Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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safety; no exploitation; no abuse; ability to say ‘no’; and socially
appropriate time and place.
Ames and Samowitz <strong>Literature</strong> assert <strong>Review</strong> that on Provision it critical of Appropriate for the residential and Accessible provider
Support to People with an Intellectual Disability who are
agency to provide adequate supervision and guidance to the individuals
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy
so as to ensure continued monitoring of an individual’s responsible
sexual behaviour and consent. Kaeser (1992) argues that if individuals
with severe intellectual disabilities show by their behaviour that they
wish to engage in certain forms of sexual contact, and if the care team
considers that this contact could improve the quality of the individuals’
lives, then third-party consent should be sought, the same as it is in
other matters judged to be in a person’s best interests.
3.10 Protective legislation
McCarthy (1999) stresses that acknowledging the vulnerability of people
with intellectual disability in a legal sense may contribute towards
changing public opinion, which is either ignorant about the lives of
individuals with intellectual disability, or unaware of their existence. The
very real need to provide adequate protection to people who may be in
vulnerable circumstances cannot be overstated; states have therefore
enacted various laws providing different levels of protection to adults
with intellectual disability at risk.
In most countries there exists the presumption of capacity and a principle
of autonomy which is provided for typically in human rights legislation
(Europe) and in the Bill of Rights (US). The following discussion presents
the main ways in which perpetrators of sexual crimes against people
with learning disabilities can be prosecuted (framework adapted from
McCarthy & Thompson, 2004):
• Laws that prohibit sex with people deemed unable to consent to
sex
• Laws that incorporate a functional approach to assessment of
capacity to consent to sex
• Generic laws applying to sex without consent
• Laws that prohibit specific sexual relationships.