Guest Author - Monica J. Foster
American women today play many roles. From daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend, boss, co-worker, grandmother, women are busy juggling families, friends, and careers. Did you know that as many as 1 in 5 of these women has a disability? Disabilities can range from mild to severe, from birth to chronic illness and injury later in life. Still other disabilities are not as visible
Keep in mind that having a disability doesn't mean a person is unable to lead an active and fulfilling life. The website womenshealth.gov provides information and resources important to women with disabilities in all the roles they play in the world, as well as supports caregivers, friends, family members, and others who support women with disabilities to thrive and be all they can be.
Womenshealth.gov is a comprehensive website that covers most of the bases of being female with a disability. Wondering about the different types of disabilities that can affect women and people in general? There’s a glossary for that.
Are you wondering about how to live healthy lifestyle and receive good, accessible medical care? There’s a section for that as well – from general health questions to reproductive and sexual health topics, the last two of which seem to be areas society and the medical field don’t always feel is important for women with disabilities.
Women, regardless of our abilities are definitely sexual beings, who date, marry, have families and who also deserve all the information possible to make healthy choices and remain healthy inside and out. Women, particularly with intellectual disabilities, are at a higher risk of sexual and reproductive illnesses because of the lack of awareness taught them to take care of their bodies.
It has been traditionally felt that people with disabilities and specifically women, are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation, so the rationale has been to not talk about sex, self-esteem, reproductive health and the like in order to avoid planting the seed of sexual awareness. However, a lack of knowledge has shown to lead to risky behaviors, unhealthy choices and higher rates of death among women with disabilities because we haven’t been educated out our bodies and ourselves.
What about disability as a result of military service? According to Womenshealth.gov, women soldiers play a vital role in our nation's military. As more and more women join and leave the armed forces, the number of women veterans grows. In 2020, an estimated 1.9 million veterans will be women. Some of these women veterans will have disabling conditions that result from their military service. Women veterans are finding it difficult to have their medical needs met at VA hospitals because facilities aren’t traditionally equipped for female health exams or as many female health professionals who understand their bodies and issues.
And then there’s the stigma of dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder as a woman. It has been primarily equated with male soldiers in mental health and support group settings. What about our women soldiers who have unique emotional and mental health issues after returning to their families?
Womenshealth.gov seems to do a great job in listing other online resources to help women soldiers. Links include Amputee Coalition of America of which I am a member since I lost my leg to chronic illness in January 2010. Other links of interest to women include the unique issues around experiencing a sexual crime while in the military, something else that is swept under the rug in a woman’s experience.
Chronic fatigue and Lupus seem to be conditions that are predominantly faced by women. There are extended resources on the site regarding these illnesses as well, from diagnosis and management to leading a quality life and advocating for greater awareness with a woman’s focus.
Womenshealth.gov is a comprehensive site that is easy to navigate on a whole host of women-focused issues, but the areas that particularly focus on women living the disability experience are particularly rich, diverse and cover everything from head (mental and emotional health) to toe (physical health) and everything in between to do with the many faces and roles of women with various disabilities.
