The myth of asexuality? Disability stigma as a barrier to sexual relationships in South Africa Literature review


Relationship between the literature and the present project



Yüklə 285,89 Kb.
səhifə3/12
tarix24.12.2017
ölçüsü285,89 Kb.
#17807
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   ...   12

Relationship between the literature and the present project

Although the above discussion has presented some key ways in which the extant South African literature has contributed to a better understanding of sexuality and (physical) disability, it is important to highlight that, in comparison to other contexts (e.g., USA, Europe), the available literature is sparse (see annotated bibliography and Interim Report). As such, this project fills a much needed gap and also investigates areas which have hitherto, to our knowledge, received no empirical attention (see below).


Furthermore, the project lays important groundwork for future research to address new emerging theoretical and practical issues, as well as apply innovative qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of disability and sexuality in South Africa.

Future research

Presented below are some pressing gaps identified in the South African literature, which have received little or no empirical attention to date.



The attitudes of non-disabled South Africans

Some studies have investigated the views of parents of children with disabilities and have also explored whether these perceptions are a product of the wider community (e.g., McKenzie, 2013). Yet, no study has systematically examined the attitudes that non- disabled South Africans hold toward the sexuality of persons with physical disabilities.


Given that data collected from persons with disabilities suggest they encounter negative societal attitudes toward their sexuality, there is a pressing need to better understand the perceptions of the general population. To our knowledge, the present project is the first piece of empirical research to address this (see Study 1).

Interventions to improve attitudes and access to sexual healthcare and information

Although the South African literature has elucidated some of the social and structural barriers to disabled sexuality (e.g., Mavuso & Maharaj, 2015), very little work has been conducted on solutions to these problems. There is a need to test interventions to improve both attitudes and access to sexual healthcare and information. By accessing the experiences of persons with physical disabilities, as well as the attitudes of non- disabled South Africans, the present project lays the groundwork for research to begin in this direction. A particular challenge will be to ensure that any interventions are flexible enough to be adapted to suit the needs of South Africa’s diverse population. For example, interventions delivered via audio as part of an on-line questionnaire may need to be translated and transferred to portable devices in order to reach non-English speakers residing in low income townships in the country.



Sexuality, disability and other marginalised identities

The South African literature has paid attention to how disability intersects with other marginalised identities, such as culture (e.g., Hanass-Hancock, 2009), youth (e.g., Chappell, 2015), and poverty (McKenzie, 2013). However, there are identities that have as of yet received little empirical attention. For example, the experiences of persons with physical disabilities who belong to a sexual minority (e.g., bisexual; gay or lesbian) have not been explored. Moreover, although research has investigated gender differences and how these shape sexuality experiences and access to sexual healthcare (e.g., Rohleder et al. 2012), knowledge of the intersection between disability and motherhood is sparse. These differences are representative of disparities present in the global literature and as such, signify that there needs to be a wide call to action to rectify them.



Methodological developments

The South African literature has made good use of a wide range of methodologies, both qualitative and quantitative. However, there is ample room for further methodological innovation.


As one aim of the extant qualitative work conducted has been to empower and give agency to persons with physical disabilities as sexual beings (e.g., Chappel et al. 2014), this should be further developed through the use of innovative participatory methods. The present project addresses this aim by using Photovoice (Wang & Burris, 1997). Photovoice is a participatory research technique in which participants are trained as co- researchers and photographers. Participants are asked to take photographs that represent their everyday experience, and are then invited to provide narrative discussion in relation to illustrative images (Vaughan, 2014). The photographs are used as both visual data and as stimuli to elicit personal narratives. One benefit that this approach confers is the creation of a corpus of intuitive and easily understandable data, which can be disseminated among the general public to enhance interest and knowledge of disabled sexuality (see Interim Report).
A key aim of quantitative work is nearly always to generalize findings to the wider population. This aim can be furthered by using multi-level modelling in future studies of this type. Multi-level modelling is a statistical technique that can be used to accurately represent observed data which have a hierarchal or clustered structure (e.g., two individuals may share the same culture, but be nested in different superordinate structures, like schools or provinces). Multi-level models represent hierarchal data more accurately than regression-based approaches and allow for close inspection of the “added value” of group-level factors (Field, 2009). Inferences can also be made to a wider population. Thus, existing South African research dealing with hierarchal data structures could be extended using multi-level modelling. Below are two examples of such work:

  • Research investigating barriers to sexual education among persons with disabilities within different special education schools (e.g., Chirawu et al. 2014; Louw et al., 2014).

  • Research investigating risk factors of HIV among persons with physical disabilities across different provinces in South Africa (e.g., Rohleder et al., 2012).


Yüklə 285,89 Kb.

Dostları ilə paylaş:
1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   ...   12




Verilənlər bazası müəlliflik hüququ ilə müdafiə olunur ©genderi.org 2024
rəhbərliyinə müraciət

    Ana səhifə