{"id":8949,"date":"2020-03-08T11:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-03-08T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scld.org.uk\/?p=8949"},"modified":"2020-03-06T17:02:17","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T17:02:17","slug":"leave-no-woman-behind-women-with-a-learning-disability-and-iwd2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scld.org.uk\/leave-no-woman-behind-women-with-a-learning-disability-and-iwd2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave no woman behind – women with a learning disability and #IWD2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

On International Women’s Day 2020 we asked Eilidh Dickson, Policy and Parliamentary Officer at Engender for her thoughts on what still needs to be done to uphold the rights of women with learning disabilities in Scotland…<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 8th<\/sup> of March marks International Women\u2019s Day 2020<\/a>. This day is an important marker for us to reflect on progress, yet far too often the vision of progress excludes the most marginalised women. Our advocacy for women\u2019s rights must shine a light on how groups, including disabled women, see their rights restricted even further and ensure that their voices and experiences are heard.<\/p>\n

This year we reflect on progress following our 2018 report \u2018Our Bodies Our Rights\u2019<\/a> which outlines disabled women\u2019s experiences of sex, reproductive rights, parenting, experiences of gender-based violence and the services that support them. We found that disabled women in Scotland face additional barriers to accessing their rights because of stigma, stereotyping, inaccessible services and healthcare facilities that lack appropriate aids. We also found that training, policy, and guidance ignores the very existence of disabled women.<\/p>\n

We also found that training, policy, and guidance ignores the very existence of disabled women.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Engender<\/a> worked in partnership with Inclusion Scotland<\/a> and the Scottish Disability Equality Forum<\/a> to make the case that Gender Matters in Disability. <\/a>As we began scoping our research, we quickly found that nearly all relevant Scottish Government policy frameworks at this time made little reference to disabled people\u2019s sexual and reproductive health.<\/p>\n

The \u2018Our Bodies Our Rights\u2019<\/a> project began with a focus on disabled women\u2019s perspectives on how services supported them to parent and have good sexual health and wellbeing. We wanted to know what was being done well and what was missing. We wanted to hear how women thought things could be improved. To do this we:<\/p>\n

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