Unicorn Roots

Education

Society often assumes that having a disability automatically means an individual either can’t or doesn’t have sex. Because of this, disabled people are often given inadequate sexual health resources and education. Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that around 22% of American adults have some form of disability. CDC data from 2015 also shows that 41% of high schoolers report being sexually active, often without using protection. Around 10 million new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) were found in people 15 to 24 years old, and around 22% of new HIV diagnoses occurred in people 13 to 24 years old (Clarke, 2017).

Of course, these are only the cases reported to the CDC. There’s also the question of why any of this is happening in the first place. Some of it comes down to simple teenage disregard for safety. But the societal disregard of sexuality in the disabled community, and the resulting lack of education, has to be taken into account. Accommodations such as ASL interpreters, alternative formatting, simplified language, and physical accommodations can address most of these barriers. In other words, barriers shouldn’t be used as an excuse to avoid proper education; they should be seen as a call for proper accommodations (Clarke, 2017).

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), a category of cognitive disabilities, have increasingly influenced research on the connections between sexuality, gender identity, and disability. However, this influence has not reduced the level of layered discrimination, sexual abuse, and exploitation that can lead to mental health issues. Research from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has also shown that 36% of LGBTQ+ adults, and 52% of transgender adults specifically, also identify as disabled, with cognitive disabilities being the most common category of disability. Unfortunately, much of the research concerning disabled LGBTQ+ people focuses solely on the perspectives of caretakers and medical professionals. Fortunately, there’s a growing push to prioritize the anonymity of those with disabilities and to increase community-engaged research (CER) (Kammes, n.d.).

In general, disabled people tend to have lower levels of education and employment, largely because of inadequate support and teaching. Sex education is often lacking for disabled students, and special education needs are often evaluated late or inadequately supported. Those who leave school early because of disability often struggle to find employment and the benefits that come with it. Students also often lack education on LGBTQ+ issues, and around a fifth of LGBTQ+ students are outed and/or harassed. However, most of these cases go unreported because they’re seen as “not serious enough”, a pattern that can lead students to believe that reporting won’t change anything (Green et al., 2023).

To add to this, disabled LGBTQ+ students often miss out on education because of compounded fear: being harassed, assaulted, or expelled, with their disability making it harder for them to do anything about it. Compared to those without disabilities, disabled LGBTQ+ women are also significantly less likely to find full-time work and more likely to be unable to complete the work they do find. Disabled transgender adults are also more likely to be unemployed, let go from a job, experience employment discrimination, and fear discrimination if they quit. In fact, surveys have shown that gender identity was the most common reason given for being denied promotion, fired, or not hired in the first place. Annual household income was also found to be significantly higher in homes without disabilities than in those with one or more disability (Green et al., 2023).

References

Clarke, T. (2017). Disability Rights and Sexual Health. AMCHP. https://amchp.org/2017/12/15/disability-rights-and-sexual-health/

Green, A.K., Gomes, R.S.M., Heinze, N., Kempapidis, T. (2023). Queer and Disabled: Exploring the experiences of people who identify as LGBT and live with disabilities. MDPI.com. https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7272/4/1/4

Kammes, R. (n.d.). Belonging and Community: Trends in issues relating to sexuality and gender identity for people with disabilities. Institute on Community Integration, University of Minnesota. https://publications.ici.umn.edu/impact/36-2/belonging-and-community