Abstract
Sexuality scholars have historically understudied the link between disability, sexual exclusion, and social justice, including equal rights for people living with disabilities (PLWD) to enjoy a sexual and intimate life in adulthood. There have been some recent efforts to rectify this situation, with studies emerging concerning strategies for promoting their sexual rights. Our Target Article explores one contentious service option—the possibility of “sexual assistance” for PLWD, which ranges in meaning across countries from sex surrogacy to physical contact with paid sexual assistants. We conducted a knowledge synthesis using a scoping review methodology to identify the breadth of the academic scholarship available and assess its alignment with current ethical and moral debates and recent policies and practices surrounding the sexual scripts of PLWD as they relate to sexual assistance. We categorized the relevant articles in our scoping review into two broad classes: those that support sex-negative perspectives (i.e., framing sexuality as risky, adversarial, etc.) and those that support sex-positive perspectives (i.e., framing sexuality as normative, consensual, etc.). Our results show that sex-negative cultural scripts call for limitations of the sexual rights of PLWD due to their inherent vulnerability as having disabled sexualities and/or due to their heightened risk of exploiting sexual partners, especially cis women who sell sexual services. The sex-positive cultural scripts understand PLWD as having the same rights to sexual citizenship as non-disabled individuals and that to achieve this, equitable access to sexual health services in decriminalized and regulated service environments is needed. We conclude with limitations of our investigation and recommendations for further research on this understudied topic, including the possible integration of positive disabled sexuality and abuse prevention.
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15 August 2022
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02396-3
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Appendices
Appendix A: APA PsycInfo (Via EBSCO)
# | Query | Results |
|---|---|---|
S1 | DE "Disabilities" OR DE "Learning Disabilities" OR DE "Multiple Disabilities" OR DE "Disability Discrimination" OR DE "Disability Laws" OR DE "Disabled (Attitudes Toward)" OR DE "Physical Disabilities (Attitudes Toward)" OR DE "Disabled Personnel" | 50,093 |
S2 | TI ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR AB ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR KW ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) | 170,798 |
S3 | TI ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) OR AB ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) OR KW ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) | 41,139 |
S4 | S1 OR S2 OR S3 | 183,166 |
S5 | (DE "Sex Work" OR DE "Sexual Attitudes") | 10,051 |
S6 | TI ( ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR AB ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR KW ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*))) | 7468 |
S7 | TI ( ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) OR AB ( ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) OR KW ( ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) | 7625 |
S8 | S5 OR S6 OR S7 | 19,218 |
S9 | S4 AND S8 | 538 |
S10 | S4 AND S8 | 538 |
S11 | AG ("Adolescence" OR "School Age" OR "Childhood") NOT AG ("Adulthood" OR "Young Adulthood" OR "Thirties" OR "Middle Age" OR "Aged") | 534,879 |
S12 | S10 NOT S11 | 518 |
S13 | S12 Limit to Source Types: Academic Journals, Books, Dissertations | 513 |
Academic Search Complete (Via EBSCO)
# | Query | Results |
|---|---|---|
S1 | DE "ATTITUDES toward disabilities" OR DE "ATTITUDES toward physical disabilities" OR DE "DISABILITIES" OR DE "PEOPLE with mental disabilities" OR DE "LEARNING disabled persons" OR DE "MEN with mental disabilities" OR DE "WOMEN with mental disabilities" OR DE "PEOPLE with disabilities" OR DE "AMPUTEES" OR DE "DISCRIMINATION against people with disabilities" OR DE "PEOPLE with mental disabilities" OR DE "PEOPLE with social disabilities" OR DE "PEOPLE with visual disabilities" OR DE "STUDENTS with disabilities" OR DE "WOMEN with disabilities" OR DE "DISABILITY laws" OR DE "SEXUAL behavior of people with disabilities" OR DE "MEN with disabilities" OR DE "MEN with mental disabilities" OR DE "SERVICES for people with disabilities" OR DE "Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities" OR DE "disabled patients" | 62,868 |
S2 | TI ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR AB ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR KW ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) | 263,801 |
S3 | TI ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) OR AB ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) OR KW ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) | 46,924 |
S4 | S1 OR S2 OR S3 | 290,082 |
