Assessment of Sexual Consent Capacity

This article discusses assessment of sexual consent capacity, its ethical and legal mandates, and a rationale for the assessment of capacity to have a sexual relationship. It reports current assessment practices used by the authors as well as a summary of relevant literature. There is a review and discussion of New York laws, National and State court cases, and policies of National and international authorities relevant to sexual relations between persons who have intellectual disabilities. Technical information about a tool for assessing capacity to give consent for sexual relationships is described. A proposed clinical standard for use in assessing the capacity of a person with cognitive impairments to have a sexual relationship is presented.