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‘We need “culture-bridges”: professionals’ experiences of sex education for pupils with intellectual disabilities in a multicultural society

LÖFGREN-MÅRTENSON, Charlotta
OUIS, Pernilla
2018

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This study aimed to explore how sex education in special schools in Sweden is influenced and challenged by the multicultural aspects of modern society. In particular, it sought to explore professio- nalls' experiences of sex education and of honour-related experiences among young people with intellectual disabilities. Data from five individual interviews and one focus groups with four profes- sionals were thematically analysed using sexual scripts as a theoretical framework. The results reveal an ambivalent honour-related script geared toward pupils with intellectual disabilities from cul- tural backgrounds differing from those of the Swedish mainstream. The provision of sex education, including information about hon- our-related experiences, is especially important because of these young people’s vulnerability; however, addressing the subject effectively is sensitive and complicated. Colleagues with different cultural backgrounds can act as ‘culture bridges’ for professionals who lack strategies, methods and materials. Increasing profes- sionals’ prerequisite qualifications (e.g. further education, supervision) and adopting autonomy-promoted conduct can empower pupils with intellectual disability to exercise autonomy over their sexuality outside their immediate cultural context.

The intersection of disability and food security: Perspectives of health and humanitarian aid workers

QUARMBY, Candice A.
PILLAY, Mershen
2018

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Background: Most people with disabilities the world over can be found in the Majority (or ‘economically developing’) World. This is also where most of the world’s hungry and malnourished are found. We argue that the intersectionality between disability and nutrition may best be understood through a food security framework, and we position all people living with disability, including those experiencing feeding and swallowing disabilities, as at risk for food insecurity, especially those living in humanitarian emergency contexts.

 

Objectives: This study aimed to explore and describe the knowledge and experience of humanitarian aid workers (HAWs) and health care professionals (HCPs) in food assistance contexts with regard to the nutrition and food security of people living with disabilities.

 

Method: In this exploratory, descriptive study, 16 participants with experience in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia participated in an online survey. Three survey participants with extensive experience were also interviewed. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis.

 

Results: Results revealed that participants had generally low levels of exposure to and experience with disability, including swallowing and feeding disorders.

 

Conclusions: Reduced knowledge of HAWs and HCPs regarding disability and the lack of professionals such as speech–language therapists, who manage disability-specific issues such as feeding and swallowing disorders, may affect the food security of people living with disabilities in food assistance contexts.

Tensions and unity in the struggle for citizenship: Swedish disability rights activists claim ‘Full Participation! Now!’

SÉPULCHRE, Marie
2018

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This article analyses the claims of contemporary disability rights activists mobilising in a context where de facto second- class citizenship co-exists with legal and political declarations about the rights of disabled people. As an empirical case, it focuses on the blog ‘Full Participation.Now’, which was initiated by disability rights activists in Sweden. Drawing upon citizenship research, the article points to the tensions and dilemmas featuring the bloggers’ demand for participation and equality, as well as the challenges relative to their struggle. Although the bloggers formulate contrasting arguments, the article highlights that the activists share a common aspiration for ‘full citizenship’.

The nation’s body: disability and deviance in the writings of Adolf Hitler

BENGTSSON, Staffan
2018

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This article takes its starting point in the Nazi ideology as it appears in the writings of Adolf Hitler, and discusses how disability and the body can be understood in the context of Mein Kampf. The article underlines how disability and bodily infirmities, alongside race, featured significantly in Hitler’s demagogic message. Although the overall image of disability was related to a sense of threat – and a culture gone wrong – Mein Kampf also contains a mixed interpretation of disability as a phenomenon, in which different and opposing disability narratives took part in the construction and the image of the body as a national property.

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