S5 | (DE "SEX surrogates" OR DE "SEX workers" OR DE "ATTITUDES toward sex" OR DE "PROSTITUTION" OR DE "PROSTITUTES" OR DE "SEXUAL rights" OR DE "SEX counseling") | 12,362 |
S6 | SU "INTIMATE Lives of Disabled People" | 1 |
S7 | TI ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR AB ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR KW ( ("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) | 13,838 |
S8 | TI ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*") OR AB ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*") OR KW ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*") | 19,164 |
S9 | S5 OR S6 OR S7 OR S8 | 34,593 |
S10 | S4 AND S9 | 561 |
S11 | SU "SEXUAL Politics of Disability" OR "SEX education for people with disabilities" OR SU “SEXUAL behavior of people with disabilities” | 130 |
S12 | S10 OR S11 | 662 |
S13 | S10 OR S11 | 662 |
S14 | SU ("children" OR "Child") NOT SU ( "adult" OR "Adults") | 590,882 |
S15 | S13 NOT S14 | 617 |
S16 | S15 Limit to Source Types: Academic Journals, Book reviews | 558 |
CINAHL Plus (Via EBSCO)
# | Query | Results |
|---|---|---|
S1 | (MH "Attitude to Disability") OR (MH "Disabled") OR (MH "Mentally Disabled Persons") OR (MH "Amputees") | 9899 |
S2 | TI (Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR AB ( Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) | 143,369 |
S3 | TI ((physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) OR AB ( (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) N3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged)) | 30,315 |
S4 | S1 OR S2 OR S3 | 156,140 |
S5 | (MH "Attitude to Sexuality + ") OR (MH "Sex Work") | 10,304 |
S6 | TI (("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR AB (("Sex" or "sexual") N2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) | 3698 |
S7 | TI ((prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) OR AB ((prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) | 4869 |
S8 | S5 OR S6 OR S7 | 14,967 |
S9 | S4 AND S8 | 466 |
S10 | AG ( ("all child" OR "adolescent" OR "all infant" OR "child" OR "child, preschool" OR "infant")) NOT AG ( ("all adult" OR "adult" OR "middle aged" OR "aged" OR "aged, 80 & over")) | 689,071 |
S11 | S9 NOT S10 | 425 |
S12 | S11 Limit to Source Type: Academic Journals, Dissertations | 384 |
Web of Science (Including: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Science (CPCI-S), Conference Proceedings Citation Index—Social Science & Humanities (CPCI-SSH), Book Citation Index—Science (BKCI-S), Book Citation Index—Social Sciences & Humanities (BKCI-SSH), Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI)).
# | Query | Results |
|---|---|---|
S1 | Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl* (Title) or Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl* (Abstract) or (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) NEAR/3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged) (Title) or (physical* or mental* or intellectual* or sensory) NEAR/3 (impair* or disabilit* or challenged) (Abstract) | 362,830 |
S2 | ("Sex" or "sexual") NEAR/2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*) (Title) or ("Sex" or "sexual") NEAR/2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*) (Abstract) or ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*") (Title) or ( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*") (Abstract) | 30,037 |
S3 | #1 AND #2 | 402 |
Sociological Abstracts (Via Proquest)
# | Query | Results |
|---|---|---|
S1 | MAINSUBJECT.EXACT.EXPLODE("Physically Handicapped") OR MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Handicapped") OR MAINSUBJECT.EXACT.EXPLODE("Mentally Retarded") | 11,891 |
S2 | ti(Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) OR ab(Disabilit* or Disabl* or PWD or handicap* or crippl*) | 32,274 |
S3 | ti((physical* OR mental* OR intellectual* OR sensory) NEAR/3 (impair* OR disabilit* OR challenged)) OR ab((physical* OR mental* OR intellectual* OR sensory) NEAR/3 (impair* OR disabilit* OR challenged)) | 5004 |
S4 | S1 OR S2 OR S3 | 34,808 |
S5 | MAINSUBJECT.EXACT("Prostitution") | 6477 |
S6 | ti(("Sex" or "sexual") N/2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) OR ab(("Sex" or "sexual") N/2 ("right" or "rights" or "autonomy" or facilitat* or citizenship* or "aids" or "paying" or "agency" or solution* or "trade" or oppress* or opportunit* or "purchasing" or transaction* or commercial* or politic*)) | 7662 |
S7 | ti(( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) OR ab(( prostitut* or "hooker" or "hookers" or "call girl*" OR "sex* work*" OR "sex* doula*" OR "sex* volunteer*" OR "sex* surroga*" OR "sex* assistan*" OR "sex* servic*" OR "sex* expression*")) | 9338 |
S8 | S6 OR S7 OR S8 | 16,160 |
S9 | S4 AND S8 | 226 |
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Benoit, C., Mellor, A. & Premji, Z. Access to Sexual Rights for People Living with Disabilities: Assumptions, Evidence, and Policy Outcomes. Arch Sex Behav 52, 3201–3255 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02372-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-022-02372-x