Brick by brick: building up our knowledge base on the abuse of adults with learning disabilities

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to draw readers’ attention to the myriad ways to find out about abuse towards people with learning disabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

– Whilst acknowledging the continued importance of research studies specifically focused on the topic of abuse, this commentary reviews information about abuse of adults with learning disabilities from other sources, e.g., through service audits, studies on sexual and personal relationships.

Findings

– Having many sources of information about abuse against people with learning disabilities is a good thing, but there are some problems associated with this. First, some forms of abuse appear to be easier to find out about than others, and second, the difficult question of how the information can be used to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities.

Originality/value

– This commentary encourages readers to take a broad view of abuse of people with learning disabilities and to use all the knowledge available to support individuals, whilst at the same time demanding social changes.