh, Sheri Keys. Affilia: Journal of Women & Social Work, Fall95,
Vol. 10 Issue 3, p235-254, 20p
The paucity of information about midlife women with disabilities led to a qualitative study
of 25 such women. The study found that these are competent, independent women who
provide care for family members and friends and participate in the community. However,
the women need services to maintain the control necessary to function. Social workers
can help them by locating role models and mentors and by working with policymakers to
develop beneficial programs and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Physical and social barriers to social relationships: voices of rural disabled
women in the USA.
By: Taub, Diane E.; McLorg, Penelope A.; Bartnick, April K.. Disability & Society,
Mar2009, Vol. 24 Issue 2, p201-215, 15p; DOI: 10.1080/09687590802652496
Through exploring the lived experiences of disabled women, this study investigates how
physical and social barriers affect their social relationships. In-depth tape-recorded
interviews investigating a variety of social and interpersonal issues were conducted with
24 women with physical or visual impairments who lived in a rural region of the
midwestern USA. Using content analysis, the researchers examined interview data for
40
common themes and patterns relating to social relationships. The findings indicate that
physical barriers, related to the physical environment and personal physicality, along
with social barriers, involving preconceptions of others about impairment and
restrictions in personal networks, hamper the initiation and maintenance of social
relationships. Further, the experiences of this group of disabled women corresponded
most closely with the premises of a social relational understanding of disability.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Socialization Process for Women with Physical Disabilities: The Impact of
Agents and Agencies in the Introduction to an Elite Sport.
By: Ruddell, Jennifer L.; Shinew, Kimberly J.. Journal of Leisure Research, 2006 3rd
Quarter, Vol. 38 Issue 3, p421-444, 24p, 1 Diagram, 1 Chart
The sources of people's leisure interests have been a topic of interest for many years.
Many of the attitudes people develop towards leisure are the result of social learning
and social agents. However, the leisure socialization process can be different for people
with disabilities in that many of their social agents may be unaware of the leisure
opportunities available to those with disabilities. The purpose of the study was to
examine the socialization process of women with physical disabilities into elite
wheelchair basketball. The study was guided by the social learning paradigm (Kenyon &
McPherson, 1973). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with women who were
members of the USA National Wheelchair Basketball Team. Major themes found in the
research included that multiple agents can be influential in the socialization process,
peers with disabilities are often considered important socializing agents, and agents and
agencies often coexist in socializing roles. Another noteworthy finding was that many of
the women indicated their social agents' unfamiliarity with disability sports, and the
ramifications this had on their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
10. Sport
Adolescent Girls' Involvement in Disability Sport: A Comparison of Social
Support Mechanisms.
By: Anderson, Denise M.; Wozencroft, Angela; Bedini, Leandra A.. Journal of Leisure
Research, 2008 2nd Quarter, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p183-207, 25p
Women and girls with disabilities are historically disenfranchised from physical
recreation due to the "double whammy" of being female and having a disability. The
literature suggests that challenges to participation likely include lack of social support for
41
girls with disabilities to participate in sport. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to
examine differences in social support received by girls with disabilities who did and did
not participate in organized wheelchair sport programs. In addition, the relationship
between social support and outcomes tied to wheelchair sport participation were
investigated. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed using
constant comparison techniques. Utilizing a model of social support as a framework, the
findings illustrate multiple differences in social support mechanisms for girls who are
and who are not involved in wheelchair sport programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Socialization Process for Women with Physical Disabilities: The Impact of
Agents and Agencies in the Introduction to an Elite Sport.
By: Ruddell, Jennifer L.; Shinew, Kimberly J.. Journal of Leisure Research, 2006 3rd
Quarter, Vol. 38 Issue 3, p421-444, 24p, 1 Diagram, 1 Chart
The sources of people's leisure interests have been a topic of interest for many years.
Many of the attitudes people develop towards leisure are the result of social learning
and social agents. However, the leisure socialization process can be different for people
with disabilities in that many of their social agents may be unaware of the leisure
opportunities available to those with disabilities. The purpose of the study was to
examine the socialization process of women with physical disabilities into elite
wheelchair basketball. The study was guided by the social learning paradigm (Kenyon &
McPherson, 1973). Face-to-face interviews were conducted with women who were
members of the USA National Wheelchair Basketball Team. Major themes found in the
research included that multiple agents can be influential in the socialization process,
peers with disabilities are often considered important socializing agents, and agents and
agencies often coexist in socializing roles. Another noteworthy finding was that many of
the women indicated their social agents' unfamiliarity with disability sports, and the
ramifications this had on their lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Why Faster, Higher, Stronger isn’t Necessarily Better—The Relations of
Paralympian and Women’s Soccer Teams’ Performance to National Well-being.
By: Downie, Michelle; Koestner, Richard. Social Indicators Research, Sep2008, Vol. 88
Issue 2, p273-280, 8p, 2 Charts; DOI: 10.1007/s11205-007-9188-1
The present study considers how the athletic performance of minority groups relates to
national subjective well-being (SWB) and life expectancy. Based on the argument that
sports represent a microcosm of society and the reliable finding that national inequality
is associated with reduced SWB, we hypothesized that greater opportunities for typically
42
disadvantaged groups within sports should be positively related to national indicators of
well-being. Study 1 compared the relation of success in the Paralympics versus the
Olympics to national subjective well-being and life expectancy. The results supported
our hypothesis. In Study 2 we conceptually replicated these results using the standings
of national men’s and women’s soccer teams. Overall, it appears that the opportunities
to compete in sports that nations afford to members of disadvantaged groups reflect on
the health and well-being of the entire society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
11. Violence & Access to Justice for Women with Disabilities
Abuse of Women With Disabilities.
By: Ann Curry, Mary. Violence Against Women, Jan2001, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p60, 20p
Women with disabilities are at increased risk for emotional physical and sexual abuse.
They are also at risk for experiencing disability-related abuse from multiple sources.
This problem is compounded by the social context of disability, including pervasive
discrimination and stereotyping by society. This article highlights the problem of abuse
of women with disabilities and examines the state of the science through a review of
literature. An ecological model is presented that examines relevant individual
environmental and cultural factors. The authors hope that this article will stimulate
awareness of this problem and future research in this important arena. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
Accessibility of Pennsylvania's Victim Assistance Programs.
By: Frantz, Beverly L.; Carey, Allison C.; Bryen, Diane Nelson. Journal of Disability
Policy Studies, Spring2006, Vol. 16 Issue 4, p209-219, 11p
The prevalence of sexual abuse and domestic violence among women with disabilities
is at least as high as the rates experienced by women without disabilities. However,
according to anecdotal accounts and preliminary research, many victim service
agencies are inaccessible and do not provide appropriate support and services for
people with disabilities. This study examined the physical and programmatic
accessibility of 55 rape crisis, sexual assault, and domestic violence agencies
throughout Pennsylvania. Findings suggest that most programs had several
accessibility structures in place, such as ramps and accessible restrooms. However,
fewer programs had less well-known physical and programmatic accessibility features in
place to ensure equal access to services. Recommendations focus on cross-system
43
collaboration to provide access to victim services by all victims, including those with
disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bring My Scooter So I Can Leave You.
