The sexuality of people with learning difficulties

Abstract

Recent decisions of the British courts, on when women who have learning difficulties¹ may be sterilised without their positive consent,² have produced a lively debate.³ Sterilisation has also proved controversial in the United States of America where there has been greater legislative and judicial activity on the issues, and where there has also been extensive comment in the academic legal journals.⁴ However the focus of the debate in both countries has primarily been on either the correctness of individual decisions or a discussion of when sterilisation may appropriately be imposed. The wider issues of the sexuality of people with learning difficulties, and the quality of their life-styles and experiences, has implicitlv been treated as a separate issue.