Drawing a line between consented and abusive sexual experiences: the complexities for women with learning difficulties
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200300023 |
| Pages | 34-40 |
| Author | Michelle McCarthy |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
34 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 5 Issue 3 • September 2003
Sexual abuse, as with other forms of abuse (for example,
physical, emotional, financial) may sometimes be a clear-cut
issue, with no doubt in anyone’s mind that an act of abuse, if
not indeed a serious crime, has taken place. However, there are
many instances where boundaries are blurred and it is not at all
clear whether what has taken place can reasonably be classified
as abuse. This paper is concerned with the sexual experiences
of women with mild and moderate learning difficulties, some
of which were abusive and some of which they consented to.
The intention of the paper is to draw attention to the fact
that when people generally experience the sex they consent to
as an activity that offers them little or no pleasure (but often
some pain or discomfort), and is not one over which they have
much or any control, then it becomes very difficult for them to
see the differences between that and sexually abusive
experiences. When the subjective experience of consented and
abusive sex is very similar and when the outcome in both cases
is often the same (that is, no support for the women and no
sanctions for their partners/perpetrators), then the boundaries
between consented sex and abusive sex become even more
blurred. The dangers of presenting such a case and drawing
attention to these complexities is that to combine ‘what is
debatably abusive with what everyone agrees to be seriously
abusive … stands to trivialise the latter’ (Fox, 1993, cited in
DeKeseredy, 1995). Nevertheless, not to draw attention to it
risks misunderstanding and overlooking the real nature of the
sexual experiences of a vulnerable group of people (McCarthy
Drawing a line between
consented and abusive
sexual experiences: the
complexities for women
with learning difficulties Dr Michelle McCarthy
Senior Lecturer in Learning Disability, Tizard
Centre, University of Kent
key words
sexual abuse
consent
women with learning difficulties
abstract
This article explores the sexual
experiences of women with learning
difficulties, highlighting the blurred
nature of the boundary between
abusive and consented sex.
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Research paper
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