For the first time in our country, in 2017, The Reproductive Health Training Center conducted the research that demonstrated that girls and women with special needs believe that they are sexual beings, that they can form a family and give birth to children without anyone to prohibit them from doing so, and that their type of disability is not a barrier to fulfill these rights.

Low access to sexual and reproductive health services is a real problem that people with special needs face. This situation is caused by the lack of ramps and disability elevators in medical institutions, the lack of gynecological armchairs adapted for women with locomotor disabilities, the lack of accessible bathrooms. Also, in some cases, people with special needs have to face the discriminatory attitude of the family members and the insufficient training of doctors and medical staff.

Accordingly, it is clear, that girls and women with disabilities have the right to quality medical services in sexual and reproductive health. This easier access, also depends on the level of physical accessibility of healthcare facilities for people with special needs.

At the initiative of the RHTC, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, the National Evaluation and Accreditation Standards of specialized ambulatory healthcare institutions were completed so that they contain international standards of accessibility.

To promote international accessibility standards, RHTC released a video providing an example of a model physical accessibility center for people with special needs. By watching the video you will take a virtual tour of the Reproductive Health Training Center, you will know what an accessible medical center means, how the entrance ramp should be designed, what is the correct door width, how an adapted gynecological chair works and other essential details that enable people with disabilities to benefit from quality medical services.

There are certainly other institutions that can provide medical services under accessibility conditions, but we want this to become a common practice for most medical institutions in Moldova.

We remain firmly convinced that girls and women with disabilities have the right to accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare services, the right to harmonious relationships, family and children, just like anyone else.

The video can be viewed in Romanian, with translation in sign language and subtitles in Romanian and Russian.

Accessibility for people with disabilities in medical institutions

They were created within the project “Inclusive and accessible for all: A multi-component approach to promoting sexual right and reproductive health while respecting the rights of women and girls with disabilities”, with the support of the Embassy of Finland in Bucharest, within the Fund for Local Cooperation.

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