Capacity to sexual consent policies (CTSC) can bar people labeled with intellectual disability (ID) from sexually intimate relationships. From a premise that sexual rights should be universal, this Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) examines the sexual ableism of CTSC assessments. Implications for social work education and practice are proposed.
Learning Objectives:
At the end of this session, attendees should be able to:
Understand how capacity to sexual consent (CTSC) assessments can abridge the sexual rights of people labeled with intellectual disability (ID).
Identify ways that capacity to sexual consent (CTSC) assessments rely on sexually ableist assumptions.
Appraise how social work’s values and commitments can be used to design and advocate for a replacement to capacity to sexual consent (CTSC), premised on sexual rights and sexual self-determination.
