Page 358 - RUICHSS 2023 Proceeding

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

students with disabilities have never had the opportunity for it due to the

minimal social conditions.

This is a question often asked in research related to students with disabilities.

Are you getting inclusive education? We study together at the university, that

is all. We also attend such programmes. Never ask questions on sexual and
reproductive issues. Even non-disabled students do not get a fair chance to

ask. Male students may get the opportunity to get this kind of education in an
informal way through peer groups, mainly in the company of friends in their

hostel. We become evil women if we ask these questions, even from an
ordinary female student. We constantly question whether we are included in

sexual and reproductive health education in inclusive education.

(Informal conversation through a focus group interview)

When studying the impact of gender on access to sexual and reproductive

health education, both females and males with disabilities lost opportunities to

access education.

The response of one of the male students with disabilities in the study was,

"We do not know what the female body is and what the difference is between
the two of us. Can you tell us the difference? We did not even know the

difference that everyone knows when we live a social life. It does not come
from the family or educational institutions." (P11, Male, 23, Fully Visually

Impaired)

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