Supporting Intellectually Disabled Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: A Qualitative Study With Support Workers in Aotearoa New Zealand

This article presents findings from a qualitative study of support worker responses to intellectually disabled women's sex and reproductive health. Drawing on reproductive justice theory, interviews with seven support workers from various disability service providers in New Zealand were analyze...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women's reproductive health 2024-04, Vol.11 (2), p.396-416
Main Authors: Bloom, Olivia, Morison, Tracy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
discourse
intellectual disability
Sexual and reproductive rights
support workers
women
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Summary:This article presents findings from a qualitative study of support worker responses to intellectually disabled women's sex and reproductive health. Drawing on reproductive justice theory, interviews with seven support workers from various disability service providers in New Zealand were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings point to the persistence of a sexual risk discourse, which undermines progressive perspectives, including the rights-based approach that is usually advocated for in sexual and reproductive health, and ultimately constrains intellectually disabled women's sexual agency. The value of a reproductive justice framework for countering risk-oriented framings in favor of a social justice perspective that expands the notions of individual rights is discussed. The findings support a growing global evidence base and have implications for national and international policy and practice.
ISSN:2329-3691
2329-3713
DOI:10.1080/23293691.2023.2271897