Sexual violence and disability: the vulnerability of young people with intellectual disabilities to situations of sexual violence

Abstract

Sexual violence directed at people with disabilities has demanded epidemiological, preventive and educational actions. Working on this issue involves assisting victims and developing protective and preventive actionsand address the issue in everyday special education. The general objective of this research was to identify the vulnerability of young people with intellectual disabilities to situations of sexual violence. As the data collection procedure, the behavioral inventory “What If – Situations Test” was applied to nine young people diagnosed with intellectual disability. The data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using descriptive statistics. The results showed that most young people- seven out of nine -do not have clear knowledge about sexual violence, they have difficulties in differentiating situations that do not present a risk of violence from those that do and in acting defensively in the face of these situations. The behavioral repertoire of young people is permeated by gender dynamics, while males are more assertive, females are more likely to communicate and ask for help from adults. To improve this situation, programs aimed at preventing sexual violence that seek to deconstruct rigid gender dynamics and teach protective behaviors are neededwithin special education, contributing to the fight and prevention of violence.