Sexual and Reproductive Health of Girls and Women With Disabilities

Abstract

The environment, different family structure, social crises and other unfavorable economic circumstances significantly influence the life dynamics, behavior, stress and sources of frustration among persons with disabilities. Attempts to help them are often untimely, not systematic and not effective. The offered solutions for their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) are sporadic, without adequate state support or connection of the relevant line ministries, especially when it comes to the female population. The issue of cooperation between family, school and institutions is old, but with the change of living context, it acquires new meanings and definitions and requires a new approach, both in the study and in practical solution of the problem. The most important problems in the field of SRH are the predominantly conservative birth control, the risky sexual behavior of adolescents and young girls and women, as well as the insufficient level of commitment to the preservation of SRH of the entire population, especially vulnerable categories, such as the socially oppressed and marginalized categories. Therefore, in this area, it is necessary to pay special attention to particularly sensitive groups of the population, such as Roma girls and women, those with disabilities, with infection from the human immunodeficiency virus, but also those who live on the threshold of poverty, especially from rural areas.