Contraceptive autonomy for women with disabilities in Senegal: a qualitative study

The aim of this research is to generate evidence about how women and girls with different types of disabilities in Senegal are able to exercise contraceptive autonomy.

We will describe how individual factors, social factors, and access to, and quality of, contraceptive care combine to influence how women and girls exercise contraceptive autonomy, and we will situate these findings within the legal and policy frameworks of the country.

Specific research questions:

1. How do women and girls with different types of disabilities in Senegal understand contraceptive autonomy, and what are their experiences in exercising contraceptive autonomy, and what constraints and enablers do they face in realising it?
2. How do the partners and families of women and girls with disabilities, understand contraceptive autonomy, and what role do they play in enabling or constraining it?
3. What are the legal instruments, policy frameworks and health service guidelines in Senegal around contraceptive autonomy for women and girls with disabilities?
4. How do family planning services providers understand contraceptive autonomy for women and girls with disabilities, and what role do they play in enabling or constraining it?

Women and girls with disabilities have the same rights to sexual and reproductive health and family planning as everyone else, yet they often face barriers that limit their ability to make informed decisions about contraception. While evidence from Senegal has highlighted challenges in accessing services, little is known about how women and girls with disabilities make decisions about contraception or the factors that support or constrain their contraceptive autonomy.

This study will explore how women and girls with different types of disabilities in urban and rural Senegal experience contraceptive autonomy and identify opportunities to strengthen disability-inclusive family planning services, programmes and policies. The research forms part of the Women’s Inclusive Sexual and Reproductive Health (WISH-2) programme in West and Central Africa.

This is a multi-method qualitative study conducted in urban and rural areas of Senegal. The research combines in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and a review of relevant laws, policies and service delivery guidelines.

Participants include women and girls with disabilities, family members, family planning service providers and senior health sector stakeholders. Findings will be analysed using the contraceptive autonomy framework alongside a disability-inclusive perspective to understand how individual, social and health system factors influence contraceptive decision-making.

Evidence on contraceptive autonomy among women and girls with disabilities remains limited in Senegal and across West and Central Africa. Existing research has focused largely on access to services, with less attention given to decision-making, choice and autonomy.

By bringing together the perspectives of women with disabilities, family members, healthcare providers and policymakers, this study will provide new evidence on the personal, social and health system factors that shape contraceptive autonomy. It will also help address important evidence gaps relating to women with hearing, intellectual and other disabilities whose experiences are often underrepresented in research.

The findings will inform disability-inclusive family planning programming within the WISH-2 programme and contribute to broader efforts to strengthen sexual and reproductive health services in Senegal.

Specifically, the evidence will inform:

• Social and behaviour change initiatives to reduce stigma and promote reproductive rights.
• Training and support for healthcare providers on disability-inclusive family planning services.
• Advocacy and awareness-raising with government institutions, programme partners and organisations of people with disabilities.
• Efforts to strengthen policies and health systems that support informed choice and reproductive autonomy for women and girls with disabilities.

• Learn about the WISH2 programme on the Sightsavers website