70% of ‘Special Needs Schools’ in Japan Prohibit Male-Female Relationships for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: Survey

From Kyodo

June 24 2023

A survey of senior grade heads of special-needs schools with students with intellectual disabilities revealed that about 70% of them prohibit or restrict male-female relationships on June 24th. The infertility treatment problem revealed last year at a group home in Hokkaido has pointed to the background of a tendency to view sexual relations with the intellectually disabled as taboo, and some experts have called for the school sites to review their response.

Yuko Kadoshita, a visiting researcher at Toyo University, conducted the survey in 2021. 466 people responded, with 5.6% saying that dating is “prohibited” and 63.3% saying that “it is not prohibited but there are rules. 30.0% said “no ban and no rules.”

When asked about the reasons for the cases where dating is prohibited, the most common response was “prevention of trouble,” with 100% choosing either “very applicable” or “a little applicable. This was followed by “because parents are concerned” (81.8%).

70%When asked about prohibited activities among those who answered “There are rules,” the most common answer was “sexual intercourse” (59.6%). Meeting without parental permission” and “being alone with a child” followed.