The myth of asexuality disability stigma as a barrier to sexual relationships in South Africa

An applied research led by The University of East London, The Southern African Federation of the Disabled, SINTEF and Stellenbosch University

The project investigates the prevailing myths and attitudes towards the sexuality of people with physical disabilities among a sample general population in South Africa, as well as through the experiences of people with physical disabilities. There is an increasing recognition that sexual health is a human right, yet, research evidence suggests that people with disabilities may be generally excluded from living fully sexual and sexually healthy lives. A major social barrier previously identified is the myth of asexuality; that is that persons with disabilities (such as physical disabilities) are assumed to be asexual, and thus not perceived as sexual persons. The project aims to:

1. investigate the attitudes of the general population towards the sexuality of people with disabilities in South Africa;
2. explore the experiences of stigma and barriers to fulfilling sexual relationships among people with disabilities in South Africa;
3. raise public awareness about the intersection between disability stigma and sexuality;
4. The project will use mixed methods for research, including an online survey questionnaire, and participatory qualitative methods with persons with disabilities

Access all the ressources produced during the applied research :

• The full report
• A short summary of the research
• A long summary of the research
• The literature review
• A presentation of the project
• Three published articles :
  • Dating persons with physical disabilities: the perceptions of South Africans without disabilities ;
  • The sexual and reproductive rights and benefit derived from sexual and reproductive health services of people with physical disabilities in South Africa: beliefs of non-disabled people ;
  • The sexual lives of people with disabilities within low- and middle-income countries: a scoping study of studies published in English
  • The website of the project containing publications, videos...