Miss Zomboko
JF-Expert Member
- May 18, 2014
- 4,499
- 9,279
1. Background
Around the world, WHO estimates that over 1 billion people live with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities (PWD) include people with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which when they interact with certain barriers (attitudinal, environmental and institutional), might make it hard for them to fully and effectively participate in society on an equal basis with others. Persons with disabilities can experience discrimination related to human rights and fundamental freedoms at the global, national, institutional, community and interpersonal levels.
This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population, with up to 190 million (3.8%) people aged 15 years and older having significant difficulties in functioning, often requiring access to prevention and healthcare response. 19.2% of women worldwide have a disability and 180 - 220 million young people live with disabilities, primarily in developing countries.
The number of people living with disabilities is increasing, due to an increase in chronic health conditions and ageing population; many factors as being causes of disabilities: poor health conditions, lack of (sufficient) treatments, for example, for polio, malaria and meningitis, mishandling at birth, traditional practices, and gender inequality. Road accidents involving passenger buses and commuter motorcycles (‘bodaboda’) are also a significant contributor to disabilities.
In the United Republic of Tanzania, the prevalence of disability is 6.8% (5.7% for males and 7.8% for females) in Tanzania Mainland and 3.2% (3.3% for males and 4.1% for females) in Zanzibar. The disability rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Persons with disabilities in Tanzania are among the poorest, most marginalized and socially excluded groups. Irrespective of where they live and their gender status, persons with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed, illiterate, to have less formal education and have less access to developed support networks and social capital than persons without disabilities.
There is no disaggregation of data to showcase how persons with disabilities - especially women and young people, contribute to the national gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) statistics. However, global data suggests that women and young people with disabilities (WGD and YPWD) are at a high risk of sexual violence, threat, mistreatment, or abandonment. Young persons with disabilities become sexually active and experience their sexuality as early and as often as young people without disabilities, and like many young persons, often without consent, and viewed as a taboo subject and something that should be prevented, discouraged, suppressed or forbidden.
This is closely linked to early, forced and child marriage, which often leads to domestic violence and early or unintended pregnancy. In addition, in Tanzania, people with albinism (PWA), a population group with unique characteristics and identity, yet often categorized as PWD, are particularly vulnerable to violence due to harmful practices and beliefs surrounding their bodies which adds risks that are unique to them within this category. This calls for focused and dedicated efforts to debunk myths, and address stigma and harmful cultural beliefs around WGD, YPWD and PWA and ensure better access to health and social services, education and freedom from the constant fear of being subjected to violence.
Persons with disabilities also have unique and at times greater sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. This results from the inaccessibility of information on SRH and rights (SRHR); higher rates of pregnancy due to sexual abuse and rape, being infected with HIV or sexually transmitted infections; and an over-arching stigma. Persons with disabilities are more likely to experience challenges accessing SRH services, because of physical inaccessibility, communication barriers, negative attitudes of service providers, lack of confidentiality, costs, mistreatment, and inadequacy of service delivery. This is particularly true among adolescents with disabilities.
Multiple factors affect women and young people’s lives and behaviours, but gender norms and social norms have a particularly interesting influence. These are unwritten rules that affect how people understand disabilities, GBV and SRHR. They also influence the level of social tolerance of violations of SRHR and GBV as well as how they interact with people with disabilities, women and young people. Power differences between people and communities hold these norms in place, and so sometimes serve to reinforce or create barriers for women and young people in particular those with disabilities.
Cultural and social norms often deem persons with disabilities asexual or hypersexual, despite evidence persons with disabilities are sexually as active as other people. Women with disabilities are often considered not to need SRH services due to the belief they are asexual and unable to bear children. In low and middle-income countries, young people and women with disabilities face additional barriers due to their dependence on household members for care, low decision-making power, GBV, and limited economic independence.
2. Rationale
The Government of Tanzania has ratified the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and continue to make efforts to domesticate its commitment in national legislation, policies and sector plans and multi-sectoral engagement.
However, despite these efforts, weak and unharmonized legal and policy frameworks, limited capacity and coordination within and among national and regional institutions, the persistence of pervasive social norms and values, and insufficient investment in empowerment opportunities, community mobilization and support services for young people and women continue to dampen efforts to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and prevent, respond and mitigate the effects of violence against women and young people with disabilities.
Efforts to improve access to SRHR and GBV prevention and response services for women and young people with disabilities should be guided by an open dialogue and multi-stakeholder consultations that reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities and their unique experiences in Tanzania.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign on gender-based violence in Tanzania, UNFPA, the Embassy of Finland, the members of the Mkuki Coalition, ELCT with Tanzania Interfaith Partnership, Sense International, Felm, Fida, Abilis, and other international and national partners are convening a National Dialogue, which aims to mobilize national action to strengthen rights-based and gender-transformative prevention and response to GBV and SRHR for women and young people with disabilities.
