A1 Journal article (refereed)
Relational, Ableist and Gendered Sites of Violence : Perspectives of Tanzanian Girls With Disabilities on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (2024)
Mesiäislehto, V. (2024). Relational, Ableist and Gendered Sites of Violence : Perspectives of Tanzanian Girls With Disabilities on Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services. Forum for Development Studies, 51(1), 25-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2023.2264857
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Mesiäislehto, Virpi
Journal or series: Forum for Development Studies
ISSN: 0803-9410
eISSN: 1891-1765
Publication year: 2024
Publication date: 04/10/2023
Volume: 51
Issue number: 1
Pages range: 25-47
Publisher: Routledge
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08039410.2023.2264857
Publication open access: Openly available
Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel
Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/89505
Abstract
Adolescent girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health services is a critical development issue in Tanzania where the intersection of disability and adolescence is compounded by barriers to sexual and reproductive health service access and socially normalised gender-based violence. Using the method of empathy-based stories, I explored the perceptions of 136 Tanzanian adolescent girls with disabilities of how gender-based violence and access to sexual and reproductive health services are intertwined. The findings demonstrate that the intersection of disability and adolescence within sexual and reproductive health services render invisible various forms of violence, which are not only gendered but also ableist. Recognising access to sexual and reproductive health services as a distinct site of violence and addressing the issue in relevant policies and programmes could strengthen the sexual and reproductive health of girls with disabilities. Through an Afrocentric perspective, the findings contribute to the current theoretical constructs used to study disability and development. They call for a reconsideration of relational dynamics in the context of accessible and protected sexual and reproductive health services.
Keywords: gender-based harassment; sexual health; reproductive health; sexual rights; health services; young people; disability
Free keywords: sexual and reproductive health and rights; access to sexual and reproductive health services; gender-based violence; adolescence; disability; Tanzania
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
VIRTA submission year: 2023
JUFO rating: 1