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‘May we please have sex tonight?’– people with learning difficulties pursuing privacy in residential group settings
Author(s) -
Hollomotz Andrea
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
british journal of learning disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1468-3156
pISSN - 1354-4187
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3156.2008.00512.x
Subject(s) - private space , internet privacy , space (punctuation) , psychology , public relations , right to privacy , social psychology , political science , computer science , operating system
Accessible summary• Everyone has the right to privacy and relationships. • Some people who live in group homes are not allowed to be private with their partner. • We will explain how this makes us feel. • We will say what should change. • Parts written in ‘bold’ font are in plain English. Read them to find out more.Summary Many residential group settings for people with learning difficulties do not provide individuals with the private space in which they can explore their sexual relationships in a safe and dignified manner. Lack of agreed private spaces seriously infringes the individual’s human rights. Many people with learning difficulties who lack privacy have no other option but to escape to isolated public or semi‐private spaces to be sexually active. This places individuals at risk. It is suggested that self‐advocacy driven policy guidance must be developed which must require residential services to review their practice to ensure that they accommodate residents’ need for privacy, whilst supporting them to lead safe sexual relationships.