Day 4: Women with Disabilities: Sensory Deficits

Good evening Ma’am Nierras and classmates!


I’ve been meaning to post the synthesis for this topic at an earlier date but unfortunately, I seem to keep on forgetting that I need to post my synthesis. So pardon me for the late posting. (At mali pa yung page kung saan ako nagpost nung una...sorry...)


0-0-0-0


This topic really caught my interests even before the start of this semester since my topic for my research proposal was about sensory deficits among mothers specifically those who are Deaf. So, I really had a great time reading your views about this topic. It gave me new insights about women who have sensory deficits. I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Angel, Ms. Jenny, Ms. Ara, Ms. Tina and Ms. Meg and most especially to Ma’am Nierras. I just wish I could say my thanks to you through Filipino Sign Language. ^_^ (language of the Deaf Community).


Here goes the synthesis…


Having a sensory deficit seems to have a great impact on women specifically on the issue of how they will live, how they will learn as well as how they will communicate with others. It greatly affects their roles as a daughter, mother, wife and as well as a professional. It also has a great impact on the elderly people making them more at risk to accidents. Poverty seems to play an important role in the economic status of women with sensory deficits. With poverty, they can’t get any access to health services as well as get any assistance that would be of great help to them in protecting themselves as well as their rights as human beings. The stigma about having sensory deficits is crippling on the part of women. Usually, the community views them as those who are incapable, incompetent or worst, mentally challenged. In the end the, women with sensory deficits suffer social isolation. Overall the impact of having sensory deficits greatly affects the women, physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically.


A lot of initiatives are being done to provide assistance to these women who have sensory deficits. Organizations are set up to provide and help these women get the assistance they need like access to healthcare, empowering them in exerting their rights as a woman as well as a citizen, training them to help them cope up with their sensory deficiency and boost their morale and self-esteem (vocational trainings, sign languages). Centers are also being put up to provide protection for these women who were more at risk of experiencing violence.


It’s nice to know that society is finally taking notice of the presence of these women as well as addressing their needs. True, they may have deficiencies but we must also remember that like us, they too are human women who need protection, assistance and understanding.


This ends my synthesis. Thank you!


Have a nice day and see you all soon!


My sincere apologies again.


Moderator:

Raiza

Before I answer this question I'd like to share how sensory deficit has somehow played an important role in my life today. When I was 12, I dah a dream of joining the Marines, but upon learning that a 20/20 vision was needed my dream came to an end so it was time to set my sights on other things. As I went through my adolescent years I was never seen without my glasses (contact lenses were not yet cheap at that time). I was tagged as a nerd, loser and well you could picture out the rest. It really affected my self-esteem and I can say that majority of the insecurities that I shared to you during our discussion with body image was rooted at that phase of my life. Having poor vision has been an inconvenience at times. There are days when I am in such a hurry that I cannot afford time to put on my contacts (not that I do not look pleasant in my glasses). However, I would say that life would be much easier if I do not have to worry about those things. Also, I can barely see. It would be hard for me to cross the street if I do not have the proper vision.

While, this problem is increasing in among the elderly as part of the changes during aging, a lot of women go through an experience like mine.

Vision Impairment

Prevalence rates of blindness and visual impairment for elderly persons have been consistently demonstrated to increase sharply and monotonically with increasing age (Dana et al. 1990Citation; Klein, Klein, Linton, and De Mets 1991Citation; Salive et al. 1992Citation; Tielsch, Sommer, Witt, Katz, and Royall 1990Citation).

Multiple psychosocial factors have been associated with poor vision in elderly people. Visual impairment among elderly people has been correlated with psychological distress, low morale, and depression (Bazargan and Hamm-Baugh 1995Citation; Branch, Horowitz, and Carr 1989Citation; Horowitz 1995Citation); reduced self-worth, diminished emotional security, and quality of life and well-being (Brenner, Curbow, Javitt, Legro, and Sommer 1993Citation; Lee, Spritzer, and Hays 1997Citation; Scott, Smiddy, Schiffman, Feuer, and Pappas 1999Citation; Wahl, Schilling, Oswald, and Heyl 1999Citation); functional status (Branch et al. 1989Citation; Kington et al. 1997Citation; Lee et al. 1997Citation, Lee et al. 1999Citation; Salive et al. 1992Citation; Scott et al. 1999Citation; West et al. 1997Citation); and social interaction and engagement (Resnick, Fries, and Verbrugge 1997Citation).


