Assessing and understanding sexually abusive behaviours in men with learning disabilities
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200300003 |
| Date | 01 February 2003 |
| Published date | 01 February 2003 |
| Pages | 15-22 |
| Author | Craig Barlow |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 5 Issue 1 • February 2003 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited 15
key words
learning disabilities
sexually abusive behaviour
offending cycle
abstract
The issue of men with learning
disabilities who offend sexually has
received scant attention but is
important for many practitioners in
group care settings.This article
argues that there is no absolute
prescription for working with sexual
abusers or offenders, but a
recognition that some men with
learning disabilities do engage in
sexually abusive behaviour is the
first step in establishing appropriate
responses.
Introduction
Men who perpetrate offences of a sexual nature are always
particularly challenging to work with. This paper has been
written in response to concerns raised by professionals within
health and social services concerned with learning disabled
men who are behaving in sexually abusive ways or coming to
the attention of the criminal justice system. It will identify
patterns of behaviours and address issues for practitioners
working in the field. It will also present models for
understanding and articulating behaviour with a view to
enabling practitioners to develop risk assessment and
management strategies. In order to demonstrate these models
and principles a case study based on clinical experience will be
presented. The case study has been adapted in order to respect
the patient’s anonymity.
Identifying worrying behaviours
The range of behaviours and practices that people find
sexually arousing seems infinite.1However, for the most part
they only become a problem when they start to affect
adversely the lives of the community or the individuals
concerned. Practitioners may well have experienced some
uncertainty or discomfort expressed over the display of
unusual sexual behaviours. This also tends to be the source of
so much confusion and this is largely because of a catch-all
term that is used often within learning disability services. The
behaviours are frequently referred to as ‘inappropriate’.
The problem is that the broad sweep of this inoffensive
Assessing and
understanding sexually
abusive behaviours in men
with learning disabilities Craig Barlow
Independent Consultant in Forensic Social Work
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Policy and practice overview
1Unusual or deviant sources of sexual arousal are known as paraphilias. The
interested reader may refer to the Diagnostic Criteria from DSM IV-TR (Paraphilias
302.4-302.9).
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