Disability and sexuality
This article, I continue to unpack the provisions of the National Disability Policy which was launched by President Mnangagwa on June 9, 2021.
THE Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, led by Honourable Minister Professor Paul Mavima oversees the implementation of the National Disability Policy, thus moving the provisions of the policy from paper to the real world to make a positive difference in the lives of persons with disabilities and their families.
The focus of this article is on Section 3.10 (Sexuality) of the National Disability Policy, which is set out as follows:
3.10 Sexuality
3.10.1 Enforce investigation and prosecution of harmful traditional religious and any other practices that result in the sexual abuse of persons with disabilities in all contexts.
3.10.2 Traditional healers and religious prophets that “prescribe” sex with girls and women with disabilities as a “cure” for HIV, a conduit for getting rich and for any other reason must be combated and prosecuted.
3.10.3 The investigation and prosecution of persons who earn an income by forcefully “using” persons with disabilities as commercial sex workers, must be enforced.
3.10.4 Persons with disabilities must not be denied marriage, family, parenthood and relationships at appropriate ages as provided by the law and on an equal basis with others.
3.10.5 Persons with disabilities who are of marriageable age, must not be denied their right to found a family on the basis of free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3.10.6 Incidences of people who ill-treat persons with disabilities, who would have married their family members must be investigated and where appropriate, the perpetrators must be prosecuted.
3.10.7: Persons with disabilities including children, shall retain their fertility on an equal basis with others.
Sterilisation of persons with disabilities without their free and informed consent is therefore an offence.
3.10.8 — Persons with disabilities should not be denied the right to decide on the number and spacing of their own children, to have access to age appropriate information, reproductive and family planning education and child rearing practices…
3.10.9 — Raise awareness against the harmful practice of blaming, ill-treating and abandoning mothers who give birth to children with disabilities.
3.10.10 — Mothers who give birth to children with disabilities and their partners must be given appropriate support within the healthcare and the social welfare system immediately after delivery of the child and thereafter.
3.10.11 — Include the subject of disability and sexuality, particularly the individual’s right to exercise free and informed consent, in the curriculum of all health and allied professionals, all social workers, all educators and support staff, justice delivery officials that include police and Court officials, and any other relevant officials.
3.10.12 — Rehabilitation officials must be trained on how to provide information and support the sexuality of children and adults with disabilities.
3.10.13 — Punishing persons with disabilities who engage in sexual relations of their choice is an offence — like everyone else persons with disabilities have the right to engage in consensual sexual relations.
3.10.14 — Persons with disabilities must be included in holistic sexuality education programs in schools, rehabilitation institutions and communities and other relevant fora.
3.10.15 — All sexual health programmes including HIV programs (prevention, treatment, care and support) should not offer blanket solutions to communities at the exclusion of persons with disabilities
3.10.16 — All sexual health programmes must offer accessible physical infrastructure, information and communication and services.
3.10.17 — Ensuring confidentiality, of all sexual health statistics including HIV statistics must be disaggregated on the basis of disability and must be submitted to the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in November of each year.
3.10.18 — Raise awareness about the sexual rights of persons with disabilities and encourage the open acknowledgement and discussion of the subject of sexuality of persons with disabilities in society.
3.10.19 — Persons with disabilities including children with disabilities must not be forced into any arrangement on the fallacious belief that they are asexual beings for example, sharing bedding with persons of the opposite sex.
3.10.20 — Promote the concept of and support the development of peer counselling programmes as a self-help programme that holds the potential to enable the self-growth of persons with disabilities.
3.10.21 — Rehabilitation institutions, schools and healthcare facilities must provide free sanitary ware to women and girls with disabilities.
3.10.22 — Persons with disabilities must be empowered to claim their agency and to challenge practices of oppression that characterise their experiences of sexuality.
3.10.23 — Sexual health information, including that of sexual and reproductive health must be provided in accessible formats, such as Zimbabwean Sign Language and Braille.
So what does it all mean? Sexuality is a central aspect of humanity and it encompasses sex, gender identities and roles, eroticism, intimacy and reproduction.
Sexuality has historically been regarded as male sexuality or as reproduction when it is being considered in the context of women.
But the National Disability Policy illuminates the importance of the sexuality of all persons including that of women with disabilities as separate and distinct from the sexuality of men.
Defining women’s sexuality as reproduction is therefore too narrow, because sexual feelings and pleasure can still be present in non-reproductive situations of menopause, infertility, and contraceptive use.
Although views on sexuality and disability often vary among cultures, it is commonly held that persons with disabilities are asexual beings who are innocent of sexual thoughts, feelings and experiences, hence they are generally left out in most sexual and reproductive health care programmes that include HIV, contraceptives, maternal health care etc.
In considering the construction of sexuality by persons with disabilities, research has indicated that women in most African countries including women with disabilities are discouraged from talking openly about sex.
Sexuality is often regarded as a private, sacred, personal, private bedroom matter that should be kept out of the public domain.
But, if sexuality is swept under the carpet, it becomes easier to use it negatively in violence, abuse, control, oppression, to cover up sexual scandals and to misinform one another. The National Disability Policy creates knowledge through illuminating the obscure, silenced and suppressed knowledge of sexualities of persons with disabilities, thus recognising that hiding such knowledge promotes the harmful practices that are illuminated in Section 10 of the policy as articulated above.
Let us all join hands to prevent and address any forms of abuse that are related to the sexuality of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe.
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