Hearing Impairment

Recent studies have shown that hearing impairment among elderly people has doubled in prevalence over the past 30 years in the United States, based on self-reported data on trouble hearing (Strawbridge, Wallhagen, Shema, and Kaplan 2000Citation).

Hearing impairments in elderly people have been associated with a variety of mental conditions, including depression (Cacciatore et al. 1999Citation; Carabellese et al. 1993Citation; Maggi et al. 1998Citation; Strawbridge et al. 2000Citation), self-reported memory problems (Bazargan and Barbe 1994Citation), cognitive capacity (Cacciatore et al. 1999Citation; Lindenberger and Baltes 1994Citation; Marsiske, Delius, Lindenberger, Scherer, and Tesch-Romer 1996Citation), and suspiciousness and paranoid ideation (Almeida, Howard, Levy, and David 1995Citation; Bazargan, Bazargan, and King 2001Citation). In addition, several studies in older adults have indicated a significant relationship between hearing impairment and self-sufficiency (Carabellese et al. 1993Citation), communication ability (Garstecki 1987Citation; Lichtenstein, Bess, and Logan 1988Citation; Pedersen and Rosenhall 1991Citation), quality of life and well-being (Mulrow et al. 1990Citation; Scherer and Frisina 1998Citation), social integration (Resnick et al. 1997Citation), and social isolation (Strawbridge et al. 2000Citation; Weinstein and Ventry 1982Citation).

Reference:
Sensory Impairments and Subjective Well-Being Among Aged African American Persons available at: http://psychsoc.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/5/P268

PORTILLO, Maria Santa R.
MCN – EXEC 4

1. What is the impact of having a sensory deficit on the quality of life and development of a woman? How does it affect her roles, relationship in her family as well as in the community?

Men and women alike depend on their senses to function normally and being deprived of them would place a great impact on their quality of life and development. On the part of the females, such impact is related how such deficits can affect their role performance as a daughter, student, wife and professional.

A female child who suffers from congenital diseases affecting any of her senses can affect the way she looks at herself. Since the growing up years are usually spent along with peers, evaluation of herself as less than others will lead to low self esteem (self-pity) and even drop-outs from school. Another impact will be the need for this population to enter a “special school” in order to study. Some may not afford the expense to enrol their child in those institutions that can cater their child’s needs. So often, the child tends to live against the bullying of her classmates from the typical schools.

A wife and a mother with sensory deficits will feel worthless inside the house specially if she cannot perform well her usual chores; she cannot see how her children’s faces looks like or how they changed as they grow or even teach them with their homework; she cannot hear well and at the same time respond to the needs of her husband and children; she cannot feel their warm and tight embrace.

As a professional, the woman can find it hard to find job for herself. Companies would always hire healthy and physically fit individuals and if there are only very few who would accept applicants like those with sensory deficits.

Stigma is attached within the community among those with sensory deficits. The perception among them is like they are incapacitated individuals who are highly dependent in all their needs from those surrounding them. This is the same inside the family. We have learned that the common causes of disabilities among older women are sensory deficits. Their age and condition makes them dependent from their families. However, home care for this population is provided primarily by family members who report chronic fatigue, anger, depression, stress, family conflicts, and excessive financial costs (Larsen, 1998).


2. What are the issues and concerns that are presently faced by women with sensory deficits?

One of the concerns among women with sensory deficits which we commonly see in the news is that they are the vulnerable subjects for violence (sexual, physical, and emotional). Their perpetrators do not only include the opposite gender but also their co-females themselves. Women face barriers to full equality and advancement because of such factors as race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability (Beijing Platform for Action).1 Persistence of certain cultural, legal and institutional barriers makes women and girls with disabilities the victims of two-fold discrimination: as women and as persons with disabilities (Despouy, 1988).

The Fact Sheet below from the United Nations Women Watch discusses common issues about women with disabilities (not limited to sensory deficits):

• Education: "Less than 5 per cent of children and young persons with disabilities have access to education and training; and girls and young women face significant barriers to participating in social life and development" (Secretary-General of the United Nations in his report on the Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled, A/56/169, paragraph 79).