By: Saxton, Marsha. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p393, 25p
This study investigated the perceptions and experiences of women with physical and
cognitive disabilities related to abuse by formal and informal personal assistance
providers. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 72 women to
explore how women define personal assistance abuse, the barriers they face in
handling abuse, and strategies they recommend to prevent and/or stop abuse. Key
themes that emerged included (a) the role of social and personal boundary confusion
and power dynamics within the personal assistance services relationship; (b) expanded
forms of abuse experienced by women with disabilities; (c) the complexity of using
family and friends as providers; (d) personal, social, and systemic barriers that impede
women's response to abuse; and (e) the benefits of supports that validate women's
experiences and bolster their capacities to prevent and manage abuse. Findings
suggested that, with experience, support, and appropriate resources, women with
disabilities can effectively manage this challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Collective Action and Emancipatory Aims: Applying Principles of Feminist
Practice in a Shelter for Domestic Violence Survivors with Disabilities
By: Alisha Ali, PhD, Associate Professor; Randolph Mowry, PhD, Clinical Associate
Professor; Kimberly Ho, BSc, MA Candidate; Department of Applied Psychology, New
York University. 2011
Women with disabilities who experience domestic violence must contend not only with
the trauma of the violence itself, but also with a system that is inadequate and often
misinformed about how to serve their needs. As a result of this systemic inadequacy,
women with disabilities are severely under-served and are at risk for remaining in
abusive relationships. Thus, there is a crucial need for domestic violence shelters that
serve women with disabilities. This Paper focuses on Freedom House, a fully accessible
New York City shelter for domestic violence survivors with disabilities and their families.
The shelter itself is a recently constructed building developed using state-of-the-art
design and technology for accessibility. As the only shelter of its kind, Freedom House
represents a unique opportunity to implement an innovative, transformative approach to
service provision designed specifically to address the co-occurrence of domestic
violence and disability in the lives of shelter residents.
44
The purpose of this Paper is to outline one such approach as a viable model of care that
is feminist, liberatory, and essential to recovery from trauma among domestic violence
survivors with disabilities. Our theoretical framework is informed by the psychological
theory of empowerment feminist practice (Worell and Remer, 2003) and by feminist
disability theory (Garland-Thomson, 2001; Mays, 2006; Morris, 1991; Thomas, 1999).
This emergent model provides both a theoretical argument for empowerment and a
framework for responsive feminist practice for women with disabilities within a shelter
setting.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/documents/BFWFP_Colle
ctiveActionandEmancipatoryAimsApplyingPrinciplesofFeministPracticeinaShelter_000.pdf
Commentary on Development of Measures of Abuse Among Women With
Disabilities and the Characteristics of Their Perpetrators.
By: Macy, Rebecca J.. Violence Against Women, Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p10351039, 5p; DOI: 10.1177/1077801209340308
The author comments on the proposed development of measures of abuse experienced
by women with disabilities and the risk characteristics of their perpetrators by
researcher Mary Ann Curry and her colleagues. She notes the inherent challenges and
complexities of the measurement of violence against women being highlighted by the
work of the researchers. Also stressed is the need for valid, reliable and feasible
measures that determines the multidimensional nature of victimization. She commends
the researchers for their efforts in creating such measures.
Commentary on Powers et al.'s Article: "Interpersonal Violence and Women With
Disabilities: An Analysis of Safety Promoting Behaviors.".
By: Grossman, Susan F.. Violence Against Women, Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p10701074, 5p; DOI: 10.1177/1077801209340310
The author comments on a preliminary analysis of safety promoting behaviors of
women with disabilities who were victims of interpersonal violence by researcher Laurie
Powers and her colleagues. She notes the implications of the results of the study for
prevention and intervention efforts. She cites the failure of the analysis to take into
account the timing of prevention strategies and abuse. She mentions the awareness of
many of the women in the study about the steps they could do to protect themselves
from abuse.
45
Development of an Accessible Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (A-CASI)
to Screen for Abuse and Provide Safety Strategies for Women With Disabilities.
By: Oschwald, Mary; Renker, Paula; Hughes, Rosemary B.; Arthur, Anne; Powers,
Laurie E.; Curry, Mary Ann. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, May2009, Vol. 24 Issue
5, p795-818, 24p
To increase safety and minimize the risk of interpersonal violence, it is critical that
women with disabilities and Deaf women have an opportunity to identify whether or not
abuse is happening in their lives. Awareness and knowledge of what constitutes
abusive behaviors is an essential first step in addressing interpersonal violence. This
article includes a description of the development and evaluation of the Safer and
Stronger Program (SSP), an audio computer-assisted self-interview program, which
was created for women with disabilities and Deaf women for the purposes of increasing
awareness of abuse, encouraging safety-planning behaviors, and providing information
about community resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Development of Measures of Abuse Among Women With Disabilities and the
Characteristics of Their Perpetrators.
By: Curry, Mary Ann; Renker, Paula; Hughes, Rosemary B.; Robinson-Whelen, Susan;
Oschwald, Mary; Swank, Paul R.; Powers, Laurie E.. Violence Against Women,
Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p1001-1025, 25p, 10 Charts; DOI:
10.1177/1077801209340306
Three hundred and five women with diverse disabilities completed an anonymous audio
computer-assisted self-interview designed to increase women's awareness of abuse.
Data were also collected regarding abuse experienced in the past year and the risk
characteristics of their perpetrators. Overall, 68% reported some type of abuse.
Preliminary evidence for the validity and reliability of questions to assess abuse and
perpetrator risk characteristics was found. Latent class analysis revealed four distinct
classes of abuse experiences: sexual abuse, physical abuse, multiple forms of abuse,
and minimal abuse and three classes of perpetrator risk characteristics: controlling
characteristics, noncontrolling characteristics, and minimal risk characteristics.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Disability, Psychosocial & Demographic Characteristics of Abused Women With
Physical Disabilities.
46
By: Nosek, Margaret A.; Hughes, Rosemary B.; Taylor, Heather B.; Taylor, Patrick.
Violence Against Women, Sep2006, Vol. 12 Issue 9, p838-850, 13p, 3 Charts; DOI:
10.1177/107780120692671
In a sample of 415 predominantly minority women with physical disabilities recruited
from private and public specialty outpatient clinics, we examined experiences of
physical, sexual, and disability-related abuse within the past year and its associations
with demographic, disability, and psychosocial characteristics. Logistic regression
analyses identified 27% of the variance and indicated that women with disabilities who
were younger, more educated, less mobile, more socially isolated, and who had higher
levels of depression may have a higher likelihood of having experienced abuse in the
past year. This model correctly identified 84% of the abused women with disabilities.
