Consent and disability lets keep the convesation going.
This is going to be a controversial topic and let’s keep the
conversation going as we need to talk about it, but we need to define what
consent is and let’s see what it is, as consent is going to be different
depending on the context. The different types I found are,
·
Informed consent around medical decisions and
care so this is knowing the risks and benefits of medical procedures or knowing
what the risks of medications are.
·
Intimate consent in relationships, so this is
being able to have intimate relationships and be physical with that person, but
also knowing that it could be risky and knowing how to maintain relationships
as well.
·
Implied consent so this could be for care and self-care
tasks they need help with so for someone who needs help dressing or showering
so being able to consent to this care. [i]
This is where the complexity of disability comes into play as some people are able to consent but if a
person has a mental illness or mental disability this is where it get tricky
due to the fact that we need to ask the person can they consent as can they
understand the consequences of what they are about to do, either in a
relationship or in a medical setting as some people are over medicated as they
say yes to the medication or treatment without knowing the full consequences or
side effects. Due to the fact that they
want to be “ compliant” with treatment
but the side effect can cause tiredness, over eating or other unpleasant side effects when there may be
other treatment’s open to the person that they aren’t aware of or if they had
someone advocating for them they would be able to ask the question so for
someone with eleplisy what combination of medications do they need to be on, vs
someone with anxiety and working with a mental health professional might be a
better option to resolve the anxiety long term.
If someone is going into a relationship do they understand the risk’s or benefits
of being in a relationship and are they able to have the responsibility to keep
a relationship going and understand what goes int a relationship and being able
to understand in Australia or in their
part of the world being able to combine finances and the risks of loosing their
govement payments if you are able to access them, as some are able to hold down
a job and work part time or casually.
This is a shorter post but we need to start
talking about it and what consent in disability means as some people with a disability
can’t consent or have never been taught about it due to the fact that it hasn’t
factored into a parents or care givers mindset
that they need to be taught about relationships and consent as it has been at
times actively discouraged disabled people from having relationship’s.
For some people this is true but we need to talk about it to be able to have
full and rich lives and for some understanding consent is more about preventing
harm to others as well, so if they don’t understand it they are more at risk of
engaging with the crime justice system due to the fact they might not understand
it’s wrong to tough someone when they say know or to say something sexual at a
work place.
This is where we need to be aware that this
is difficult and challenging to talk about be we need to be able to talk about
it like adults in the room as we need to start some difficult and challenging conversations as well.
This is where we need to have some complex
and challenging discussions around inclusion and consent in disability as it
then reduces harm and also allows for dignity of risk and people to have a full
life and keeps support workers and care givers safe as a person is more aware
of what that person is able to do.
So
lets start having the conversations that lead to a more inclusive and diverse environment where people are valued and are
able to live a life where decisions are made with them instead of for them.
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