"The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study" (UN DPI fact sheet)

• Employment and Paid Labor: "People with disabilities in general face difficulties in entering the open labour market, but, seen from a gender perspective, men with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have jobs than women with disabilities. When women with disabilities work, they often experience unequal hiring and promotion standards, unequal access to training and retraining, unequal access to credit and other productive resources, unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation, and they rarely participate in economic decision-making" (Arthur O’Reilly. "Employment Barriers for Women with Disabilities" in "The Right to Decent Work of Persons with Disabilities" IFP/Skills Working Paper No. 14. International Labour Organization 2003).

• Health : "Women with disabilities, of all ages, often have difficulty with physical access to health services. Women with mental disabilities are particularly vulnerable, while there is limited understanding, in general, of the broad range of risks to mental health to which women are disproportionately susceptible as a result of gender discrimination, violence, poverty, armed conflict, dislocation and other forms of social deprivation" (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women General Recommendation 24 Women and Health, in relation to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Article 12) (Twentieth session, 1999, paragraph 25).

"Depressive disorders account for close to 41.9 per cent of the disability from neuropsychiatric disorders among women compared to 29.3 per cent among men" (Women's mental health: The Facts, World Health Organization)

• Housing: "Women with disabilities face significant barriers in accessing adequate housing and services" (Study by Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, "Women and adequate housing", E/CN.4/2005/43, paragraph 64).

"Women with disabilities are … more likely institutionalized than men with disabilities" (Study by Miloon Kothari, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, "Women and adequate housing", E/CN.4/2005/43, paragraph 64).

3. What are the existing initiatives that address these issues and concerns?

Since discrimination against this population is one of the pressing issues, initiatives are available to address it. Example is Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted by UN assembly. This contains articles dealing with issues on women with disabilities.

There is also the Domestic Violence Initiative for women with disabilities (DVI) which provides crisis intervention and education to women with disabilities who are survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, caretaker abuse, or stalking. Also, to provide community education training and technical assistance to agencies seeking knowledge of disability and accessibility issues.

References:
Larsen, L. S., 1998. Effectiveness of a counseling intervention to assist family caregivers of chronically ill relatives. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing, 36(, 26–32. Cited from DeLaune, S., & Lander, P., 2002. Foundations of Nursing Practice, 2nd Ed. Thomson Learning Inc.

Beijing Platform for Action, Chapter IV, Strategic objectives and actions, paragraph 46. Cited from United Nations Women Watch Publication on Women with Disabilities. 2006-2008. Retrieved June 26, 2009. Available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/enable/index.html

Leandro Despouy, Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 1988, "Human Rights and Disabled Persons", Human Rights Studies Series, Number 6. Centre for Human Rights: Geneva, United Nations publication, Sales No. E.92.XIV.4, paragraph 140. Cited from United Nations Women Watch Publication on Women with Disabilities. 2006-2008. Retrieved June 26, 2009. Available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/enable/index.html

United Nations Women Watch Publication on Women with Disabilities. 2006-2008. Retrieved June 26, 2009. Available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/enable/index.html

Domestic Violence Initiative for Women with Disabilities. Available at http://www.dviforwomen.org/

Ma. Cristina D. Arroyo Women’s Health
MSNMCN E4 Prof. Mae Nierras

Women and Sensory Deficits

By 2050 almost 30% of the developed countries population will be over 65.
The most common ailment in the elderly is some type of sensory impairment, in
particular hearing impairment and presbyopia. The most common cause of blindness in the elderly population in developed countries is Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD) (Helsinki, 2006)

Impact of Sensory Deficit on Quality of Life

Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that an uncorrected sensory deprivation was associated with a significant and independent impairment of mood, self-sufficiency in instrumental activities of daily living and social relationships. (Appolonio, 1996)

Visual impairment among elderly people has been correlated with psychological distress, low morale, and depression, reduced self-worth, diminished emotional security, and quality of life and well-being, functional status and social interaction and engagement ( Bazargan, 2001).

Hearing impairments in elderly people have been associated with a variety of mental conditions, including depression, self-reported memory problems, cognitive capacity, and suspiciousness and paranoid ideation. In addition, several studies in older adults have indicated a significant relationship between hearing impairment and self-sufficiency, communication ability, quality of life and well-being , social integration, and social isolation ( Barzagan, 2001).