Questions of directionality, the role of disability, and validity testing are discussed.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Domestic violence and women with disabilities: locating the issue on the
periphery of social movements.
By: Nixon, Jennifer. Disability & Society, Jan2009, Vol. 24 Issue 1, p77-89, 13p; DOI:
10.1080/09687590802535709
Women with disabilities, like non-disabled women, are at risk of experiencing abuse
perpetrated by those closest to them. This paper reviews what is known about the
domestic abuse of disabled women, explores some of the dynamics of that abuse and
considers why this issue has not been high on the agenda of either the movement
against domestic violence or the disabled people's movement in the UK, taking into
consideration several points that disabled women have raised. In doing so it focuses on
the concept of compound oppressions as a potential explanation for the failure of this
problem to have widespread recognition as a social issue. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Feminist disability theory: domestic violence against women with a disability.
By: Mays, Jennifer M.. Disability & Society, Mar2006, Vol. 21 Issue 2, p147-158, 12p;
DOI: 10.1080/09687590500498077
Women with a disability continue to experience social oppression and domestic violence
as a consequence of gender and disability dimensions. Current explanations of
domestic violence and disability inadequately explain several features that lead women
who have a disability to experience violent situations. This article incorporates both
disability and material feminist theory as an alternative explanation to the dominant
47
approaches (psychological and sociological traditions) of conceptualising domestic
violence. This paper is informed by a study which was concerned with examining the
nature and perceptions of violence against women with a physical impairment. The
emerging analytical framework integrating material feminist interpretations and disability
theory provided a basis for exploring gender and disability dimensions. Insight was also
provided by the women who identified as having a disability in the study and who
explained domestic violence in terms of a gendered and disabling experience. The
article argues that material feminist interpretations and disability theory, with their
emphasis on gender relations, disablism and poverty, should be used as an alternative
tool for exploring the nature and consequences of violence against women with a
disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Gender-based violence against women with visual and physical disabilities
By: Eva Del Río Ferres, Jesús L. Megías, Francisca Expósito. Psicothema, Volumen
25, Número 1. 2013.
Violencia de género en mujeres con discapacidad física y visual. Antecedentes:
investigaciones realizadas en distintos países señalan que las mujeres con
discapacidad constituyen un grupo de mayor vulnerabilidad para sufrir violencia de
género que las mujeres sin discapacidad. Método: un total de 96 mujeres adultas, 45
de ellas con discapacidad visual y 51 con discapacidad física, fueron entrevistadas para
conocer la prevalencia de la violencia en este colectivo y su posible relación con
factores socioeconómicos, sociodemográficos y relacionados con la discapacidad.
Asimismo se analizaron las consecuencias que la violencia provoca en la salud y
bienestar psicológico de las mujeres. Resultados: los resultados mostraron una mayor
prevalencia de la violencia en esta muestra que el conocido para la población general
de mujeres en España. Igualmente, aquellas que habían sido víctimas de violencia
mostraron una peor situación económica, mayores niveles de dependencia física y
mayores cargas familiares que las que no lo habían sido. Además, la violencia se
asoció con peores niveles de bienestar emocional, salud psicológica, autoestima y
apoyo social percibido en las mujeres entrevistadas, más allá de los atribuibles a su
propia condición de discapacidad. Conclusiones: estos resultados se discutirán a la luz
de algunos modelos que relacionan discapacidad y violencia de género.
Hearing the Sexual Assault Complaints of Women with Mental Disabilities:
Consent, Capacity, and Mistaken Belief.
By: Benedet, Janine; Grant, Isabel. McGill Law Journal, Summer2007, Vol. 52 Issue 2,
p243-289, 47p
48
Women with mental disabilities experience high rates of sexual assault. The authors
trace the history of the criminal law's treatment of cases involving such acts in order to
evaluate whether the substantive law of sexual assault is meeting the needs of this
group of women. In particular, the authors focus on the legal issues of consent,
capacity, and mistaken belief. The authors situate this discussion in the context of
current debates in feminist and critical disability theory, grounding the theory in scholarly
research on sexual assault of women with mental disabilities. In considering the law's
treatment of sexual violence against this group of women, he authors engage two key
theoretical tensions: (1) the supposed dichotomy of protection and autonomy, and (2)
the shift from biomedical to social models of disability. The authors conclude that the
substantive law of sexual assault is inadequate to meet the needs of women with
mental disabilities. The authors propose, as a partial solution, a reformed legal analysis
that focuses on the accused's abuse of a relationship of power or trust, the accused's
coercive behaviour, and the complainant's voluntariness. While the authors
acknowledge that women with mental disabilities face certain unique challenges, they
reject the creation of special legislative provisions as a solution; they assert instead the
importance of recognizing the common experience of inequality that this group shares
with other women. In a subsequent paper, published in Issue 3 of Volume 52 of the
McGill Law Journal, the authors examine whether the present procedural and
evidentiary laws allow the stories of women with mental disabilities to be heard and
responded to in Canada's criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Hearing the Sexual Assault Complaints of Women with Mental Disabilities:
Evidentiary and Procedural Issues.
By: Benedet, Janine; Grant, Isabel. McGill Law Journal, Fall2007, Vol. 52 Issue 3, p515552, 38p
When a woman with a mental disability makes a complaint of sexual assault, she must
confront a criminal trial process that was not designed in contemplation of her as a
witness. The requirements of repeated testimony under oath and the ability to be crossexamined are not always well-suited to the particular needs and capacities of women
with mental disabilities. These problems are magnified by the tendency to infantilize
women with mental disabilities, thereby diminishing their credibility and depicting them
as hypersexual when they engage in any sexual activity. These stereotypes also
manifest themselves in the application of evidentiary rules relating to evidence of sexual
history and records in the hands of third parties. In this way, the disabilities of these
women are not merely physiological in an "objective" sense, but are also constructed by
the trial process itself. This article considers how the experiences of women with mental
49
disabilities demand modifications to evidentiary and procedural rules in sexual assault
cases in ways that are consistent with the right of the accused to a fair trial. It also uses
these experiences to reflect on the purported tension between sexual freedom and
protection from violence that is evident in the feminist literature on sexual assault. The
authors argue that substantive equality demands greater efforts to ensure the full
participation of women with mental disabilities in the criminal trial process. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
How have global services addressing violence against women with disabilities
understood their needs and what are the lessons for the next generation of
practice?
By: Sophie Browne.
This
paper
explores
the
scope
of
women
with
disabilities (WWD) experiences
of
disability
and
violence, and
how
this issue can
be addressed through a
human
rights
framework focusing on
social responsibility, and
by collaborative efforts
between violence, services, disability organisations
and
women
with
disabilities.
