PMNCH, the Global Alliance for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Government of Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, United States Mission United at the United Nations and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC), held a special side event on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 during the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66).
The central theme discussed was “Equity and Inclusion for Adolescent Girls Everywhere: Policies and Advocacy Approaches to Promote Disability Inclusion”.
During that event, which took place virtually and in person, delegates called for a greater focus on reducing structural discrimination caused by gender, age and disability through the provision of more resources and technical support.
They urged governments and civil society to adopt an intersectional approach that empowers women and girls with disabilities by consulting and involving them in the development of programs that affect them.
World leaders were urged to end the discrimination that pushes adolescent girls with disabilities “to the furthest behind in life”.
The press release on Wednesday is reproduced below:
Gender, disability and age are key factors of inequity and discrimination. When they intersect, their negative impact is compounded, meaning that adolescent girls with disabilities in particular face overwhelming barriers to realizing their health and rights.
Compared to their peers without disabilities, children and adolescents (age group 0-17 years) with disabilities are 27% more likely to be out of high school, 41% more likely to feel discriminated against and 51% more of feeling discriminated against. unhappy.
Adolescent girls with disabilities fare particularly poorly, facing additional inequalities in access to education, affordable health and other key services, and are at risk of further violations of their personal safety, as their disabilities are exacerbated by the gender and age.
Delegates attending a special side event held on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, virtually and in person, during the 66th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) called for a greater focus on reducing structural discrimination caused by gender, age and disability through the provision of more resources and technical support. They urged governments and civil society to adopt an intersectional approach that empowers women and girls with disabilities by consulting and involving them in the development of programs that affect them.
Equity and Inclusion for Adolescent Girls Everywhere: Policies and Advocacy Approaches to Promote Disability Inclusion, is co-sponsored by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh , the United States Mission to the United Nations, PMNCH, the global alliance for women, children and adolescent health, and the International Disability and Development Consortium (IDDC).
Despite the fact that children and adolescents with disabilities are among the most marginalized and discriminated groups, their priority in the general health agenda is low. The number of children and adolescents (age group 0-17 years) with disabilities worldwide is estimated at almost 240 million (1 in 10 worldwide).
Adolescent girls and young women with disabilities face particular barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive rights (SRHR) services and information, despite having the same rights as other girls and young women, as recognized in various international conventions, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). However, the provision of accessible SRHR information and services for girls and young women with disabilities is virtually non-existent.
When women and girls with disabilities attempt to access SRHR services, they may experience negative and hostile attitudes among service providers, lack of accessible buildings, equipment and transportation, low affordability of services, and isolation in institutions, displacement camps , family homes or group homes.
Women and girls with disabilities are also up to three times more likely to be raped and twice as likely to be survivors of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence (over a longer period and with more serious injuries) than women without disability.
Despite the lack of recorded evidence, it is generally accepted that the pre-existing inequities and discrimination faced by women and adolescent girls with disabilities on a daily basis have been further amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, some women and girls with disabilities who require the assistance of others, such as sign language interpreters, to access SRH or other health services, were no longer allowed to bring those people with them due to the rules of social distancing.
The situation for girls and women with disabilities is only made worse in humanitarian settings, and delegates at the CSW66 side event have also reflected on the current humanitarian crises unfolding in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria and many other parts of the world. Conflict and displacement increase the discrimination that women and girls with disabilities already face in peacetime and destroy their protection systems, making them more vulnerable to exploitation. They may be cut off from general and specialized health and disability-related support services, or face significant barriers to paying for and accessing such services, as well as food, clean water, housing, sanitation items and other basic needs.
Delegates at the event shared evidence on the impact and drivers of discrimination, as well as policy approaches and best practices to improve equity and reduce exclusion, to help girls and women with disabilities live their lives to their fullest. potential.
The session has highlighted lived experiences and explored current challenges and policy opportunities for adolescent girls with disabilities, outlining critical next steps to advance their inclusion. The 2030 Agenda for sustainable development makes it clear that disability must be included in access to development programming and the realization of human rights.
Delegates called for more resources and technical support to be made available to address the needs of all persons with disabilities, and to find and integrate innovative solutions and additional disability-specific policy guidance to create more enabling and accessible environments. Disability-related support services should also be classified as essential services.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include seven targets that refer explicitly to people with disabilities. The 2030 Agenda is based on the principle of leaving no one behind, which means that none of the SDGs can really be achieved unless people with disabilities are included. Furthermore, strengthening health systems and promoting disability inclusion in the health sector are crucial preconditions for both building back better after the COVID-19 pandemic and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
More data is required in this field to support program development. Delegates encouraged states to prioritize the collection and dissemination of disaggregated and disability-related data and information to drive evidence-based programming and accountability.
Finally, but most importantly, event attendees have called for women and adolescent girls with disabilities to be empowered and meaningfully participate in the development of all policies, programs, and legal processes that affect their health, well-being, and status, that is one of the core principles of the PMNCH Call to Action for Teens
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