Single sensory impairments (either visual or auditory) were significantly and independently associated with increased risk for depression and decreased self-sufficiency in daily living activities. Visual dysfunction, but not hearing dysfunction, was independently associated with lower social relationships The quality of life of community-dwelling elderly people is significantly linked to sensory impairment, which can be detected through simple physical examination. Mood level and social relationships are particularly affected by visual impairment, whereas self-sufficiency in daily living is more strongly related to hearing impairment (Carabellese, 1993).


Issues and concerns by women with sensory deficits

1. Security

There are significant numbers of adults for whom abuse and disability compromise their safety and access to victim support services, housing, health and social care services, and the protective networks of family, friends and community.


2. Employment

A 2005 report by the Prime Ministers Strategy Unit Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People concluded that ‘disabled people are less likely to be employed and more likely to be economically inactive’. Only one in two disabled people of working age is currently in employment compared with four out of five non-disabled people.

People with disabilities in general face difficulties in entering the open labour market, but, seen from a gender perspective, men with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have jobs than women with disabilities. When women with disabilities work, they often experience unequal hiring and promotion standards, unequal access to training and retraining, unequal access to credit and other productive resources, unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation, and they rarely participate in economic decision-making.

3. High Level of dependency

People with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) have a wide range of needs, some do not need special learning disability services but others can have potentially very challenging behaviours linked with autism and mental health problems, sometimes needing high levels of skilled and structured support.

4. Education

The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study".

5. Health

Women with disabilities, of all ages, often have difficulty with physical access to health services. Women with mental disabilities are particularly vulnerable, while there is limited understanding, in general, of the broad range of risks to mental health to which women are disproportionately susceptible as a result of gender discrimination, violence, poverty, armed conflict, dislocation and other forms of social deprivation.

6. Housing

Women with disabilities face significant barriers in accessing adequate housing and services.

7. Abuse

Women with disabilities and found that these women had experienced abuse - had been raped. Perpetrators of the abuse were primarily spouses and ex-spouses and strangers, followed by parents, service providers, and dates.


Existing initiatives that addresses these issues and concerns

1. National Domestic Violence Hotline
2. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
3. The Republic Act 344, or Accessibility Law, requires that public buildings meet reasonable accessibility requirements with the end in view of promoting the mobility of persons with disabilities.
4. Executive order No. 385 – Creating a Task Force to Address Gaps/Concerns of Persons
with Disabilities with Fund Allocation.
5. Executive order No. 261 – Creating an Inter-Agency Committee for the Promotion, Employment of Persons with Disabilities with the Department of Labor and Employment as lead agency
6. Accessibility Law (Republic Act 344), approved on 25 February 1983; “an Act to Enhance the Mobility of Disabled Persons by Requiring Certain Buildings, Institutions, Establishments and Public Utilities to Install Access Facilities and other Devices
7. White Cane Act (Republic Act 6759), enacted on 18 September 1989; “an Act Declaring the first of August of Each Year as White Cane Safety Day in the Philippines and for Other Purposes
8. Magna Carta for Disabled Persons (Republic Act 7277), approved on 24 March 1992: “an Act Providing for the Rehabilitation and Self Reliance of Disabled Persons and their Integration into the Mainstream of Society and for Other Purposes.
9. Athletes with disabilities are included in the annual Philippine National Games Sports competition. This led to the organization of a national sports association for persons with disabilities called PHILSPADA (Philippines Sports Association for the Differently-Abled). Filipino athletes with disabilities have won honors for the country in international sports competitions such as the Fespic and Paralympic games.


References:

Appollonio, I. et.al. 1996. Effects of Sensory Aids on the Quality of Life and Mortality of Elderly People: A Multivariate Analysis. Age and Ageing. Volume 25.

Helsinki. 2006. Dissemination Conference for European Research Results. Available at
Bazargan, M. 2001. Sensory Impairments and Subjective Well-Being Among Aged African American Persons. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Volume 56.
UN Progamme on Disability. Women Watch. 2006. WomenWatch: Feature on Women with Disabilities. Available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/.

Nosek M., Howland C. 1008. Abuse and Women with Disabilities. Available at http://www.vawnet.org

I just wanted to add some of the initiatives that have been made to address issues on sensory deficits (what i mentioned here are mostly for the deafs)

3. The National Women’s Health Week in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Office on Women's Health (OWH) launched a nationwide initiative encourages women to follow simple but important steps toward a better all-around health – from head to toe, and passing through the ears, especially the detection and treatment of hearing impairments.

