A prevalence study of sexual abuse of adults with learning disabilities referred for sex education

This paper reports on a prevalence study of sexual abuse of 65 women and 120 men with intellectual disabilities who were referred for sex education. The prevalence rate of abuse was found to be significantly higher for women (61%) than men (25%). Almost all perpetrators were men, with the majority being men with intellectual disabilities or fathers. Women are shown to experience the sexual contact more negatively than the men, although it was usual for both the women and men to feel quite ambivalent about the perpetrator and what he had done to them. Typically the abuse was revealed by the victims themselves, but they were unaware of its social meaning. Generally responses to the abuse were very weak, however there is evidence that the abuse of men is taken more seriously. The poorest service responses were recorded for women who had been abused by men with intellectual disabilities.