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Background: Culturally, hearing children born to Deaf parents may have to mediate two different positions within the hearing and Deaf cultures. However, there appears to be little written about the experiences of hearing children born to Deaf parents in the South African context.

Objective: This study sought to investigate the roles of children of Deaf adults (CODAs) as interpreters in Deaf-parented families, more specifically, the influence of gender and birth order in language brokering.

Method: Two male and eight female participants between the ages of 21 and 40 years were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling strategies. A qualitative design was employed and data were collected using a semi-structured, open-ended interview format. Themes which emerged were analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: The findings indicated that there was no formal assignment of the interpreter role; however, female children tended to assume the role of interpreter more often than the male children. Also, it appeared as though the older children shifted the responsibility for interpreting to younger siblings. The participants in this study indicated that they interpreted in situations where they felt they were not developmentally or emotionally ready, or in situations which they felt were better suited for older siblings or for siblings of another gender.

Conclusion: This study highlights a need for the formalisation of interpreting services for Deaf people in South Africa in the form of professional interpreters rather than the reliance on hearing children as interpreters in order to mediate between Deaf and hearing cultures.

Physical restraint is used in inpatient services for people with intellectual disabilities as a way of holding a person to avoid injury. This article uses data from an ethnographic study in a locked unit in the north of England to explore women’s experiences of physical restraint using a feminist disability studies analysis. Data consists of field notes as well as interviews with 16 of the women who had experienced restraint, and 10 staff who worked with them. The women gave insights into the gendered phenomenon of restraint in light of their past experiences of violence. The authors argue that restraint is used with women to encourage passivity at times when more relational and therapeutic methods could be used. The article offers recommendations for alternative strategies that services can encourage.

In this paper we argue that school toilets function as one civilising site [Elias, 1978. The Civilising Process. Oxford: Blackwell] in which children learn that disabled and queer bodies are out of place. This paper is the first to offer queer and crip perspectives on school toilets. The small body of existing school toilet literature generally works from a normative position which implicitly perpetuates dominant and oppressive ideals. We draw on data from Around the Toilet, a collaborative research project with queer, trans and disabled people (aroundthetoilet.wordpress.com) to critically interrogate this work. In doing this we consider ‘toilet training’ as a form of ‘civilisation’, that teaches lessons around identity, embodiment and ab/normal ways of being in the world. Furthermore, we show that ‘toilet training’ continues into adulthood, albeit in ways that are less easily identifiable than in the early years. We therefore call for a more critical, inclusive, and transformative approach to school toilet research.

The exploratory quantitative study sought to develop an understanding about the relationships among disability, gender and employment in Northern Ghana. A total of 110 individuals with disabilities (20–60 years) from various disability groups participated in the study. The results indicate that many persons with disabilities are unemployed, the majority being women. Discrimination is cited as the greatest barrier to the employment of persons with disabilities, particularly women. The majority of persons with disabilities, typically women, live in poverty; given that some are unemployed and those who are employed worked mostly in marginal, seasonal and menial jobs. Persons with disabilities also experience several challenges on the job, including negative perceptions about their capabilities, discrimination and exclusion, irrespective of the employment sector and disability type. Educational interventions such as workshops, documenting and showcasing success stories of persons with disabilities could be helpful to reduce negative perceptions about their capabilities as well as discrimination against them. Government intervention to support persons with disabilities with start-up capital and funding for formal education is also recommended as these two elements were identified respectively as barriers to self-employment and employment in the public/private sectors. Government interventions to create educational opportunities for persons with disabilities are essential given that lower educational attainment affect their employment.

Violence and sexual violence against persons with disabilities at community level are serious issues. Though CBR programmes and DPOs are expected to prevent violence and offer support to the victims, there is very little informationabout their role in this regard.

Purpose: This research aimed to assess the level of violence and sexual violence experienced by DPO members, and the role played by CBR programmes in preventing it.

Method: The study involved a non-random consecutive sample of 146 persons with disabilities from 3 sub-districts of Bidar district in Karnataka, India. Using a structured questionnaire, interviews were conducted by a group of trained DPO members and CBR workers, many of whom had personal experience of violence. The data was entered using Epi-Info and then converted into spreadsheet Tables for analysis.

Results: 58% of the sample reported having experienced violence and 14% reported experiences of sexual violence during the previous 12 months. Girls and women reported higher levels of violence at different age groups. Male children and young adults reported having experienced more violence, including sexual violence, than older men. The research did not provide conclusive evidence that participation in the CBR and DPO activities played a protective role.

Conclusions: Violence and sexual violence against persons with disabilities are serious problems. More research on the subject, in terms of roles of CBR programmes and DPOs, is needed.

Background: Women with a disability are often characterised as a homogenous social group consigned to a cultural stereotype with assumptions of dependence, asexuality and gender neutrality. Furthermore, there is a void of research about the experience of people with disabilities following diagnosis with HIV. Little is known about how HIV diagnosis intersects with disability and gender and how it shapes the experiences of intimacy and gender roles of those negotiating this intersection.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore how HIV, disability and gender shape the perspectives of HIV-positive women with disabilities regarding intimacy and gender roles.

Methods: Twelve women in Lusaka, Zambia were recruited for in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences of having a disability and living with HIV. Interviews were conducted in English, Bemba, Nyanja and Zambian sign language. Descriptive and thematic analyses were conducted, followed by in-depth gender analyses of data relating to intimacy and gender roles.

Results: Data analysis led to the identification of two main themes: the impact of HIV diagnosis on intimate relationships amongst the participants; and the disruption and renegotiation of gender roles. These findings demonstrate the loss of intimacy (often decided by the participants) and changes in women’s gender roles (infrequently decided by them).

Conclusions: The narrow approaches to sexuality and HIV that reinforce misconceptions and stereotypes need to change. In their place should be inclusive and disability and sex-positive approaches that are informed by the diverse realities of women’s lives. Further research is needed to develop stronger evidence of the impact of HIV and disability on gender roles and sexuality.

Purpose: To determine parenting stress and its determinants among parents of children with disabling conditions in India.

Methods: The Parenting Stress Index – short form and a few open ended questions were administered to a convenience sample of sixty-six patient families in July, 2009 in the cities of New Delhi and Faridabad regions of Northern India through six non- governmental organizations (NGOs) that serve children with disabling conditions.

Results: Female sex of the child was associated with higher stress related to failure of the child to meet parent’s expectations and to satisfy the parents in their parenting role. Parents engaged in more lucrative and prestigious occupations had more stress than parents engaged in less prestigious and lucrative occupations irrespective of their income. Many parents reported receiving little support from their extended families in taking care of their child. Religion was found to be a common coping resource used by the parents.

Conclusion and Implications: Higher parenting stress in parents of girls raises the possibility of abuse and neglect. Little support from informal family resources underscores the need for developing formal resources for supporting the parents. The specific resources of parenting stress among parents of different socioeconomic status should be explored in future studies so that appropriate interventions can be planned.

There is limited research into the sexual lives of mothers, particularly mothers with disabilities. This article examines the barriers to sexuality facing mothers with disabilities. These barriers include: stereotypes that disabled mothers are not sexual, lack of resources for essential aspects of parenting, and difficulty in creating time for personal and private adult activities. Recommendations are presented based on the experiences of disabled mothers.