To
contribute
to
the broader discussion on addressing
WWD’s
needs, this paper
takes
a multi-dimensional
approach, theorizing VAWWD,
drawing
on
case
studies,
reviewing
literature
and
mapping the
service
landscape
and
current
evidence based on violence against women with disabilities (VAWWD).
http://www.enable.org.tw/iss/pdf/20120925-6.pdf
Human rights of women and girls with disabilities in developing countries. By:
Wilson, A. In Tamara Harvey and Cynthis McNeeley (Eds.), Global gender justice. New
York: Routledge Press. 2009
Interpersonal Violence and Women With Disabilities.
By: Powers, Laurie E.; Renker, Paula; Robinson-Whelen, Susan; Oschwald, Mary;
Hughes, Rosemary; Swank, Paul; Curry, Mary Ann. Violence Against Women,
Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9, p1040-1069, 30p, 7 Charts, 8 Graphs; DOI:
10.1177/1077801209340309
Very little information exists related to the interpersonal violence safety promoting
behaviors of women with disabilities. Information about women's use of safety
promoting behaviors was gathered from 305 disabled and deaf women who completed
an anonymous Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview. Exploratory factor analyses
revealed factors related to seeking abuse-related safety information, building abuse50
related safety promoting skills, using relationship support, planning for emergencies,
taking legal action, and managing safety in personal assistance relationships. Four of
these factors demonstrated significant relationships to women's experience of different
forms of abuse and their perpetrator's characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The Investigation of Abuse & Women With Disabilities
By: Nosek, Margaret A.. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p477, 23p
This article delineates issues that should be considered by investigators endeavoring to
conduct empirically sound research on abuse and women with disabilities. These issues
include (a) incorporating in the research design variables that assess increased
vulnerability; (b) using literature-based definitions that distinguish emotional, physical,
sexual, and disability-related abuse; (c) using population-based sampling
methodologies; (d) securing informed consent; (e) maintaining confidentiality; (f)
installing safety measures to protect study participants and project staff from retaliation;
(g) making special efforts to include women with disabilities from minority backgrounds;
(h) using appropriate, validated, disability-sensitive screening instruments; (i)
understanding the legal requirements for reporting abusive incidents; (j) implementing
abuse studies in clinical settings; and (k) including formative and summative evaluations
in outcome studies of abuse interventions. To increase the capacity of battered
women's programs to serve women with disabilities, considerably more needs to be
known about interventions that are most effective for this population. [ABSTRACT
FROM AUTHOR]
'Is It Meant to Hurt, Is It?'
By: Sequeira, Heather. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p462, 15p
The use of seclusion, restraint, and rapid tranquilization for people with developmental
disabilities is controversial. A statistical analysis of 3,767 such incidents, involving 82
clients with developmental disabilities, is presented along with semistructured interview
material completed following personal experience of emergency intervention. Women
were involved in a disproportionately high number of incidents. It was found that women
had a significantly higher probability of being given rapid tranquilization following a
violent incident. In contrast, seclusion was more likely to be used with men. Interviews
with women demonstrated a commonly held understanding of interventions as
punishment and expressions of intense anger and anxiety. The study highlights the
importance of including the perspectives of people with developmental disabilities in
care planning and staff training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
51
Lifetime Prevalence of Gender-Based Violence in Women and the Relationship
With Mental Disorders and Psychosocial Function.
S. Rees, D. Silove, T. Chey, L. Ivancic, Z. Steel, M. Creamer, M. Teesson, R. Bryant, A.
C. McFarlane, K. L. Mills, T. Slade, N. Carragher, M. O'Donnell, D. Forbes. JAMA: The
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2011; 306 (5): 513
The article shows the association existing between women who experience genderbased violence and a higher lifetime prevalence of mental health disorders, dysfunction
and disability.
Linking the Assessment of Self-Reported Functional Capacity With Abuse
Experiences of Women With Disabilities.
By: Gilson, Stephen French. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p418,
14p
Women with disabilities are abused at rates similar to or greater than their nondisabled
counterparts. Compared with nonabused women, women abused by an intimate partner
have a greater risk of being disabled or having an illness that affects their activities of
daily living. Although disabled women experience similar forms of abuse to those of
nondisabled women, some forms of abuse are unique to disabled women due to the
limitations that the disability itself presents. This article presents a conceptual analysis
of abuse of disabled women and discusses assessment procedures that can assist in
identifying abuse and informing service delivery. We propose a model of abuse
assessment for women with disabilities composed of three elements: traditional
assessment anchored on the Power and Control Wheel that encompasses the unique
forms of abuse that disabled women experience; comprehensive functional assessment
through self-reporting and self-rating; and attention to heterogeneity with regard to
cultural sensitivity, structure of reporting, and nature of disability. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
Partner Violence Against Women With Disabilities: Prevalence, Risk &
Explanations.
By: Brownridge, Douglas A.. Violence Against Women, Sep2006, Vol. 12 Issue 9, p805822, 18p, 4 Charts; DOI: 10.1177/107780120692681
52
Using a representative sample of 7,027 Canadian women living in a marital or commonlaw union, this investigation examined the risk for partner violence against women with
disabilities relative to women without disabilities. Women with disabilities had 40%
greater odds of violence in the 5 years preceding the interview, and these women
appeared to be at particular risk for severe violence. An explanatory framework was
tested that organized variables based on relationship factors, victim-related
characteristics, and perpetrator- related characteristics. Results showed that
perpetrator-related characteristics alone accounted for the elevated risk of partner
violence against women with disabilities. Stakeholders must recognize the problem of
partner violence against women with disabilities, and efforts to address patriarchal
domination and male sexual proprietariness appear crucial to reducing their risk of
partner violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Physical & Sexual Assault of Women With Disabilities.
By: Martin, Sandra L.; Ray, Neepa; Sotres-Alvarez, Daniela; Kupper, Lawrence L.;
Moracco, Kathryn E.; Dickens, Pamela A.; Scandlin, Donna; Gizlice, Ziya. Violence
Against Women, Sep2006, Vol. 12 Issue 9, p823-837, 15p, 3 Charts; DOI:
10.1177/107780120692672
North Carolina women were surveyed to examine whether women's disability status
was associated with their risk of being assaulted within the past year. Women's violence
experiences were classified into three groups: no violence, physical assault only
(without sexual assault), and sexual assault (with or without physical assault).
Multivariable analysis revealed that women with disabilities were not significantly more
likely than women without disabilities to have experienced physical assault alone within
the past year (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 0.62 to 2.27);
however, women with disabilities had more than 4 times the odds of experiencing
sexual assault in the past year compared to women without disabilities (OR = 4.89, 95%
CI = 2.21 to 10.83). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Prevention of HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities in
Tanzania
By: Msafiri Msedi Ngololo,
Women with disabilities need good health. Good health is more than the absence of
disease. When a disabled woman has good health it means she experiences Well-being
of her body, mind, and spirit; Women with disabilities can take charge of their own
health when they have information that affirms their own experience of their bodies and
health needs. They can also use this information to change the way people think about
53
disability. As women with disabilities take charge of their lives, they will gain respect and
support in their communities. While disability itself may not be a health problem, many
times the health problems of women with disabilities go untreated. This can mean that a
simple health problem in a woman with disability, if left untreated, can become a life
threatening problem. We must remove the barriers that keep disabled women from
achieving good health.
