Núcleo Disca

Disability and citizenship

Archive

  1. Haitianizacion de la migración: La falta de apego de mujeres haitianas en el discurso médico de la ciudad de Rancagua, Chile [Haitianization of Migration: The Lack of Attachment of Haitian Women in the Medical Discourse of the City of Rancagua, Chile]

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    Points of interest:

    • The objective of this article is to analyze the narratives of medical professionals in the city of Rancagua (capital of the O’Higgins Region, central Chile), about the reproductive health/motherhood of Haitian women.
    • Haitian women face more obstacles to receiving good medical care: there are no translators, there is a lack of information, and cultural differences are not respected.
    • Being a mother and a migrant is difficult. Many times, these women are judged for not fitting the image of a “good mother” according to what is expected in Chile. This puts them in an unfair position and their way of interacting with their babies is questioned.
    • Doctors in Rancagua say that Haitian women do not show enough affection to their babies. This was called “lack of attachment” in the research.
    • Doctors compare Haitian mothers with other migrant mothers and say that they do not care for their children in the same way. This creates mistrust toward them.
    • The study shows that Haitian women are discriminated against for being Black. Medical staff see them as different, inferior, or “less civilized.”
    • Racist ideas influence how these women are treated. Negative images are built that affect their access to healthcare and that of their children.
    • More births, same problems. Although the number of Haitian women giving birth in Rancagua has increased, the health system has not changed or adapted to serve them better.
    • Importance of the intercultural approach. The study says a change is necessary. Health care needs to understand and respect different cultures and ways of being a mother.

     

    Notes:

    • The following summary was prepared by Núcleo Milenio DISCA and is based exclusively on the original publication. Therefore, it should not be used for citations or references.
    • This article was originally published in English and Spanish.

  2. Motherhood, disability and rurality: Descolonizing practices and knowledge via the Las Quiscas case in Chile

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    Points of interest:

    • Women with disabilities face a number of obstacles in the exercise of their motherhood.
    • The objective of this article was to investigate the life trajectory of a woman with a visual disability regarding her motherhood process in a rural area of the south-central region of Chile.
    • Various techniques were used in this case study, such as in-depth interviews and photographic records.

     

    Notes:

    • The following summary was prepared by the Millennium Nucleus DISCA and is based exclusively on the publication. Therefore, it cannot be used for citations or references.
    • This article was originally published in English.

  3. Informed Consent and Support for Decision-Making: A Critical Review of Legal Reforms in Latin America

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    Persons with intellectual and cognitive disabilities (hereinafter PICDs) face significant barriers when accessing health treatment and satisfying their right to enjoy the highest possible standard of health . This is worrying to the extent that these persons also experience a greater need for such treatments and have higher mortality and morbidity rates than the rest of the population. These difficulties impact access to health promotion policies and curative health treatments, and include, for example, inadequate time allocation by health care workers, discrimination, lack of reasonable adjustments or poor accessibility to premises and health systems. These barriers also affect the ability to select health care treatment and to control how it is provided. The latter affects PICDs in a particularly acute way due to a diversity of factors, which include, on the one hand, barriers associated with their impairments, such as those that affect communication, perception or memory, and, on the other hand, barriers socially constructed in their environment, which include, among others, paternalistic attitudes, lack of support from their caregivers and lack of expertise and training of health care workers, which often leads to discrimination and mistreatment.

    To the extent that historically, PICDs have been subjected to regimes of legal incapacity where they are appointed a representative to make decisions for them on property and personal matters – as is the case with interdiction and guardianship in Latin America –, health legislation has relied on these institutions to determine who should make decisions regarding their health treatment. with the emergence of the debate on the need to provide informed consent (hereinafter IC) in the second half of the 20Thcentury, which reconstructs the doctor-patient relationship in terms of individual autonomy, the question has arisen about how PICDs can authorise health treatment. The default legal response, to the extent that IC appears as a personal legal act, is that if the person is under a regime of legal incapacity, the person who must provide IC as a substitute is their legal representative.

     

    Notes:

    • This publication is a chapter from the book “Legal Capacity, Disability and Human Rights”
    • This book is not free to access.
    • This book was published in English.

  4. Mujeres en situación de discapacidad: Cuando el acceso a derechos reproductivos sigue siendo un privilegio [Women with disabilities: When access to reproductive rights remains a privilege]

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    Points of interest:

    • The research team from Corporación Miles and external partners publish the fifth report dealing with Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Chile.
    • It is important to recognize the reality of girls and people with disabilities.
    • The report provides background information and arguments on the sexual and reproductive health status of girls and women with disabilities.
    • Miles Corporation provides this report to be useful in the work of other organizations or individuals.
    • It is important to share the desire to protect and ensure the sexual and reproductive rights of girls and women with disabilities in Chile and in other countries.

    Notes:

    • This publication corresponds to a chapter of the book “Women in situations of disability: when access to reproductive rights remains a privilege”.
    • The following summary was prepared by the Millennium Nucleus DISCA and is based exclusively on the publication. Therefore, it cannot be used for citations or references.
    • This book is in digital format and can be downloaded for free from the Miles Corporation website.
    • This book was originally published in Spanish.

  5. Barriers in the Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health: Experiences of women with disabilities in the far south of Chile

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    In this article published in Ex Aequo – Journal of the Portuguese Association for Women’s Studies, important findings are highlighted regarding the exercise of sexual and reproductive health rights among women with disabilities.

    Points of interest:

    • This study explores the barriers to accessing sexual and reproductive health services for women with disabilities within the public system in the Magallanes region.
    • The 15 women interviewed express low satisfaction with the quality of sexual and reproductive health services.
    • Women with disabilities report limitations caused by healthcare staff, physical environment barriers, and administrative constraints.
    • There is a double discrimination against women with disabilities in healthcare settings: they are discriminated against both for being women and for having disabilities.
    • They emphasize that their needs are not considered during interactions with healthcare personnel, and they are not allowed to make decisions independently.

     

    Notes:

    • The following summary was prepared by Núcleo Milenio DISCA and is based exclusively on the original publication. Therefore, it should not be used for citations or references.
    • This article was originally published in English.

  6. What Do a Group of Chilean Youth with Down Syndrome Know About Puberty, Romantic Relationships, and Reproduction?

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    This article, published in the journal Siglo Cero and available only in Spanish, presents important findings related to the sexual and reproductive health of young people with Down syndrome.

    Points of interest:

    • This study describes the knowledge that young people with Down syndrome have about puberty, romantic relationships, and reproduction.
    • The 12 participants with Down syndrome, aged 13 to 18 and divided into two focus groups, demonstrated limited understanding of basic concepts such as puberty, romantic relationships, and reproduction.
    • The female participants had never heard the word “sexuality,” while the male participants associated the term with “sex,” “romantic relationships,” and “family.”
    • Both groups held misconceptions about the beginning of human life and reproduction.
    • Most participants received information about sexuality from their families. This underscores the need for more formal education in this area, such as sexuality education programs specifically designed for youth with Down syndrome.

     

    Notes:

    • The following summary was prepared by Núcleo Milenio DISCA and is based exclusively on the original publication. Therefore, it should not be used for citations or references.
    • This article was originally published in English.