4. In India, Delhi Foundation of Deaf Women (DFDW) is established to become a family to all deaf aiming to provide full fledged training center for deaf in Computer Courses, Typewriting, English and Various Vocational Skills and stands as a healing center for deaf in India.

5. In Afghanistan, SERVE (Serving Emergence Relief and Vocation Enterprise) is a British Christian Charity Organisation, founded in 1972, which respond to the overwhelming needs of the nation in the important areas of Health, Environment, Relief and Disability. They provide vocational training, sign language and literacy training and basic audiological services to more than 60 deaf Afgans (children and adults (Soo Choo Lee, 1999).

6. UK Council on Deafness started a Television network called The Community Channel in 2004 and known as the UK's only not-for-profit TV channel dedicated to inspiring people to do more with their lives. Through a range of lively, innovative and thought- provoking programming they help charities and community groups increase their profile, recruit volunteers and raise funds. Moreover, providing a platform where viewers can have their voice heard and find out how to get involved in community and charity activities.

I really admire the last initiative that i mentioned. It was very wise for the founder of this project to utilize one of most influential means of communication, which is through media to express and gather support.

Ma. Angelica H. Verain 0404286
Exec 4- MSN MCN Prof. Nierras

1. What is the impact of having a sensory deficit on the quality of life and development of a woman? How does it affect her roles, relationship in her family as well as in the community?


Visual and hearing problems are seen as medical problems and as disabilities. However, the main concerns of those affected by the total or partial absence of sight and/or hearing are usually how to live, how to learn and how to communicate. Sensory Deficit may indirectly affect physical function through reduced mobility or increased risk of falls and subsequent fractures The increased risk of falls and injuries may be related either to a reduced ability to detect and discriminate environmental obstacles or to impaired postural control. In older adults, decreased contrast sensitivity and decreased visual acuity are associated with increased sway on a firm support surface.

Research has shown a clear link between women with disabilities and poverty. Poverty is a compounding factor for women with disabilities, with more than one-third of women with disabilities and 41 percent of women with severe disabilities reported as living in poverty (Jans & Stoddard, 1999), among the highest rates of any subgroup in the United States. More than half of formerly employed women with disabilities reported income below 150 percent of the federal poverty line for 1991 (Haveman, Holden, Wolfe, Smith, & Wilson, 2000). Thus, women with disabilities appear to be at double jeopardy for having worse health outcomes because both their impairments and greater likelihood of being poor put them at increased health risk. Disabled women who are poor in Ireland are most often poor because of their dependence on low-levels of disability-related welfare. They are also more likely to be in receipt of short-term disability-related welfare. Another impact of becoming disabled in adulthood is on household income, earnings, and expenses. Changes occur because an individual ceases employment or changes job. Costs in relation to personal assistance were found to be the biggest single cost for disabled people who participated in UK research. Substantial additional costs have also been found as a consequence of being both disabled and having parental responsibilities; the benefits system was not sensitive to the needs of disabled parents;

Disabled women with intellectual disabilities have been found to be a particularly vulnerable group and services to provide for them in Ireland have been found to be under-resourced. The literature recognizes that someone who is socially excluded is at a greater risk of becoming disabled, and someone who becomes disabled is at a greater risk of becoming socially excluded; This society’s attitudes towards women with disabilities comes with difficulties same as the direct effect of sensory impairment. Helen Keller (1948) said that blindness cut her off from things and deafness from people. She wrote ‘I have found deafness to be a much greater handicap than blindness. Deafness ... cheats many of their birthright to knowledge’ (quoted in Grant, 1987) The effect of sight and/or hearing loss depends on the degree of loss and the age at and speed of onset. Early onset of visual or hearing impairment can affect the child’s development with adverse consequences on their mental health. Late onset of visual and hearing impairment which may be mild or progressive may cause a serious effect on person’s communication, confidence and independence.




2. What are the issues and concerns that are presently faced by women with sensory deficits?

• Disability is invariably seen as the significant and defining characteristic, when in reality it may play an unimportant role in the equation. Most children strike problems at some time, whoever their parents are. Greer describes this phenomenon as parental disability becoming the 'hook' on which people 'hang' any problem a child may have (Greer, 1985). Blumberg and Geth write that, as long as women with disabilities are seen as less than whole people in a medical model, their anatomy will needlessly be the focus of their identity (Blumberg, l. 1993 and Geth L. 1992).

