Breaking the barriers for young women and men with disabilities

By Talaia Mika

APIA, SAMOA – 23 AUGUST 2022: A Report on a 3-year assessment of the barriers facing young people with disabilities was launched today at the Taumeasina Island Resort.

The report will be used by government Ministries stakeholders as a guide to tackle long time issues experienced by people with disabilities such as “being stripped of their rights to decide” and more.

Women and young people with disabilities in Samoa experience a range of restrictions to accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender-based violence (GBV) services on an equal basis with others and to realizing their rights to SRH legal capacity, and freedom from violence.

Barriers manifest in a number of ways including informal deprivations of legal capacity, encumbered access to justice, and weak referral pathways between SRH, GBV and disability-service providers.

The Report is a needs assessment of sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, and access to essential services of young people with disabilities.

“Ministries will be able to use this report to analyse barriers which people with disabilities are most active in,” emphasized Faaolo Utumapu, a NOLA member.

“This will become something to protect people with disabilities as the law is not strong enough to protect them from these active issues.”

People with disabilities, involved agencies and sponsors sharing experiences and ideas to boost the objectives of the report – to break the barriers faced by people with disabilities.

Specific age-groups of people with disabilities involved in the project is young men 18-24 years old and women aged 14 years and over.

The report also covers people with disabilities in Fiji and Vanuatu, and is a collaboration between local partner NOLA, Pacific Disability Forum and Women Enabled International and is funded by UNFPA and the Australian Aid.

A local person with disability and NOLA member, Louisa Saupo is one of the most excited to witness this work fall in place after an unpleasant experience as a person with a disability.

She told Talamua her passion to support this work in any way possible and pour her full commitment was drawn from that experience.

“When I was pregnant which no one expected, doctors told me the baby has a 50/50 percent chance of survival but I fought for what I believed in and now my baby is nine years old and is as healthy as an ox,” she said.

“It’s that kind of experience that motivates us to fight for this type of work and I’m glad this one came to a successful launch and I hope it ends up at the right place…. a useful place,” said Saupo.

The report summarizes research findings and priority recommendations for the State to eradicate those barriers and advance the fundamental rights of women and young people with disabilities.