Document Type
Honors Project
Abstract
This pilot study conducted with Disability Research and Capacity Development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, found that women with disabilities (WWD) reported significant experiences with abuse and harassment. Analysis of these findings revealed that the abuse and harassment of WWD is directly connected to the complex roles that gender and disability hold within Vietnamese society. Vietnam is a patriarchal society and WWD experienced abuse and harassment due to their roles as women; their expressions of gender and sexuality in connection with disability; and their desire for participation in processes such as sex, intimacy, and childbearing. Additionally, disabled bodies in Vietnam are associated with traumatic events from the past such as war, conflict, famine, and civil unrest. They are imagined as hauntings and are seen as disruptive to the state-sanctioned agenda of building a productive, healthy, and beautiful nation. Promoting WWD’s rights, protections, and equality within Vietnam is dependent on establishing a better understanding of disability as a human condition and removing it from the realm of social evils and the supernatural.
Recommended Citation
Mingkwan, Pia C., "Perceptions of the Body Haunted: An Analysis of Significant Pilot Study Findings on The Abuse and Harassment of Women with Disabilities Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam" (2017). International Studies Honors Projects. 27.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/intlstudies_honors/27
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