Between Care and Control: On the (In)visibility of Intimate Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the Social, Legal, and Ethical Discourses

Katarzyna ZIELIŃSKA-KRÓL

Department of Family Studies, Faculty of Theology, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland , Poland
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7885-2042

Sylwester KASPRZAK

Department of Theory and Philosophy of Law, Faculty of Law, Canon Law, and Administration II, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland , Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1007-0454

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the sexuality of people with disabilities from a social, legal, and ethical perspectives, taking into account the mechanisms of systemic discrimination and the barriers that impede the exercise of the right to intimacy, relationships, and bodily autonomy. In the case of people with disabilities, sexuality, which is an integral part of human identity, remains a marginalized sphere, burdened by social stereotypes, leading to emotional exclusion of such people and their restricted access to education, care, and relationships. The article is based on the social model of disability and uses the method of critical analysis of the literature on the subject, legal documents, and contemporary ethical theories (deontological, utilitarian, and virtue ethics). The authors identify the need to revise existing cultural norms and institutional practices and argue for the introduction of inclusive public policies that support the sexual and relational subjectivity of people with disabilities. The article is review-analytic in nature and contributes to the debate on dignity, justice, and equality in the context of the corporeality and autonomy of people with disabilities.

Keywords:

disability, sexuality, person with disability, autonomy, human rights, ethics, discrimination, exclusion