Accessible summary• This paper talks about what a group of people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland had to say about their experiences of relationships and sexuality, and the type of support they might like in this area of their lives. • Many people did not get enough information about sexuality. There were lots of things they did not understand properly and they wanted more information. • Many people wanted to have boyfriend and girlfriend relationships, but relationships were not allowed in their service. Some people had to have relationships in secret. • In Ireland it is against the law to have a sexual relationship with a person who cannot live without support, or protect themselves from abuse, unless you are married. • The law needs to be changed because some people with intellectual disabilities who need support in their lives are still capable of having sexual relationships and protecting themselves from abuse. • People with intellectual disabilities need better sexual information and need support to have their voices heard by government. SummaryHow to translate the right of people with intellectual disabilities to a full sexual and intimate life into proactive support remains a challenge for disabilities services in Ireland. Little formal research has been undertaken in this country into what people with intellectual disabilities think about these issues and what they would like to see happen in this area of their lives. This paper presents a preliminary analysis of the first author's PhD research into the views and experiences of a small group of Irish people with intellectual disabilities in the area of sexuality and relationships. Initial findings suggest that people with intellectual disabilities are getting insufficient sex education and that changes are needed at a disabilities service level to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities can express their sexuality in an open and supportive climate. At a government level, changes will need to be made to Irish legislation concerning the sexuality of vulnerable adults so that this country is
Accessible summary• Older people with intellectual disabilities have been telling their life-stories in Ireland. • People remember being taken away from their family and community. People talk about sad memories of times in institutions. • People talk about the kindness of friends and family.• These stories tell staff that older people want to talk about their past and need help to do this. Doing life-story work will help staff to find out what older people who are in services in Ireland need to make their lives meaningful and comfortable. SummaryThis article draws on life-stories told by older people with intellectual disabilities for a research study in the Republic of Ireland. Research participants recalled their experiences of confinement, coercion and exclusion that resulted from their being labelled as having intellectual disabilities. Participants also recalled the positive interactions with workers and family members that sustained them during these difficult times. Extracts from these narratives show how past medical and social processes interlinked to classify members of this group as 'deficient' or 'lacking' in some way. Life-stories collected in this project illustrate the value of a narrative approach to exploring how services might begin to enhance the quality of support currently provided to older people with intellectual disabilities. However, life-story work in a service setting is far from straightforward, and support is needed for staff involved in this process.
For many people who are called disabled, having this label means to be excluded from the experience of 'an ordinary sexual life'. For those who are called intellectually disabled exclusion from experiences of any kind of positive sexual life is almost universal. This article explores how some people with intellectual disabilities have sought to open up pathways towards accessing experiences of sexual expression as a way to move forward towards being able to integrate a concept of sexuality into their lives. Two support workers are interviewed. Both are employed by a Human Services organization in Aotearoa, New Zealand, which provides long term support for people with intellectual disabilities. Their comments reveal that access to successful instances of sexual expression for people in this group are currently only available those who are articulate enough and persistent enough to keep trying until they succeed. Barriers to success are isolated and some wider issues surrounding what changes might positively affect this group are discussed.
Support through care and protection within a medical framework, rather than through the idea of independence within the least restrictive environment, continues to guide service provision for intellectually disabled people in the sexuality area. Past practices have included use of involuntary sterilisation. This article outlines the outcome of a search for information undertaken because of concerns that use of sterilisation-related procedures may remain embedded in contemporary approaches to sexuality support management. Verified instances of hysterectomy carried out between 1991 and 2001 were uncovered. Documents tabled at a Parliamentary Select Committee in 2003 expressing concerns about use in relation to young disabled girls were also found. Requests for sterilisation-related procedures exemplify how the right of all vulnerable citizens to full bodily integrity is currently adjudicated in New Zealand. It is suggested that further research is needed to pinpoint and address the underlying social customs through which requests for such procedures are negotiated and resolved.
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