Around the world, WHO estimates that over 1 billion people live with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities (PWD) include people with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which when they interact with certain barriers (attitudinal, environmental and institutional), might make it hard for them to fully and effectively participate in society on an equal basis with others. Persons with disabilities can experience discrimination related to human rights and fundamental freedoms at the global, national, institutional, community and interpersonal levels.
This corresponds to about 15% of the world's population, with up to 190 million (3.8%) people aged 15 years and older having significant difficulties in functioning, often requiring access to prevention and healthcare response. 19.2% of women worldwide have a disability and 180 - 220 million young people live with disabilities, primarily in developing countries.
The number of people living with disabilities is increasing, due to an increase in chronic health conditions and ageing population; many factors as being causes of disabilities: poor health conditions, lack of (sufficient) treatments, for example, for polio, malaria and meningitis, mishandling at birth, traditional practices, and gender inequality. Road accidents involving passenger buses and commuter motorcycles (‘bodaboda’) are also a significant contributor to disabilities.
In the United Republic of Tanzania, the prevalence of disability is 6.8% (5.7% for males and 7.8% for females) in Tanzania Mainland and 3.2% (3.3% for males and 4.1% for females) in Zanzibar. The disability rates are higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Persons with disabilities in Tanzania are among the poorest, most marginalized and socially excluded groups. Irrespective of where they live and their gender status, persons with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed, illiterate, to have less formal education and have less access to developed support networks and social capital than persons without disabilities.
There is no disaggregation of data to showcase how persons with disabilities - especially women and young people, contribute to the national gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) statistics. However, global data suggests that women and young people with disabilities (WGD and YPWD) are at a high risk of sexual violence, threat, mistreatment, or abandonment. Young persons with disabilities become sexually active and experience their sexuality as early and as often as young people without disabilities, and like many young persons, often without consent, and viewed as a taboo subject and something that should be prevented, discouraged, suppressed or forbidden.
This is closely linked to early, forced and child marriage, which often leads to domestic violence and early or unintended pregnancy. In addition, in Tanzania, people with albinism (PWA), a population group with unique characteristics and identity, yet often categorized as PWD, are particularly vulnerable to violence due to harmful practices and beliefs surrounding their bodies which adds risks that are unique to them within this category. This calls for focused and dedicated efforts to debunk myths, and address stigma and harmful cultural beliefs around WGD, YPWD and PWA and ensure better access to health and social services, education and freedom from the constant fear of being subjected to violence.
Persons with disabilities also have unique and at times greater sexual and reproductive health (SRH) needs. This results from the inaccessibility of information on SRH and rights (SRHR); higher rates of pregnancy due to sexual abuse and rape, being infected with HIV or sexually transmitted infections; and an over-arching stigma. Persons with disabilities are more likely to experience challenges accessing SRH services, because of physical inaccessibility, communication barriers, negative attitudes of service providers, lack of confidentiality, costs, mistreatment, and inadequacy of service delivery. This is particularly true among adolescents with disabilities.
Multiple factors affect women and young people’s lives and behaviours, but gender norms and social norms have a particularly interesting influence. These are unwritten rules that affect how people understand disabilities, GBV and SRHR. They also influence the level of social tolerance of violations of SRHR and GBV as well as how they interact with people with disabilities, women and young people. Power differences between people and communities hold these norms in place, and so sometimes serve to reinforce or create barriers for women and young people in particular those with disabilities.
Cultural and social norms often deem persons with disabilities asexual or hypersexual, despite evidence persons with disabilities are sexually as active as other people. Women with disabilities are often considered not to need SRH services due to the belief they are asexual and unable to bear children. In low and middle-income countries, young people and women with disabilities face additional barriers due to their dependence on household members for care, low decision-making power, GBV, and limited economic independence.
2. Rationale
The Government of Tanzania has ratified the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and continue to make efforts to domesticate its commitment in national legislation, policies and sector plans and multi-sectoral engagement.
However, despite these efforts, weak and unharmonized legal and policy frameworks, limited capacity and coordination within and among national and regional institutions, the persistence of pervasive social norms and values, and insufficient investment in empowerment opportunities, community mobilization and support services for young people and women continue to dampen efforts to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and prevent, respond and mitigate the effects of violence against women and young people with disabilities.
Efforts to improve access to SRHR and GBV prevention and response services for women and young people with disabilities should be guided by an open dialogue and multi-stakeholder consultations that reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities and their unique experiences in Tanzania.
As part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign on gender-based violence in Tanzania, UNFPA, the Embassy of Finland, the members of the Mkuki Coalition, ELCT with Tanzania Interfaith Partnership, Sense International, Felm, Fida, Abilis, and other international and national partners are convening a National Dialogue, which aims to mobilize national action to strengthen rights-based and gender-transformative prevention and response to GBV and SRHR for women and young people with disabilities.
