Sexuality, human rights and safety for people with disabilities: the challenge of intersecting identities1

Abstract

The link between living with a disability and an individual's risk of being disadvantaged or discriminated against is clear. However, the focus is often on issues of equity and access to employment and services and the physical health needs of individuals. When focusing broadly on rights, the gender and sexuality of people living with a disability can easily be rendered invisible, or subjugated to other seemingly “higher order” issues. Broader issues of the sexual health, sexual identity and sexual expression of people with a disability needs to also be brought into focus. Drawing on research from Australia and internationally, this paper provides a brief overview of the experience of sexual assault and sexual victimisation, homophobia and gender-based discrimination for people with a disability. Recognising and balancing these complex and sometimes apparently competing self-identities and needs is complex, yet is integral from a human rights perspective.