Women and Girls with Disabilities in the Heart of the COVID-19 Crisis: Safeguarding Sex and Reproductive Health Rights

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the human rights challenges that women and girls with disabilities faced (and continue to face). This chapter reviews the impact of the epidemic on this vulnerable population. It focuses on their sex and reproductive health rights, using Kenya as a case study. Although these entitlements are guaranteed by the international human rights framework and provisions of domestic law, the situation on the ground is precarious for this cohort of individuals. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis many have continued to face several human rights violations, including discrimination and stigma, as well as the inability to access health facilities or obtain appropriate information on the pandemic from the officials. These infringements compromise their sex and reproductive health rights. In order to stem these infractions, the chapter reviews some of the interventions that duty bearers can take. To conclude, the chapter contends that these players need to take practical steps in order to deal with the challenges caused by pandemics such as the COVID-19 crisis.