(Ghana, Africa) Maame Asaabea (not her real name) is a 28-year-old physically disabled mother of twins, who was once sexually abused at her hometown.
She recounts how men in her circles assumed that because she is disabled, she may not be attractive enough to be proposed to.
“Some of the men think I need sex, so they offer to do me a favour by wanting to sexually abuse me, in the community where I live now, I feel threatened by the presence of one man who monitors me consistently. Sometimes, late at night, around 11 p.m. he will knock on my door and say; “Hello Asaabea, I think you need to be serviced,” she said.
Maame Asaabea, who uses two elbow crutches due to her fragile legs, gave birth to her twins in January 2021, after she was sexually abused by a neighbour at her hometown.
Like Asabea, the Sexual Reproductive Health Rights of many females with disabilities are ignored by society and even family members.
A research by the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service indicated that women and girls with disability are three times more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse compared to others.
More on this story here.