• Common belief is that any child who has a parent with a disability must suffer severe social and psychological damage. The following are all commonly speculated to be adversely affected by parental disability. Personality, adjustment, sex-role development, body image, physical health patterns, athletic ability, interpersonal relationships, and the parent-child relationship. Yet the few studies to date do not support these dire assumptions.

• A woman with disabilities access to justice is often impeded by the failure of the courts to recognize their capabilities. Women with a broad range of disabilities have found themselves faced with threats to custody rights. It is not uncommon for children to be taken from parents with disabilities, who often can cope, and certainly could cope were adequate support services provided. And the foster care to which these children are sent is far more expensive than support services to the family would be.( Finger A. 1985).


• In a society that places a premium on female youth and beauty it is not easy to be a women with a disability. In particular, sexuality is viewed quite differently in relation to men with disabilities as opposed to women with disabilities. A man’s right to sexuality is readily accepted but women with disabilities are often seen as sexless. In certain respects they are the victims of the fact that they are women, whereas in others, this very fact goes unacknowledged. For example, in practice they are denied the right to found a family, but they are used to take care of the family they belong to. Their sexuality is denied them, but they are often sexually abused, more frequently than other women.

• Violence against women with disabilities has little researches. Women with disabilities are subject to prejudice and ignorance, not only often from their families, who seek to “protect” them and in so doing prevent them from leading a normal life, but also from society as a whole, which is unaware of the problem or how to deal with it.



3. What are the existing initiatives that address these issues and concerns?
• Federal initiatives are attempting to address a number of disparities in the services received by people with disabilities, including health care (HHS, 2001, 2002; Health Resources and Services Administration,2001). Healthy People 2010, the comprehensive national public health strategy, established goals of preventing secondary medical conditions of people with disabilities and eliminating health care disparities between disabled and nondisabled people (HHS, 2000). However, the inadequate knowledge base regarding disabled people's health care experiences is revealed by the fact that baseline data were unavailable for more than half the 207 objectives related to people with disabilities in Healthy People 2010 (HHS, 2000).

• South Asian regional project iincreases the visibility of disabled women in the disability movement and to ensure that their voices are heard. Core non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners are Association of Women with Disabilities (AKASA) in Sri Lanka, Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Socially Vulnerable (SARPV) in Bangladesh, and Association of Women with Disabilities (AWWD) in India. Together, they hope to build the capacity and confidence of disabled women to be leaders with prominent voices in the movement for disabled people's rights. A broader aim is to encourage the creation of a movement of disabled women in every region and to create spaces for members to link up in the future.

• Women with Disabilities Center (WWDC) which is a community service program of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) is run by women with disabilities in collaboration with health care providers. Their mission is to promote the safety and dignity of women and girls with disabilities by advocating for full access to quality healthcare and support services. The Center's services and programs empower women and girls with disabilities to practice self-determination in achieving lifelong physical and emotional wellness.

References:
• Finger,A. (1985) 'Claiming All of Our Bodies: Reproductive Rights and Disability', With the Power of Each Breath: A Disabled Womans Anthology, Browne,S.E.. Connors,D. and Stear ,N. (eds.), Cleis Press San Francisco.
• (19 ) Greer, B.G. (1985) 'Children of Physically Disabled Parents: Some Thoughts, Facts and Hypotheses', Children of Handicapped Parents: Research and Clinical Perspectives, Thurman, S.K (ed.), Academic Press, New York.
• (20) Blumberg, L. (1993) 'The personal is political-Medical Attitudes Towards Disability'. Health/PAC Bulletin Summer (p35-37).
• (21) Geth L. (1992) 'Attitudes Towards People With Disabilities' Medical journal of Australia Vol 157: 7/21: (p725-726).

Women with Disabilities: Sensory Deficits
Goodafternoon Ma’am Nierras and classmates!

I’m Raiza and I will be one of the moderators for the topic with regards to Women with Disabilities specifically those who have sensory deficits. The following questions are posted to guide you as you read and learn about the experiences and issues faced by women who have sensory deficits.

