Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...

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3.17 Key findings
The key findings from the review of literature in the area of capacity to
consent to sexual relationships are presented below:
<strong>Literature</strong> <strong>Review</strong> on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible
Support to People with an Intellectual Disability who are
Capacity Experiencing to consent Crisis to sexual Pregnancy relationships
• A finding that a person lacks capacity results in a restriction or
removal of fundamental human rights and therefore the issues of
capacity and rights are inextricably linked (LRC, 2005).
• There has been far less consideration of capacity in the context of
consenting to sexual relationships (Murphy, 2003).
• The difficulty in designing legislation that would provide for a
balance between the need to protect vulnerable individuals from
exploitation and the need to respect an individual’s autonomy and
capacity to engage in voluntary and freely chosen relationships
has been recognised (LRC, 2005).
• In relation to sexual violence and exploitation research
consistently shows that women with learning disabilities are at
risk from abuse, predominantly by men within their networks,
including other service users, staff, family members, neighbours
and friends of the family.
• Definitions of abuse highlight ability to consent as well as
potential inequalities of power between the ‘victim’ and the
accused, in particular there may exist ‘barriers’ to consent within
certain relationships (Brown and Turk, 1992).
• It has been argued that a model of capacity should both maximise
the woman’s involvement in decision-making and, when it comes
to serious abuses, help her to seek refuge, justice and redress
(Brown, 2004).
• Deciding to enter into a sexual relationship with another
individual is a personal decision which does not generally require