| Short Summary | | Title | Violence and Abuse against Women with Disabilities in Malawi | | Author | Hoem Kvam, M. and Hellum Braathen, S. | | Publication Date | November 2006 | | Publisher | SINTEF Health Research | | Summary Source | Adapted from source. | | Summary | Through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, this study examines the experiences of abuse, violence and neglect of 23 women with disabilities in the urban Blantyre district of Malawi. The disabilities of the interviewees include visual, mental, hearing and physical impairments. In contrast to research from Europe and North America, this study finds that most of the women during childhood are treated like any other children in the family and are not subjected to sexual abuse. However, education is difficult for them, with schools and the materials not adjusted to their needs. Several women, however, report sexual abuse as an adult. Many talked of the phenomena of men tricking women with disabilities into having sex with them. In many instances, when the woman becomes pregnant, the man disappears - the interviewees want the fathers to be made financially accountable. Informants also highlight that health clinics are not easily accessible, information material is seldom in Braille and health care professionals rarely know sign-language. Also, medicines are often too expensive to purchase. The research team sees the better education of women with disabilities as a key means to their empowerment. Through better education they will get better jobs, becoming more economically independent with the higher status that this brings.
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