‘They don’t see us to be sexual beings’: barriers to sexual intimacy and reproductive rights among women with disabilities in northern Ghana

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, women with disabilities experience more difficulty realising sexual intimacy and their reproductive rights compared to those without disability. However, contextual empirical evidence on specific barriers to sexual intimacy and reproductive rights in Sub-Saharan Africa is scant. The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to achieving sexual intimacy and reproductive rights among women with disabilities in northern Ghana. METHODS: A descriptive phenomenological qualitative study was conducted in Northern Ghana. A total of 77 reproductive-aged women with disabilities were purposively selected and individually interviewed. Thematic content analysis technique was used to analyse and present the data. RESULTS: Women with disabilities encountered seven intersectional barriers to realising sexual intimacy and reproductive rights depending on disability type. These included negative public perception that women with disabilities are not sexually attractive; mobility challenges which limit opportunities for meeting potential sexual partners; lack of social support; fear that women with disabilities may give birth to children with disabilities; stereotypes that women with disabilities may not fulfil their mothering roles; limited access to reproductive health information and services; and the fact that they are often not believed in cases where they complain about sexual abuse. CONCLUSION: Public education about the sexuality and reproductive rights of women with disabilities is needed. Improvement in access to physical healthcare infrastructure as well as to essential reproductive health information and services would also be critical in helping WWDs realise their reproductive rights.