Health practices of domination and exclusion: views of activists, professionals and researchers on the situation of forced sterilization of women and girls with disabilities in Spain

Abstract

In 2017, the United Nations declared that 38 countries,
including Spain, continued to practice forced
sterilizations on women and girls with disabilities,
despite it being a practice widely condemned by
various international human rights organizations.
This study analyzed the situation of this practice in
Spain, from the perspective of activists, professionals
and researchers with experiences related to this
group. The methodology used was qualitative, based
on Constructivist Grounded Theory. Semi-structured
in-depth interviews were applied to 22 informants,
representing 6 autonomous communities of the
country. The participants identified a model of health
practices of domination and exclusion, where the
sexuality and reproduction of women with disabilities
has been the object of expropriation, alienation and
contempt by systems, structures and differentiated
policies, with little transfer of the global framework
of human rights to their reality. Sexual violence
has gone unnoticed, becoming naturalized by the
environment, and has promoted mechanisms of
social exclusion and health inequities, depriving
them of their fundamental human rights. As it is a
situation that is replicated in various parts of the
world, it should be considered an issue of relevance
for international public health.