Sristi Dutta, Dinaz R. Jeejeebhoy, Amitava Sengupta,
and Debangshu Chanda
Pages:220-236
Sexuality is still a socially sensitive topic in India, especially for people with disabilities.
This gap in societal awareness, particularly prevalent in suburban areas, highlights the
need to investigate the distinctive experiences and challenges of this demographic,
which frequently go unexamined. To investigate the sexual depression, sexual esteem,
sexual preoccupation, and social stigma experienced by individuals (n = 15) with
locomotor disabilities (Group 1) compared to individuals (n = 15) without locomotor
disabilities (Group 2), aged 18 to 40 years, participants were selected using purposive
and snowball sampling. The Mann Whitney U test revealed no significant differences
between the groups in terms of the variables. Spearman’s correlations revealed a
significant negative correlation between Sexual Depression and Communion for Group
1 (p = .003) and between Sexual Depression and Sexual Esteem for both Group 1 (p =
.001) and Group 2 (p < .001). Thematic analysis revealed themes including social
violence toward persons with disabilities, astern ideas about sexuality, etc. This study
revealed that individuals who experience emotional/intimate connections during sexual
experiences seem to have higher levels of sexual self-esteem. The results indicate the
need to address legal policy building and advocacy for the implementation of sexeducation and an inclusive socio-occupational environment.