To The Arc of California and ARCA (Association of Regional Center Agencies,)

We, members of the IDD Community (individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities) and Disability Rights California, are deeply disappointed by your continued support of Senate Bill 258.

Here is a portion of ARCA’s mission statement: The Lanterman Act focuses on providing community-based services that support individuals with developmental disabilities in reaching their full potential and highest level of self-sufficiency.

Here is a portion of The Arc of California’s mission statement: to promote and protect the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD,) and to actively support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.

We firmly believe that the support of SB 258 by The Arc of California and ARCA is a profoundly concerning issue and one that flies in the face of these mission statements. By criminalizing consensual sexual relationships between individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, SB 258 poses a significant threat to the I/DD community. This legislation effectively implies that people with intellectual disabilities are not sexual human beings and lack the capacity for consent, perpetuating an outdated and erroneous eugenics philosophy. This perspective is not only scientifically inaccurate but also disregards the inherent dignity and humanity of individuals with disabilities. Our personal experience strongly suggests the opposite, that people with intellectual disabilities possess the capacity to give consent and have the fundamental human right to bodily autonomy, to love, to our full humanity. Individuals with intellectual disabilities are sexual human beings, possessing the inherent ability to make informed decisions about their own bodies and personal relationships.

It is crucial to recognize that SB 258 has its roots in the California eugenics movement, which was characterized by extreme ableism. This movement advocated for further state control over the bodies and lives of disabled individuals, perpetuating the discriminatory belief that non-disabled individuals regard people with disabilities as inferior human beings. This discriminatory belief system is fundamentally flawed and has no place in our society. Organizations that are supposed to advocate for us like The Arc of California and ARCA should not be supporting this kind of thinking. 

SB 258 contributes to the overcriminalization of individuals with disabilities within the criminal legal system. Given the already disproportionate representation of individuals with disabilities in the system, the reality of this bill is deeply concerning and directly contradicts the principles of home and community-based settings.

No one, and certainly no one disabled, should ever be coerced into having sex without their consent. We all agree on that.  But doing so also means agreeing that disabled people have the ability to consent to sex in the first place. Which, by definition, includes the ability to say yes to sex as well as the ability to say no. If it's important for disabled adults to be able to say no to sex they don't want, then it's also important for them to be able to say yes to sex they do want.  You can't have one without the other.  

SB 258 would eliminate current language that protects married adults with IDD from being prosecuted for rape if they choose to do what all married couples do, which is have sex with each other. Why is such protection necessary? The statute says it only applies when someone lacks the capacity to consent as a result of their disability.  So if someone with IDD chooses to have sex and prove it was consensual, their partner couldn't be prosecuted under this statute, right? Unfortunately, the ugly truth is that they can. In California, our courts have held that a DA doesn't even have to provide medical evidence of the victim's disability in order to convict someone of rape under this statute. 

This is dangerous. It amounts to a presumption that people with IDD are legally incapable of having consensual sex.  It means that if you have IDD and choose to have sex, it can be considered rape, no matter how much you may have wanted it or how enthusiastically you may have consented to it.  And because adults with IDD tend to have sex with their peers, it's other adults with IDD who most often end up criminalized under the current law.

A few years ago, the Legislature carved out an exemption to shield a small subset of folks-- those married to other people with IDD-- from this perverse result. SB 258 would eliminate even this modest protection. If it succeeds, it will only add to the increasing overcriminalization of disabled people in California.

Disabled people have spoken out about the harm this bill would cause, only to have their concerns minimized and dismissed by organizations that claim to represent their interests. Organizations like The Arc of California and ARCA can no longer claim to speak for disabled people and continue to support things we do not want. Adults with IDD have had a long history of being infantilized, desexualized and ultimately dehumanized.  Bills like SB 258 only perpetuate these harms. The Arc of California and ARCA have been on the wrong side of bills, acted out of paternalism, and ignored the voices of the people they are supposed to serve and protect before. Both of these organizations were supportive of keeping sub-minimum wage and sheltered workshops, which disabled people wanted to put an end to. They have also been supportive of more police engagement interacting with disabled people, which of course is very dangerous.

Rather than support the kind of awful and dehumanizing policy SB 258 embodies, they should work with us to provide more sex education and the kinds of community-based supports we call for. They should have real conversations with us about what we need, not push us into more contact with the police and court system. Negotiating with the legislature on bills that would clearly do so much harm is foolish, you’d have better odds in Vegas.

We strongly urge The Arc of California and ARCA to recognize the dire flaws in SB 258 and to collaborate with organizations like DRC to effectively oppose its passage. By aligning with this opposition, these organizations will be upholding their mission statements and ensuring that disability rights are recognized as human rights. 

Sincerely, 
Self-advocates of the IDD Community & Disability Rights California

Media Contact

Sam Mickens
Director of Communications
(646) 945-0918
Sam.Mickens@disabilityrightsca.org

Disability Rights California (DRC) – Is the agency designated under federal law to protect and advocate for the rights of Californians with disabilities. The mission of DRC is to defend, advance, and strengthen the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities. For more information visit: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org.