Individually, I have grown up with a disability after contracting polio. I was interested to
write this paper to convince NGOs, societies and Governments to become more aware
of our rights and more inclusive of our needs. It was indeed a pleasure to be invited by
the Center for Women Policy Studies to write a paper with a focus on HIV/AIDS and
violence against women and girls with disabilities in Tanzania. I hope that with more
such studies, people with disabilities will enjoy and experience the kind of liberation they
have never had before. Data on HIV/AIDS and violence among women and girls with
disabilities is important not only as a lobbying tool for the disability movement but also
as an important guide to the government, development agencies and other stakeholders
that have an interest in improving the services they provide to people with disabilities.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/documents/BFWFP_Prev
entionofHIV_AIDSandViolenceAgainstWomenandGirlswithDisabilitiesinTanzania.pdf
School-based sexual violence among female learners with mild intellectual
disability in South Africa
By: Tlakale Nareadi Phasha & Doris Nyokangi. Violence Against Women March 2012
vol. 18 no. 3 309-321.
Following qualitative research methodology, this article presents school-based sexual
violence experiences of female learners with mild intellectual disability. A total of 16
learners aged 16 to 24 years participated in the study. The findings revealed that
learners with intellectual disability are not immune to school-based sexual violence.
Modes of behavior that occurred frequently included touching, threats, and intimidation.
School practices that reinforced school-based sexual violence are identified. The
findings contradict common misconceptions that people with intellectual disability do not
understand what is happening to them. The study recommends that school policies for
sexual violence be intensified and learners receive developmentally appropriate sex
education.
Sexual Assault and Women With Cognitive Disabilities
By: Wacker, Julia L.; Parish, Susan L.; Macy, Rebecca J.. Journal of Disability Policy
Studies, Sep2008, Vol. 19 Issue 2, p86-94, 9p, 1 Chart
54
Criminal sexual assault statutes vary across the 50 U.S. states and the District of
Columbia. However, most statutes mandate increased restrictions and penalties for
crimes committed against victims with cognitive impairments. Current statutes
pertaining to victims with cognitive impairments and the standards and methods
typically used by courts to determine victims' capacity to consent are evaluated. The
authors analyze these policies and demonstrate that the statutes stem from and
perpetuate a legacy of systematic oppression including, but not limited to, the sexual
exploitation and deprivation of people with cognitive impairments. They argue that
current statutes not only fail to diminish but may also enhance the risk of sexual assault
to adults with cognitive disabilities. The authors further argue that these statutes deprive
adults with cognitive impairments of their civil liberties. They conclude with
recommendations for changes in policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Situating Research on Safety Promoting Behaviors Among Disabled and Deaf
Victims of Interpersonal Violence.
By: Brownridge, Douglas A.. Violence Against Women, Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9,
p1075-1079, 5p; DOI: 10.1177/1077801209340311
The author focuses on the research by Laurie E. Powers and colleagues concerning the
safety promoting behaviors among deaf women and women with disabilities which is
also published within the issue. He mentions that women with disabilities tend to be
disregarded when it comes to research and services despite their vulnerability to
become victims of violence. He notes that Powers and colleagues were able to show in
their study that there is variability in safety-promoting behaviors among such women.
Redefining Abuse of Women With Disabilities: A Paradox of Limitation and
Expansion.
By: Gilson, Stephen French; Cramer, Elizabeth P.; DePoy, Elizabeth. Affilia: Journal of
Women & Social Work, Summer2001, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p220, 16p
The study presented here, which relied on naturalistic design and focus-group
methodology, examined the experiences of abused women with disabilities and the
women's use of and need for services and resources. The study found that although
disabled and nondisabled women face many of the same forms of abuse, disabled
women have unique experiences that require specialized services. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]
55
Reply to Our Commentators.
By: Curry, Mary Ann; Powers, Laurie E.; Renker, Paula; Hughes, Rosemary; RobinsonWhelen, Susan; Oschwald, Mary. Violence Against Women, Sep2009, Vol. 15 Issue 9,
p1080-1086, 7p; DOI: 10.1177/1077801209340312
The authors provide a response to the comments about their article on the safetypromoting behaviors among deaf women and women with disabilities. They note that
the commentators were able to identify many of the same concerns that they have with
regard to the challenges in methodology of the study and with the need for future
research. It is said that some of such women tend to lack financial and other supportive
resources needed in order for them to get away from violence and from their
perpetrator.
Violence Against Women with Disabilities
By: The International Network of Women with Disabilities. March 2011
The International Network of Women with Disabilities (INWWD) undertook a discussion
of violence against women with disabilities in 2009-2010, to answer some of these
questions from the perspectives and experiences of women with disabilities themselves.
The resulting document provides the basis of this Paper.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/BFWFP_ViolenceAgainst
WomenwithDisabilities_TheInternationalNetworkofWomenwithDisabiliti.pdf
Violence against Women with Disabilities: An Analytical Study: Pschological,
Social and Health Experiences of Women with Disabilities Who are Survivors of
Violence
by Biher Yonas, VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, (Apr 29, 2011)
Violence against women with disability is starting to receive more attention, especially
by the United Nations, and has been recognized to be the most widespread human
rights abuse in the world. In spite of that, much still has to be done to effectively reduce
violence and to overcome the culture of silence and denial in which this kind of crime is
embedded.
Violence & Women With Disabilities.
By: Chenoweth, Lesley. Violence Against Women, Dec 96, Vol. 2 Issue 4, p391, 21p
56
Discusses violence against women with disabilities. Vulnerability to violence; Factors
contributing to the increase in incidence of abuse and violence against women with
disabilities; Public views and misconceptions about women with disabilities.
Women With Disabilities' Experience With Physical and Sexual Abuse Review of
the Literature and Implications for the Field
By: Sarah-Beth Plummer and Patricia A. Findley. Trauma Violence Abuse January 2012
vol. 13 no. 1 15-29. 2012.
While studies suggest that the rate of abuse of women with disabilities is similar or
higher compared to the general population, there continues to be a lack of attention to
this issue. Women with disabilities are at particularly high risk of abuse, both through
typical forms of violence (physical, sexual, and emotional) and those that target one’s
disability. In an effort to highlight the need for increased attention to this issue, this
article reviews the current peer-reviewed research in this field. The authors outline
recommendations for future research goals and provide implications for research,
practice, and policy.
Women, Disability and Violence: Strategies to Increase Physical and
Programmatic Access to Victims' Services for Women with Disabilities
By: Dr. Lisa McClain, Director of Gender Studies, Boise State University, Idaho.
