Legal and ethical issues in social and health services to young people with intellectual disabilities who want to be part of the

Since 1999 Norwegian law has regulated the use of force in caring for people with Intellectual Disabilities ID. The governing principles in these regulations are that force should never be exercised where alternatives, not involving the use of force, may be optional - and force should never be used, unless actual and considerable damage to the individual or his/her physical or social surroundings is a likely outcome of not intervening. These legal principles also apply to restrictions that service providers may put on an individual's access to the Internet or using his/her mobile phone in establishing social contacts, which could be potentially harmful - i.e. lead to physical or psychological abuse.

This places service providers in an ethically challenging position: they may observe that an individual puts him-/herself in a potentially dangerous situation - yet the actual danger might not be so concrete or imminent that interventions are warranted. The rights of the individual to make its own choices regarding intimate relationships is held up against the responsibility of service providers to protect him/her against exploitation, STD's and unwanted pregnancies.

Recorded June 12 – 16, 2011 at the 20th WAS World Congress for Sexual Health
Forging the Future: Sexual Health for the 21th Century, Glasgow, United Kingdom
Visit The World Association Of Sexual Health at  http://www.worldsexology.org