but they never bothered to explain to her what they were for. While the doctor gave her a note regarding the medicine—it was written in Cebuano, which the deaf woman could not understand.13 The persistence of these communication barriers were further echoed by deaf women and women with hearing impairment in all areas where the National Inquiry was conducted. The absence of SLIs forced deaf and hard-of-hearing women to adjust with the situation, resorting to either writing or gesturing to communicate; methods which often were inadequate and caused them to be misunderstood.14 Persons with disability leaders from Region VII and CAR have related that communicating with service providers without the aid of their family members or SLIs was close to impossible. In instances where the deaf woman is unaccompanied, or in cases where her companion or husband is also deaf, 15 or when the deaf woman is unschooled, communication is even more difficult. Illustrative accounts from the inquiry include the experience of a deaf transgender woman living with HIV who could not convey her medical issues, and that of a deaf woman who relied on her mother to communicate her concerns regarding pregnancy.16 In the case of unschooled deaf, even the presence of SLI’s would not be enough; relay interpreters would be needed to communicate. 17 For women with visual impairment, difficulties in communication arise from the lack of documents in accessible formats such as braille, inverted colors, and large fonts. In addition, women with disabilities reported that assistive communication devices such as magnifying glasses, screen readers, and hearing aids are often unavailable. 18 The above-mentioned communication barriers led to further exclusion and dependency. Deaf participants from Butuan and Malaybalay related that they were not invited to learning sessions due to the unavailability of SLIs. In instances where visually impaired women were invited to similar activities, they complained that they hardly understood the discussion due to the absence of appropriate IEC materials. Additionally, facilitators and trainers often lack training in disability sensitivity, and would fail to make presentations more accessible. In order to access RH information such as treatment plans and prescriptions, women with hearing and visual impairment rely on companions who are not always available and/or affordable. A woman with low vision from W-DARE related that “Halos wala na akong 13 Cagayan de Oro, Public Hearing 14 Cordova FGD; Cagayan de Oro Public Hearing 15 As in the case of a deaf woman in Cagayan de Oro. The presence of PDAO provided SLI in the case facilitated communication during delivery; 16 Cebu City, Public Hearing 17 Cebu City, Public Hearing 18 Cebu and NCR Public Hearing 8