“My blessed child does not need to know about that!”: How should sexual health educators confront the challenge of religious pluralism in working with individuals who have intellectual disabilities?

Abstract

Summary In a recent series for National Public Radio in the United States, Joseph Shapiro exposes an undiscussed epidemic of sexual assault among those with intellectual disabilities. U.S. Department of Justice data indicates that people with intellectual disabilities are assaulted over seven times the national average. Although international data is sparse, similar patterns exist in other countries. Shapiro argues that comprehensive sexuality education is key to lowering the incidence of sexual assault among those with intellectual disabilities. However, in my experience as a sexuality educator, guardians and care providers of those with intellectual disabilities sometimes consider these individuals to be “blessed children” – people whose child-like innocence must be protected at all costs. As a result, people with intellectual disabilities are often asexualized. This, taken together with Shapiro's argument, leaves open an important question: how should sexual health educators confront the challenge of religious pluralism in working with individuals who have intellectual disabilities? I argue that sexual health educators should frame this work as a matter of civil rights in order to accommodate religious pluralism. I contend that if guardians and others who care for people with intellectual disabilities are genuinely committed to protecting their civil rights, they should also take an interest in their sexuality education if it is framed as a civil rights issue. Sexual health educators have an obligation to ensure that guardians and others who care for people with intellectual disabilities do not overlook sexuality in providing care or advocating for an individual with an intellectual disability.