Many studies conducted in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United
Kingdom corroborate a high occurrence of physical, emotional, sexual, and disabilityspecific abuse among women with disabilities. As this staff member’s observation
reflects, however, there exists little evidence that large numbers of women with
disabilities attempt to access shelters and other domestic violence/sexual assault
programs and services when they are victimized. Why don’t the majority of women with
disabilities who experience such abuse show up, seeking services? What might be
done to encourage them to do so in greater numbers?
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/BFWFP_WomenDisability
andViolence_StrategiestoIncreasePhysicalandProgrammaticAccesstoVic.pdf
Worker role identity development of women with disabilities who experience
domestic violence.
By: Helfrich, Christine A.; Badiani, Chaula; Simpson, Emily K.. Work, 2006, Vol. 27
Issue 3, p319-328, 10p, 1 Chart
57
This two-year longitudinal qualitative study explored worker role identity development of
seven women with disabilities who experienced domestic violence. Yearly semistructured interviews and monthly follow up calls elucidated the meaning of work in
women's lives and the development of role identity during transitions from shelters to
the community. Participants aged 26–47, were from two domestic violence shelters and
an independent living center in the Midwestern United States. Data analyses, using
constant comparative methods, a peer team and member checking, revealed that
women's work roles remained in a state of identity diffusion. Identity diffusion in the
worker role was delineated into three themes: role ambivalence, impact of disability, and
relationship of the worker role to other roles. Study findings suggest a conflict between
staff urgency to support women's return to work and economic self-sufficiency, and
women's readiness to assume stronger work identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
12. Welfare programs and social assistance
'Because they have all the power and I have none': state restructuring of income
and employment supports and disabled women's lives in Ontario, Canada.
By: Chouinard, Vera; Crooks, Valorie. Disability & Society, Jan2005, Vol. 20 Issue 1,
p19-32, 14p; DOI: 10.1080/0968759042000283610
We examine the connections between neo-liberal forms of state restructuring and
intervention in disabled people's lives, looking in particular at how these have affected
disabled women's experiences of an income support program, the Ontario Disability
Support Program (ODSP), in Ontario, Canada. We first outline why and how state
programs have been re-designed and implemented in increasingly harsh ways as a
result of such neo-liberal forms of state restructuring. Even groups formerly considered
among the 'deserving poor' have found their access to social assistance diminished. We
then argue that this is an outcome of state programs, policies and practices which are
re-asserting and more deeply entrenching 'ableness' as a necessary condition of
citizenship, inclusion and access to justice. Finally, we illustrate how disabled women's
lives and well-being have been altered as a result of changes in the provision of these
forms of state assistance using in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with 10
women in Ontario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Effects of Welfare Reform on Statistics for Young Women With Disabilities.
By: Horvath-Rose, Ann E.; Stapleton, David C.; O'Day, Bonnie. Journal of Disability
Policy Studies, Winter2006, Vol. 17 Issue 3, p166-179, 14p
This article uses the Current Population Survey (CPS) data to show that changes in
family policy implemented in the 1990s led to a substantial increase in the number of
young women reporting work limitations. These changes also affected measures of
socioeconomic outcomes for young women reporting limitations. Hence, the
demographic changes mask the effects of changes in family policy and changes in other
environmental factors on those outcomes. The findings emphasize the importance
disability has in family policy issues and suggest that past underreporting of disability by
young mothers might well have disguised its importance. The findings also suggest that
the impact of family policy on mothers with disabilities has been quite different than the
impact on other mothers. An important effect of family policy changes may have been to
financially segregate mothers with low income who have disabilities from other mothers
with low income, continuing to relegate them, and possibly their children, to lives of
poverty and dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Financial Difficulty in Acquiring Food Among Elderly Disabled Women: Results
From the Women's Health and Aging Study.
By: Klesges, Lisa M.; Pahor, Marco; Shorr, Ronald I.; Wan, Jim Y.; Williamson, Jeff D.;
Guralnik, Jack M.. American Journal of Public Health, Jan2001, Vol. 91 Issue 1, p68-75,
8p
This study described the prevalence and characteristics of financial difficulty acquiring
food and its relation to nutritional biomarkers in older disabled women.
METHODS:
Baseline data were analyzed from the Women's Health and Aging Study, a populationbased survey of 1002 community-dwelling, disabled women 65 years and older from
Baltimore, Md.
RESULTS:
Minority women (49.5%) were more likely than White women (13.4%) to report financial
difficulty acquiring food (odds ratio [OR] = 6.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.5, 8.6).
Of the women reporting financial difficulty acquiring food, only 19.3% received food
stamps and fewer than 7% participated in food assistance programs. Women reporting
financial difficulty acquiring food had higher levels of psychologic depression than
women not reporting such difficulty. Greater likelihood of financial difficulty acquiring
food was associated with poorer quality of life and physical performance among White
women and with more medical conditions among minority women. Finally, anemia
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(hemoglobin < 120 g/L) was associated with financial difficulty acquiring food (ageadjusted OR = 2.9, 95% CI = 1.9, 4.3).
CONCLUSIONS:
Financial difficulty acquiring food was common, and receipt of nutritional services was
rare, in community-dwelling, older disabled women. Nutrition assistance programs for
the elderly should reexamine their effectiveness in preventing nutritional deficits in older
disabled women.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446516/pdf/11189828.pdf
The Need for a Framework for Combined Disability and Gender Budgeting.
By: HANS, ASHA; PATEL, AMRITA M.; AGNIHOTRI, S. B.. Indian Journal of Gender
Studies, May-Aug2008, Vol. 15 Issue 2, p233-260, 28p, 3 Charts, 15 Graphs; DOI:
10.1177/097152150801500203
Women with disability (WWDs) represent the most vulnerable category in the realms of
both disability and gender. A recent survey on government allocations and expenditure
in the disability sector in four states in India, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Orissa and West Bengal, has underscored the need to develop specific safety nets for
their survival and well-being. In recent years gender budgeting has emerged as an
effective tool for locating the gaps between the Policy rhetoric on women's
empowerment and the resources provided to match it. There is a similar need to
develop a disability budgeting protocol and, more importantly, a combined gender and
disability budgeting tool to ensure that WWDs are not left out of resource allocations by
the state. This study attempts to look at the resource allocation to the disability sector in
general. It has to be kept in mind that gender-disaggregated data are not available;
therefore, the analysis of the budget on the sector as a whole will be indicative of the
situation for the WWDs as well. Using tools of gender budgeting and the baseline data
on WWDs in the four states, this article attempts to develop a framework for a
composite gender--disability budgeting exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
13. Other topics
A Brave New World?
By: Stehlik, Daniela. Violence Against Women, Apr2001, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p370, 23p
This article uses the metaphors of segregation and surveillance of women with
disabilities historically, establishing links between current practices in genetics and past
60
experiences. Following Foucault, the article argues for a "history of the present" through
an appreciation of the many discursive narratives of the past. From recently completed
research focusing on the lifelong caring undertaken by Western Australian parents of
their children with intellectual disabilities, the genealogy of three influential discursive
propositions of the early and mid-20th century are identified: eugenics,
institutionalization, and motherhood. By their powerful present-day influence, such
discourses affect the lives of women with disabilities, thus underpinning the inherent
institutionalized violence of their day-to-day experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Center on Human Policy, Law and Disability Studies. Syracuse University.