1. What is the impact of having a sensory deficit on the quality of life and development of a woman? How does it affect her roles, relationship in her family as well as in the community?
2. What are the issues and concerns that are presently faced by women with sensory deficits?
3. What are the existing initiatives that addresses these issues and concerns?

Overview of the Topic

FACTS: (UN Organization: Women Watch “Women with Disabilities”)

• About 650 million people in the world—or 10 % of the world’s population— live with disabilities, and frequently encounter a myriad of physical and social obstacles. They often lack the opportunities of the mainstream population and are usually among the most marginalized in society.

• Women face barriers to full equality and advancement because of such factors as race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability

• Persistence of certain cultural, legal and institutional barriers makes women and girls with disabilities the victims of two-fold discrimination: as women and as persons with disabilities

• Girls and women of all ages with any form of disability are among the more vulnerable and marginalized of society. There is therefore need to take into account and to address their concerns in all policy-making and programming. Special measures are needed at all levels to integrate them into the mainstream of development

• Often, women with disabilities are invisible both among those promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, and those promoting gender equality and the advancement of women.

• Less than 5% of children and young persons with disabilities have access to education and training; and girls and young women face significant barriers to participating in social life and development

• The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3 per cent, and 1%for women with disabilities, according to a 1998 UNDP study

• People with disabilities in general face difficulties in entering the open labour market, but, seen from a gender perspective, men with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have jobs than women with disabilities. When women with disabilities work, they often experience unequal hiring and promotion standards, unequal access to training and retraining, unequal access to credit and other productive resources, unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation, and they rarely participate in economic decision-making

• Every minute, more than 30 women are seriously injured or disabled during labor… However, those 15 – 50 million women generally go unnoticed

• Women with disabilities, of all ages, often have difficulty with physical access to health services. Women with mental disabilities are particularly vulnerable, while there is limited understanding, in general, of the broad range of risks to mental health to which women are disproportionately susceptible as a result of gender discrimination, violence, poverty, armed conflict, dislocation and other forms of social deprivation

• Depressive disorders account for close to 41.9% of the disability from neuropsychiatric disorders among women compared to 29.3% among men

• Women with disabilities face significant barriers in accessing adequate housing and services

• Women with disabilities are … more likely institutionalized than men with disabilities

• The prevalence of having ever experienced physical or sexual abuse was 52% for women both with and without disabilities. Important differences between the groups, however, were that women with disabilities reported a larger number of perpetrators, with the most common being intimate partners, followed by family members, and the duration of the abuse was longer. They were also more likely to experience abuse by attendants, strangers, and health care providers. Compared to women without disabilities, women with disabilities were more likely to report more intense experiences of abuse, including the combination of multiple incidents, multiple perpetrators, and longer duration (Baylor College of Medicine “Violence Against Women with Disabilities—Prevalence” )

Sensory deficit is defined as the disorder of sensation. It can be caused by certain medical conditions, congenital problems, aging process as well as accidents.

In the study done by Molina et al (1996), sensory deficits such as visual and hearing loss has a great impact on the lives of the elderly women, making them physically dependent .Due to visual deficits, they are more prone to risks such as falls and subsequent fractures which may be related either to a reduced ability to detect and discriminate environmental obstacles or to impaired postural control. An obvious effect of hearing impairment is the diminished ability to communicate, which has also been associated with reduced mobility.
As of now there are laws that are enacted in the congress that protects the rights and welfare of women with sensory deficits. International organizations create programs that provide assistance to women. But sadly there are still women with disabilities who are still in “the dark”.

REFERENCES:

“Learning Disability, Physical Disability and Sensory Impairment” retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.croydon.nhs.uk/aboutus/ourpriorities/Documents/JSNA6Disability.pdf.

Bazargan, M.’ Baker, R.S., Bazargan, S. H. 2001 “Sensory Impairments and Subjective Well-Being Among Aged African American Persons” Journals of Gerontology retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://psychsoc.gerontologyjournals.org/cgi/content/full/56/5/P268


Women with Disabilities retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ enable/index.html

Baylor College of Medicine “Violence Against Women with Disabilities—Prevalence” retrieved June 25, 2009 from http://www.bcm.edu/crowd/?pmid=1325


- Colleagues, I'll be posting some articles related to this topic on our yahoogroup. ^_^
-sorry for the late post. My posting was aborted due to intermittent internet disconnection a few hours ago. Sorry.