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Gender has often been overlooked in the lives of people with intellectual disability, resulting in a limited understanding and service response. This is in part due to a lack of knowledge about the way people with intellectual disability negotiate and build a gendered identity. In this article we present research undertaken with six young women with an intellectual disability who worked with the first researcher to co-develop some stories from their lives. We show how, facilitated by an innovative method which focused on meaningful engagement, the women told stories of richly gendered lives and subjectivities. Their stories showed how gender can be a desired and productive subjectivity, and how consideration of gender can help to identify resistance and agency in their lives. Their stories illustrate how gender is necessary in forming a comprehensive understanding of the lives of women with intellectual disability.

The alleged shooting by Paralympian and Olympian athlete Oscar Pistorius of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has led to strong reactions worldwide. Scholars in the field of disability studies have expressed shock and disappointment in response both to the death itself and to its implications for the representation of disability. In South Africa in the wake of the death of Ms Steenkamp, much has been made both by critics of Pistorius and by his defenders about his status as a white South African man, but little has been said about disability issues. This silence in South Africa about disability as a possible identity factor in this case draws attention to the extent to which disability questions remain profoundly raced and gendered, and influenced by the colonial and apartheid past. The tragic alleged shooting by Oscar Pistorius draws attention back to how important intersectionality is to understanding disability in South Africa and other unequal societies.

This fact sheet presents general information about youth with disabilities worldwide. It highlights the following specific topics: prevalence, poverty, family situation, education, transition into working life and financial independence, employment, sex and relationship, acceptance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD). This factsheet is useful for people interested in youth with disabilities

This briefing paper outlines the general framework of adolescents’ reproductive and sexual rights. It addresses core concerns for adolescents rights and discusses governments’ legal duties to address those concerns. The areas of focus are sexuality education; access to confidential health care; child marriage and lack of educational opportunity; sexual violence; and female genital mutilation. The promotion of adolescent health and autonomy are considered primary goals for advocates and lawmakers

This article discusses a range of issues facing disabled people and sexuality. Disabled people are not seen as 'sexy' in society and are not allowed to develop a sense of sexuality - for example through the media. Young disabled people may also lack adequate sex education and may be sheltered from developing their sexuality by over-protective parents