Service providers could do far more to help people with learning disabilities who are lesbian, gay and bisexual to engage in the relationships of their choice, say Joyce Howarth and David Abbott

Disabled people who are lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) are far more likely to have been physically or verbally assaulted because of their sexual orientation than their counterparts who are not disabled (Mason and Palmer 1996). Most services are now aware of the damaging effects of this kind of homophobia and produce policies that cover these issues.