Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...
Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...
Literature Review on Provision of Appropriate and Accessible ...
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PAGE 128<br />
incapacity should be specific to the task at h<strong>and</strong>; if incapacity is<br />
understood as a general c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>, a finding <strong>of</strong> incapacity could<br />
result in criminalising all sexual relati<strong>on</strong>ships for that woman<br />
(Benedet <str<strong>on</strong>g>Literature</str<strong>on</strong>g> & Grant, <str<strong>on</strong>g>Review</str<strong>on</strong>g> 2007). <strong>on</strong> Provisi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Appropriate</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Accessible</strong><br />
Support to People with an Intellectual Disability who are<br />
Experiencing Crisis Pregnancy<br />
• It has been argued that the situati<strong>on</strong>al aspect <strong>of</strong> capacity can be<br />
applied to sexual relati<strong>on</strong>ships, i.e. an individual may be capable<br />
<strong>of</strong> c<strong>on</strong>senting to some forms <strong>of</strong> sexual c<strong>on</strong>tact with a certain<br />
individual in a particular setting but not to other forms <strong>of</strong> sexual<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tact with the same, or other, individuals in other settings<br />
(Niederbuhl <strong>and</strong> Morris, 1993).<br />
• There may be differences in capacity depending <strong>on</strong> the nature<br />
<strong>of</strong> the relati<strong>on</strong>ship, particularly where the accused is in a<br />
relati<strong>on</strong>ship <strong>of</strong> trust with or positi<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> authority over the<br />
complainant.<br />
• US case law has been critiqued for overly focusing the inquiry <strong>on</strong><br />
the nature <strong>of</strong> a woman’s disability <strong>and</strong> associated mental capacity<br />
instead <strong>of</strong> gathering evidence <strong>of</strong> n<strong>on</strong> c<strong>on</strong>sent (Benedet <strong>and</strong> Grant,<br />
2007).<br />
• Benedet <strong>and</strong> Grant (2007) observed that c<strong>on</strong>sent cannot be<br />
implied from silence, passivity, or ambiguous behaviour,<br />
because it is the complainant’s state <strong>of</strong> mind that is at issue<br />
(R v Ewanchuk). They note that this is important for women<br />
with mental disabilities, as it is typical in these cases to see<br />
compliance in sexual activity al<strong>on</strong>g with no real evidence <strong>of</strong><br />
affirmative c<strong>on</strong>sent.<br />
Protective legislati<strong>on</strong><br />
• Protective legislati<strong>on</strong> can be analysed under the following<br />
framework: laws that prohibit sex with people deemed unable<br />
to c<strong>on</strong>sent to sex; laws that incorporate a functi<strong>on</strong>al approach to<br />
assessment <strong>of</strong> capacity to c<strong>on</strong>sent to sexual relati<strong>on</strong>s; generic<br />
laws applying to sex without c<strong>on</strong>sent; <strong>and</strong> laws that prohibit<br />
specific sexual relati<strong>on</strong>ships.