Dating persons with physical disabilities: The perceptions of South Africans without disabilities

There is good reason to believe that the attitudes of persons without disability towards dating a person with a physical disability might be unfavourable. However, in general, and in the Global South in particular, there is a dearth of research in this area. This study sought to take the first step in addressing this lack of enquiry, by surveying the attitudes of a general population sample in South Africa towards dating people with physical disabilities, using a vignette. Data from 1,723 survey respondents were analysed thematically. Findings reveal largely negative attitudes towards people with physical disabilities. Respondents without disability perceived numerous barriers to dating a person with a physical disability, including social stigma, anxiety, and concerns about the burden of care they believed such a relationship would place upon them. However, there was some evidence to suggest that some positive attitudes do exist, and a few respondents were open to dating a person with physical disabilities. Findings contribute to a nuancing and expanding of the ‘myth of asexuality’ among physically disabled people by showing that people with physical disabilities are actively desexualised by persons without disability. Future research is needed to explore how the inclusive attitudes, of which we did find evidence here, can be further cultivated

The meaning of participation : reflections on our study

CITATION: Hunt, X., et al. 2021. The meaning of participation : reflections on our study. In: Hunt X., Braathen S.H., Chiwaula M., Carew M.T., Rohleder P., Swartz L. (eds). Physical disability and sexuality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-55567-2_10.The original publication is available at https://link.springer.comPublication of this chapter was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access FundIn Chapter 1 we provided a discussion of participatory research as a method for doing research, and provided an outline of what we did in the research project upon which this book is based. In this final chapter, we reflect back on our experiences of doing a participatory research project of this kind.https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-55567-2_10Publisher's versio

The sexual and reproductive rights and benefit derived from sexual and reproductive health services of people with physical disabilities in South Africa: beliefs of non-disabled people

There is a body of theoretical work, and some empirical research, which suggests that non-disabled people assume people with physical disabilities not to be suitable romantic partners, not have sexual drives or desires, or not be sexually active. Access to sexual and reproductive health services for the latter group is a challenge: it has been proposed that people with physical disabilities face barriers to sexual health care access which are structural (such as inaccessible health care provider offices) as well as social (such as health care providers suggesting that people with physical disabilities should not procreate). The present paper explores non-disabled South Africans’ beliefs concerning the degree to which individuals have sexual and reproductive rights, and benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare, for people with physical disabilities and people without disability. Using a survey, we asked 1,989 South Africans to estimate the degree to which people with physical disabilities and people without disability have sexual rights, and benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare services, respectively. Respondents were more likely to support the idea that the population without disability were deserving of sexual rights compared to people with physical disabilities. Respondents were also more likely to rate the degree to which people with physical disability benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare as less than that for people without physical disabilities. These findings provide some of the first empirical support that nondisabled people perceive people with physical disabilities as having fewer sexual and reproductive rights, and deriving less benefit from sexual and reproductive health services, than the population without disability. To have diminished sexual rights, and benefit less from sexual and reproductive healthcare, we suggest, evinces a negation of the sexual and reproductive needs and capacity of people with physical disabilities

Creative collaboration on a disability and sexuality participatory action research project: A reflective diary account

This article presents a team’s engagement with a creative collaborative project challenging the myths about the sexuality of people with physical disabilities in South Africa. The article is presented as a reflective diary account, which has been constructed from minutes of meetings, email correspondence, and personal reflections of the activities undertaken. We reflect on the work we have done and what we have learned as well as the decisions and dilemmas we had along the way and the increasingly creative process. We reflect on our work with reference to participatory action research and the use of arts-based methods for generating and disseminating knowledge. We believe this can provide a useful and practical resource for researchers who are new to participatory research methods

The sexual and reproductive rights and benefit derived from sexual and reproductive health services of people with physical disabilities in South Africa: beliefs of non-disabled people

There is a body of theoretical work, and some empirical research, which suggests that non-disabled people assume people with physical disabilities are not suitable romantic partners, do not have sexual drives or desires, or are not sexually active. It has also been proposed that people with physical disabilities face barriers to sexual healthcare access which are structural as well as social. The present paper explores non-disabled South Africans' beliefs concerning the degree to which non-disabled respondents enjoy sexual and reproductive rights, and benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare, compared to people without disability. Using a survey, we asked 1989 South Africans to estimate the degree to which people with physical disabilities and people without disability have sexual rights, and benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare services, respectively. Respondents were more likely to support the idea that the population without disability were deserving of sexual rights compared to people with physical disabilities. Respondents were more likely to rate the degree to which people with physical disability benefit from sexual and reproductive healthcare as less than that for people without physical disabilities. These findings provide some of the first empirical support that non-disabled people perceive people with physical disabilities as having fewer sexual and reproductive rights, and deriving less benefit from sexual and reproductive health services, than the population without disability. To have diminished sexual rights, and benefit less from sexual and reproductive healthcare, we suggest, evinces a negation of the sexual and reproductive needs and capacity of people with physical disabilities

Some background, and a South African study on sexuality

CITATION: Hunt, X., et al. 2021. Some background, and a South African study on sexuality. In: Hunt X., Braathen S.H., Chiwaula M., Carew M.T., Rohleder P., Swartz L. (eds). Physical disability and sexuality. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-55567-2_1.The original publication is available at https://link.springer.comPublication of this chapter was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access FundIn this chapter, we introduce central concepts and theories relevant to thinking about disability and sexuality in the global South. We discuss what we mean by physical disability, sexuality, gender, and embodiment, and provide a brief description of the research study on which this book is based. Here, too, we provide a rationale and outline for the book.https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-55567-2_1#citeasPublisher's versio

Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa

CITATION: Visagie, S. J., et al. 2018. Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa. African Journal of Disability, 7:a422, doi:10.4102/ajod.v7i0.422.The original publication is available at https://ajod.orgA pilot project to develop and implement a mobile smartphone application (App) that tracks and maps assistive technology (AT) availability in southern Africa was launched in Botswana in 2016. The App was developed and tested through an iterative process. The concept of the App (AT-Info-Map) was well received by most stakeholders within the pilot country, and broader networks. Several technical and logistical obstacles were encountered. These included high data costs; difficulty in accessing AT information from the public healthcare sector, the largest supplier of AT; and the high human resource demand of collecting and keeping up-to-date device-level information within a complex and fragmented supply sector that spans private, public and civil society entities. The challenges were dealt with by keeping the data burden low and eliminating product-level tracking. The App design was expanded to include disability services, contextually specific AT categories and make navigation more intuitive. Long-term sustainability strategies like generating funding through advertisements on the App or supplier usage fees must be explored. Outreach and sensitisation programmes about both the App and AT in general must be intensified. The project team must continually strengthen partnerships with private and public stakeholders to ensure ongoing project engagement. The lessons learnt might be of value to others who wish to embark on initiatives in AT and/or implement Apps in health or disability in southern Africa and in low-resourced settings around the world.https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/422Publisher's versio