Anderson, Paul and Kitchin, Rob (2000) Disability, space and sexuality: access to family planning services. Social Science & Medicine, 51 (8). pp. 1163-1173. ISSN 0277-9536

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Abstract

In this paper we examine, from a social perspective, access to family planning clinics for disabled people. We argue that disabled people are commonly understood to be either asexual, uninterested in sex or unable to take part in sexual activity, or sexual `monsters' unable to control their sexual drives and feelings. These understandings are reproduced through the use of cultural representations and myths, and are evidenced in the planning and design of family planning clinics and the information and services they provide. To illustrate our arguments we present the ®ndings of a short questionnaire survey of all family planning clinics in Northern Ireland. Physical access to these clinics was partial, and access to information and services were extremely limited. These results indicate that disabled people are not expected to be using the services (consultation, treatment, information) that family planning clinics provide. As such, family planning clinics in Northern Ireland represent a landscape of exclusion, denying disabled people access to services and reproducing cultural ideologies concerning disability and sexuality. 7 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	The final and definitive version of this article has been published in Social Science & Medicine (2000) Vol.51 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00019-8
Keywords:	Family planning; Disability; Sexuality; Cultural ideologies; Social exclusion;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > National Institute for Regional and Spatial analysis, NIRSA
Item ID:	3922
Depositing User:	Prof. Rob Kitchin
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2012 15:18
Journal or Publication Title:	Social Science & Medicine
Publisher:	Elsevier
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://www.journals.elsevier.com/social-...
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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