Sexuality education and experiences of violence : exploring the sexual lives of women with physical disability

Abstract

Disability is a broad category deployed in both academic literature and public discourse which obscures important differences which cause the social stratification of people based on their gender and form of impairment. This research study focuses on women with physical disability and the specific ways they are desexualised by society through social stratification. The social perception that women with physical disability are not viewed as sexual beings seems benign; it is anything but. Such a view opens them up to interpersonal and institutionalised medical violence. Desexualising women with physical disability infantilises them to the extent they are viewed as ‘eternal children’, wholly incapable of participating in society as fully-fledged political subjects. To that effect, desexualisation inhibits one’s agency and ability to lead an autonomous life. The research undertaken for this thesis examines the provision of sexuality education for women with physical disability. This qualitative study involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 19 women with physical disability in eight Australian cities, across five Australian states. Specifically, this research considers the ways these women developed their sexual identities and practised sexual lives—despite participating in an education system which does not provide inclusive or relatable sexuality education for them. The research found that the sexual identities and lives of women with physical disability were developed, in large part, by their own accord. On one hand, the women participating in the research described their experiences of being vi desexualised by their own families, school educators, and medical and allied health professionals. They further described how a desexualised identity often resulted in the disregard for their own views, needs, desires, and terms for interpersonal engagement. This would inevitably give rise to physical, sexual, and/or medicalised violence. On the other hand, the women described alternative networks of information and resources through which they developed sexual identities and practices. The latter part of this research focuses on these networks to highlight the resourcefulness and resistance of women with physical disability, as well as the fact that their sexuality is intrinsic to them. This research study contributes to the women’s resistance by employing inclusive research practises to conserve and amplify their views and voices. It is thereby a model for future research and future consultations with social institutions, which seek to make society more accessible, safe, and inclusive for women with physical disability.

Date of Award	2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Western Sydney University