Learning Difficulties and Sexual Vulnerability ─ A Social Approach

Hollomotz (social policy, Manchester Metropolitan U., UK) argues that treating adults with learning difficulties as "vulnerable" to sexual violence takes away their autonomy and leaves them with fewer skills to protect themselves. She proposes an ecological approach to conceptualizing risk of sexual violence, which is underpinned by the social model of disability, and argues that sexual "vulnerability" arises from specific social contexts, showing the social processes involved in its creation. She draws from 29 interviews to describe disabling and enabling factors faced by adults with learning difficulties; examples of risk creation as a result of inadequate sex education, segregation, interactions with staff, and limited opportunities for decision-making; and ways to reduce risk of sexual violence, such as promoting self-advocacy, independent living, and sexual assertiveness and risk perception skills. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Andrea Hollomotz is Lecturer in Social Policy at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Her particular interest in the subject area at hand arose from her experiences of conducting adult protection work in the field.