The sexual abuse of people with learning difficulties: do we need a social model approach to vulnerability?
| Date | 01 September 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200300021 |
| Pages | 14-27 |
| Published date | 01 September 2003 |
| Author | Guy Wishart |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
14 © Pavilion Publishing (Brighton) Limited The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 5 Issue 3 • September 2003
Introduction
Research studies exploring the extent and nature of the sexual
abuse of adults with learning difficulties have revealed that
this group is at risk in service settings across both the
statutory and independent sectors as well as in family homes
(for example, Marchant, 1993; Turk & Brown, 1992). The risk
of being abused has been found to be predominantly from
men known to the victims, including members of staff,
relatives and men with learning difficulties. Both women and
men, at all levels of learning difficulties, have been found to be
vulnerable to sexual abuse (Turk & Brown, 1993). It has been
estimated that 1,400 new cases of sexual abuse are reported
each year in the UK (Brown et al, 1995). This statistic,
however, has been described as probably just being the ‘tip of
the iceberg’, due to many cases not being recognised or
reported (Turk & Brown, 1993). It is not surprising, then, that
since the first conference addressing this sexual abuse issue in
1988 at the King’s Fund Centre in London, questions about
the vulnerability of people with learning difficulties have had a
ubiquitous presence in the published literature as well as in
other key arenas.
There has been exploration and discussion of vulnerability
within the realms of theory, research, policy documents,
training materials and the media, including newspapers and
television programmes. Issues of vulnerability are also
discussed in day-to-day situations in learning difficulty
practice settings, including hand-over sessions, case
conferences, training days and informal conversations in the
work place. The people involved in these explorations and
discussions about vulnerability are numerous, including
The sexual abuse of people
with learning difficulties: do
we need a social model
approach to vulnerability? Guy Wishart
Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
key words
sexual abuse
people with learning difficulties
vulnerability
social model of disability
abstract
Many factors have been
identified as being responsible for
increasing the vulnerability of
people with learning difficulties to
sexual abuse.However,there has
not been a great deal of debate
about the term ‘vulnerability’. Here,
an argument is developed that puts
forward the case for a social model
approach to understanding
vulnerability, which avoids a focus
on victim characteristics.
Debate
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