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Women with disabilities and their double vulnerability: contributions for setting up comprehensive health care practices

Women with disabilities have few measures geared to their needs in the primary health care services. Despite the attention given to the female population in these facilities, they still fail to address specificities of women with disabilities, such as issues related to their sexual and reproductive rights and their double vulnerability, both as women and as disabled individuals. This research is part of a qualitative study to identify the individual, social and programmed double vulnerability of fifteen women with different types and degrees of disabilities, who are frequenters of three primary health care facilities in São Paulo city. The women's narratives highlighted experiences of rejection or overprotection in their family relationships, difficulties in obtaining equipment for their autonomy, poor education and lack of professional qualification, lower social participation, obstacles in their sex lives and motherhood. They face physical and communication barriers and poor care from primary health care services. All of the dimensions of vulnerability are present and addressing them makes it possible to build comprehensive health care practices that ensure the human rights of groups that historically experience violations, namely women and disabled persons.

Gender and disability; Disabled persons; Comprehensive health care; Women's health; Vulnerability


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