The Vulnerability and sexual abuse of people with learning disabilities

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Accessible summary People with learning disabilities are more likely to experience sexual things happening to them when they do not want them to. This is called sexual abuse. A group was started to help some women who have been sexually abused. Women who wanted to attend the group were given information about it and asked on three separate occasions if they wanted to attend. Their carers helped them and went to a different group upstairs in the same building. We found that the group helped the women feel less scared and depressed and helped the women's carers understand them better. This research matters because it helped the women move on with their lives and will help others who want to start a group. SummaryIn his capacity as a Clinical Psychologist the author provides psychological support to people with learning disabilities living in hospital and in the community. Frequently, the problem behaviour highlighted in referral letters (such as sexualized behaviour, anger management or self‐harm) is formulated as relating to a past history of abuse and neglect which they had experienced. In view of increasing client referrals and a limited research literature the author established a small team, developed and then piloted a survivors’ group for women with a learning disability. The pilot achieved ethical approval and the survivors’ group ran concurrently with an educational support group for their carers. For more details about this pilot study see Peckham (2005)Developing, delivering and evaluating a survivors group pilot in Northumberland for women with significant learning disabilities who have been sexually abused. Unpublished DClinPsych Thesis, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne; and Peckham et al. (2007). These articles summarize the research literature in the area of sexual abuse and describe, in detail, the problem of delivering and evaluating a survivors' group for women with learning disabilities.