I diritti innominati. Sessualità e diritti riproduttivi di bambine e donne con disabilità

Girls and women with disabilities are victims of multiple discrimination on the ground of the intersection between gender and disability, which prevents them from fully enjoying their fundamental rights to sexuality and reproduction in much of the world. This circumstance depends on the stigma generated by two different “myths” in this area: on the one side, ac- cording to the “asexuality myth”, women with disabilities are perceived of as lacking of their own sexual and reproductive life, a perspective that denies their adulthood, sexual education and access to health services dedicated to female health; on the other side, on the basis of the “hypersexuality myth” the sexuality of women with disabilities – in particular intellectual or mental – is perceived as “out-of-control”, to be “dominated”. This latter perspective legiti- mizes practices which seriously infringe upon their human rights, such as forced contracep- tion, abortion and sterilization. This contribution investigates the importance of combating mul- tiple discrimination in order to safeguard the human rights of women and girls with disabilities, with particular reference to the rights on the body and of the body.