Women and Disability. An annoted bibliography.
The website of the Center offer numerous sources on women and disability on the
following topics: Aging; Autism & Asperger Syndrome; Chronic Illnesses; Conference
Proceedings; D/deaf women; Diversity; Education; Employment; Feature/Special Issues
of Periodicals; Feminist Disability Studies; Health Care & Wellness; International
Perspectives; Internet Resources; Leisure & Sports; Literature, Literary Analyses and
Media Studies; Mental Health and Mental Illness; Motherhood, Parenting, and
Reproductive Rights; Organizations & Projects; Personal Experiences and Stories of
Women with Disabilities; Public Policy; Research on/by/for Women with Disabilities
Sexuality; Spirituality; Technology; Violence and Abuse; Women and Care; Women
Professionals; Women, Disability, and Identity.
http://disabilitystudies.syr.edu/resources/womenanddisability.aspx
Center for research on Women with Disabilities
The website of the Center offer numerous sources, among which a list of the academic
publications of the Center. Topics of the articles cited include: ADA, Health care, Health
promotion, Independent living, Personal Assistance Services, Psychological Health,
Secondary Conditions, Sexuality, Reproductive Health, Social Issues, Spirituality and
Violence.
http://www.bcm.edu/crowd/index.cfm?pmid=1351
Disability among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: disparities in prevalence and
risk
61
By: Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Hyun-Jun Kim, and Susan E. Barkan. Disability
Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults: Disparities in Prevalence and Risk.
American Journal of Public Health: January 2012, Vol. 102, No. 1, pp. e16-e21.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300379
Objectives. We used population-based data to comprehensively examine disability
among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults.
Methods. We estimated prevalence of disability and its covariates and compared by
sexual orientation by utilizing data from the Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (n = 82 531) collected in 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009. We used
multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between disability and sexual
orientation, after we controlled for covariates of disability.
Results. Findings indicated that the prevalence of disability is higher among lesbian,
gay, and bisexual adults compared with their heterosexual counterparts; lesbian, gay,
and bisexual adults with disabilities are significantly younger than heterosexual adults
with disabilities. Higher disability prevalence among lesbians and among bisexual
women and men remained significant after we controlled for covariates of disability.
Conclusions. Higher rates of disability among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults are of
major concern. Efforts are needed to prevent, delay, and reduce disabilities as well as
to improve the quality of life for lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults with disabilities. Future
prevention and intervention efforts need to address the unique concerns of these
groups.
Feminist Disability Studies
By Kim Q. Hall, Indiana University Press , (Oct 26, 2011)
The volume explores the intersection between disability studies and feminist theory, by
dealing with issues such as the nature of embodiment, the meaning of disability and the
impact of public policies on persons with disabilities. Besides, the book illustrates how
cultural and historical images of the human body have often been an element of
oppression for both women and people with disability.
Female physical illness and disability in Arab women's writing.
By: Hamdar, Abir. Feminist Theory, Aug2010, Vol. 11 Issue 2, p189-204, 16p; DOI:
10.1177/1464700110366816
This article focuses on the representation of female physical illness and disability in the
works of two Arab women writers: Iraqi Alia Mamdouh's Habbat al Naftalin [Mothballs]
62
(1986) and Egyptian Salwa Bakr's al 'Arabah al Dhahabiyah la Tas'ad ila al Sama' [The
Golden Chariot] (1991). It argues that the representation of female illness in these
works centres upon the figure of the sick mother. Despite the limitations of this trope of
illness, both novels offer a more complex illness narrative than those of their Arab
predecessors. By problematizing the representation of the sick woman/mother, both
novels challenge the traditional role of the silent, sick female figure whose story remains
outside the limits of representation. Finally, the article argues that this textual
recuperation of the female suffering body is achieved through the employment of a
mother--daughter plot which continues to represent the sick mother as socially and
emotionally absent but which nevertheless renders her a central figure in the daughter's
narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Helen Keller: rethinking the problematic icon.
By: Crow, Liz. Disability & Society, Oct2000, Vol. 15 Issue 6, p845-859, 15p; DOI:
10.1080/09687590050192522
More than 30 years after her death, Helen Keller is still known internationally as the little
deaf blind girl, the 'miracle child' who triumphed over adversity. However, behind the
image, hidden from the public gaze, was a flesh-and-blood woman, writer and radical
activist, suffragette and Socialist. She was a woman who lived to old age, yet is fixed in
the public imagination as an eternal child. This paper charts the creation of Keller's
popular image and enduring iconic status, analysing their purpose and the implications
they hold for us as disabled people. It then examines the truth of her life, revealing how
contemporary are the issues which determined it. Finally, it explores the value of
retelling her biography and the relevance it holds in the building of disability culture.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Income Poverty and Material Hardship among U.S. Women with Disabilities.
By: Parish, Susan L.; Rose, Roderick A.; Andrews, Megan E.. Social Service Review,
Mar2009, Vol. 83 Issue 1, p33-52, 20p, 3 Charts, 2 Graphs
This study analyzes the 2002 wave of the National Survey of America's Families to
describe income poverty and material hardship among women with and without
disabilities in the United States. Results suggest that women with disabilities experience
such hardships as food insecurity, housing instability, inadequate health care, and loss
of phone service at rates that are higher than those among nondisabled women. Rates
of hardship remain higher even after adjusting for a host of individual characteristics,
including marital status, age, race, and education. Although hardship declines as
63
incomes rise for all women, those with disabilities show worse outcomes at every
income level and experience substantial levels of hardship well into the middle and
upper income ranges. The federal poverty level does not accurately capture women's
experiences of material hardship, and these discrepancies are considerably worse
among women with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Market Smart to Special Needs.
By: Vogel, Nadine. Global Cosmetic Industry, May2007, Vol. 175 Issue 5, p35-35, 1p
The author reflects on the special needs of women with disability of health and beauty
products. He argues that women use cosmetics to disguise imperfections and to draw
attention away from problem areas. He believes that these women are entitled to feel
beautiful and treated like everyone else. The author suggests that beauty industry has
an incredible opportunity to help women with unique needs through sensitivity and
service at point of sale and through appropriate marketing.
Measuring Material Hardship among the US Population of Women with
Disabilities Using Latent Class Analysis.
