3.1. Women with disabilities continue to face persistent disability-specific barriers in accessing RH information, services, and commodities. These barriers include: the difficulties in communicating with duty bearers and service providers; Physical barriers and constrained mobility due to inaccessible, unsafe, and physically-challenging public spaces and transportation services; and discriminatory and insensitive services and treatment by duty bearers, including health service providers; 3.1.1. Communication Barriers—difficulties in communicating with duty bearers and service providers Over the course of the National Inquiry, women with hearing and visual impairment have repeatedly expressed difficulties in communicating with service providers and duty bearers. This has been attributed to the absence of sign language interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing, and the absence of accessible materials and assistive devices in the case of women with visual impairment. For instance, representatives from Women with Disability taking Action on Reproductive and Sexual Health (W-DARE)8 in NCR and Kaisahan ng Nag Aaruga at may Kapansanan (KAINAKAP) also in NCR conveyed that deaf and hard-of-hearing women are unable, or have limited, access to RH services due to the absence of sign language interpreters (SLIs) in LGUS, particularly in barangay offices. Absence of SLIs in frontline government agencies such as the Social Security System (SSS), the Philhealth, and Bureau of Immigration was likewise raised. The same is true in government mechanisms and facilities providing direct services (i.e health centers, police stations, emergency rooms, wards, and other hospital facilities).9 One woman in Cebu recounts “When I gave birth to my first born, I had difficulty because, in the hospital, there was no sign language interpreter and there was a lack of access to services for women with disabilities,10” Another deaf woman in Cagayan de Oro recounted being scared witless during her delivery after seeing her doctor holding a metal contraption she does not recognize, and the use of which was not communicated to her.11 Regarding medical check-ups and provision of prescriptions, a deaf woman in NCR shared that she often could not understand and is excluded in the discussion of diagnoses, and she would be taking prescription medicines without complete understanding of what they are for. The doctor would just talk to her companion or family member, leaving her out of the discussion.12 The same account was shared by a deaf woman in Cagayan de Oro who recounted that during and after her labor, the doctors injected her with medicines, 8 NCR Public Hearing 9 Raised by deaf participants in all inquiry areas Cebu City FGD 11 Cagayan de Oro, FGD 12 NCR FGD- Pateros 10 7