ABSTRACT

Authors: Jasna Kadric and Maria Lazaridou

Title: It is like, as common as eating and sleeping... About how staff at grouphomes manages and looks at the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities.

Supervisor: Marie Eriksson

The following study is a phenomenological study based on interviews and a qualitative method, with seven respondents who work in different group homes. The purpose of this study is to understand how the staff at group homes manages and looks at the situations in which the sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities is expressed. The subjects of sexuality related to people with disabilities have often been lighted in relation to forced sterilization and birth rate. Therefore in this study we focused on sexuality as enjoyment and primary needs, as well as how the staff works and handles situations in which the sexuality of these people is expressed. We based the theoretical part on Elias & Scotsons theory of "Established and the Outsiders" and at the same time we also used four concepts in our analysis; normality, normalization principle, categorization and power. Therefore our conclusion is that the management of sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities is characterized by a quest for normalization principles. Sexuality of people with mental disabilities is perceived as normal by and not as a problem by the staff.