By: Rose, Roderick; Parish, Susan; Yoo, Joan. Social Indicators Research, Dec2009,
Vol. 94 Issue 3, p391-415, 25p, 7 Charts; DOI: 10.1007/s11205-008-9428-z
We use data from the 2002 wave of the National Survey of America’s Families to
develop and validate discrete measures of material hardship that can be used to
examine the difficulties that vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities have
in making ends meet. Using latent class analysis, we estimate two measurement
models: multidimensional and omnibus. The multidimensional model provides separate
estimates for food, medical, and housing and utilities hardship. The omnibus model is a
single model of 11 hardship indicators. Results show three distinct classes of food
hardship, three classes of medical hardship, and two classes of housing/utilities
hardship. The omnibus model reveals eight classes. Both the multidimensional and
omnibus models are largely invariant between women with disabilities and women
without disabilities, indicating that valid comparisons can be made between these
populations using these classes of hardship. These classes can be utilized in further
research on the hardship of women with disabilities to inform the development of
policies targeted to alleviate the specific forms of hardship experienced by disabled
women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
64
The physically disabled South African female consumer's problems in purchasing
clothing.
By: de Klerk, Helena M.; Ampousah, Lucy. International Journal of Consumer Studies,
Jun2002, Vol. 26 Issue 2, p93, 9p
Physically disabled women today have to face the inconvenience of shopping for their
own as well as their families' clothes and the inability of finding fashionable clothes that
fit any disability. A total of 40 physically disabled women between the ages of 21 years
and 60 years were interviewed on the problems they experienced when shopping for
fashionable clothes that fit their disabilities. A total of 40 clothing shops were observed
to get information on the extent to which the shops cater for the needs of the physically
disabled consumer. Results from the interviews showed that the majority of physically
disabled female clothing consumers experienced major problems in finding fashionable
clothes that fit their disabilities. It was also clear that these women experienced
problems with unusable access routes, unsuitable parking lots, display racks that are
too high, spaces between racks that are too narrow, inadequate space in fitting rooms
and a lack of assistance in shops. The observations were compared with the complaints
the women had and it was found that these women had not overestimated their
problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Recognition, respect and rights: women with disabilities in a globalised world
edited by Dan Goodley, Bill Hughes, Lennard Davis. Palgrave MacMillan. 2012.
Right Now! – Women with Disabilities Build Peace Post-Conflict
By: Stephanie Ortoleva, Esq. Barbara Faye Waxman Fiduccia Papers on Women and
Girls with Disabilities Center for Women Policy Studies, April 2011
Women across the world are standing their ground against political exclusion. A
gender-sensitive approach must be used; all women must have the opportunity to
participate in reconstruction, building the rule of law, strengthening democracy and postconflict decision making processes. Sustainable peace requires the inclusion of all
groups affected by conflict at all stages. Some progress has been made through a
series of United Nations Security Council Resolutions, beginning with Resolution 1325
in 2000, to give women a place at the table in post-conflict peace-building and
reconciliation. However, women with disabilities have been excluded from a role in
these processes, both in practice and formally through the various United Nations
resolutions and policy documents.
65
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/documents/BFWFP_Right
Now_WomenwithDisabilitiesBuildPeacePost-Conflict_StephanieOrtoleva.pdf
The Role of Women with Disabilities in Community Based Inclusive Development
By: Abia Akram, Disabled People's International of Pakistan and Asia Pacific region and
Liaison and Capacity Building Advisor, Handicap International.
This Paper provides deeper insights into the thinking of women with disabilities about
leadership and community based development, the barriers they perceive as women
with disabilities, their leadership styles, and strategies that should be undertaken to
facilitate and promote their status and roles in community based development. The
challenge for women leaders with disabilities is to unite and lead their peers in
promoting Community Based Inclusive Development not only for the rights of women
with disabilities but also to create an environment where they can have equal
opportunities with men with disabilities as well as so called non-disabled persons to
participate fully in all activities of the society. The Paper also examines the role of
women with disabilities in the empowering and encouraging, motivating, inspiring,
directing and supporting stakeholders to achieve community based development goals
and outcomes. The Paper begins with a brief review on women with disabilities’
leadership styles and community development in the light of supporting policies and
legislation. It is followed by the challenges and discussion and finally the conclusion
and recommendations.
http://www.centerwomenpolicy.org/programs/waxmanfiduccia/BFWFP_TheRoleofWome
nwithDisabilitiesinCommunityBasedInclusiveDevelopment_AbiaAkram_000..pdf
Sameness and Difference: Twin Track Empowerment for Women with Disabilities.
By: DHANDA, AMITA. Indian Journal of Gender Studies, May-Aug2008, Vol. 15 Issue 2,
p209-232, 24p; DOI: 10.1177/097152150801500202
Whether one should "mainstream" or adopt "special measures" has been a perennial
dilemma whilst devising strategies to deal with gender discrimination. The United
Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities has tried to skirt this
conundrum by adopting a 'twin track' approach. Consequently, it has inducted the
gender question in all relevant spaces, in addition to incorporating a separate article on
women with disabilities. This article explores how the Convention came to adopt this
approach, and what kind of interpretational and implementation efforts will be required
for its promise to be realised for women with disabilities. With the acceptance of this
66
approach, the Convention has unequivocally conceded that multiple forms and levels of
discrimination require a multiplicity of rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Self-Determination and Disability Rights: Lessons From the Women's Movement.
By: Wappett, Matthew T.. Journal of Disability Policy Studies, Fall2002, Vol. 13 Issue 2,
p119, 6p
Discusses the methods used by the women's rights movements as a template for the
growth of the self-determination and disability rights movements in the U.S. Reasons for
focusing on the women's rights movement; Components that were essential to the
success of the women's movement.
Women & Disability: Exploring the Interface of Multiple Disadvantage.
By: Emmett, Tony; Alant, Erna. Development Southern Africa, Oct2006, Vol. 23 Issue 4,
p445-460, 16p, 5 Graphs; DOI: 10.1080/03768350600927144
In general, women with disabilities are more discriminated against and disadvantaged
than men with disabilities. In the industrialised countries there are consistent, although
not necessarily large, gender differences in income, employment and education for
people with disabilities. Poverty and deprivation magnify these inequalities, and can
determine access to food, care and social inclusion, and even threaten survival. Women
with disabilities are also at greater risk of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and
because of stigmatisation have lower marriage prospects. There are more barriers to
access and participation for women than for men, and mothers and caregivers in
particular face enormous challenges when raising children with disabilities or chronic
illnesses, especially within the context of women-headed households and early
pregnancy. This article emphasises the need to approach disability as an integral part of
development rather than as a separate need competing with other causes and
manifestations of poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Women with Visible and Invisible Disabilities: Multiple Intersections, Multiple
Issues, Multiple Therapies (book)
By: Banks, Martha E. and Ellyn Kaschak, (Eds.). New York: The Haworth Press, Inc.,
2003. 382 pages
The book consist of a collection of writings organized into the following three main
areas: "Visible and Invisible Impairments Experienced by Women"; "Personal and
67
Interpersonal Concerns for Women with Disabilities"; and "Empowerment: Using Culture
and Context to Enhance and Facilitate Feminist Therapy".
68