Dr Carmen Yau

From Stigma to Strength:
Challenging Taboos and The Intersection of Disability and Sexual Empowerment

Dr Carmen Yau, Lecturer in Social Work & Lead of Well-Being Research Unit,
Goldsmiths, University of London

Abstract

As a disability activist, Anne Finger, stated, “sexuality is often the source of our deepest oppression; it is also often the source of our deepest pain”. Disabled women face a long history of intersectional oppression as their lived experience is more than “double disadvantaged” due to their disability, gender and other protected characteristics. The terms “ableism” and “disablism” are interchangeable to denote a series of assumptions and social practices that marginalise disabled people due to their disability status. Disablism implies a normative attitude of negative values, unequal practices, and rigid social orders to maltreat disabled people. Sexuality assistance for disabled individuals, the old, stigma-oriented attitude exists parallelly with the new positive views, even in the social care context (Benoit et al., 2023). The sexuality of disabled people is theoretically framed in medicalised, apolitical, and individualist terms. Thus, sexual invisibility in disability movements leads to poor sexual education, medical neglect, low self-esteem and poor body image, relationship difficulties, unconsented sex and abuse. For this reason, oppression resistance is a continuing interest among disabled women.

In this call to action, Dr Yau will share her path from an active disabled advocate to a social work academic focusing on disability and sexuality. She will share her practice wisdom in empowering disabled individuals in needs assessment, risks assessment, care planning and reviewing. Dr Yau will cover her early work on interpersonal violence against disabled women, sex volunteer services and movement in Asia, and her narrative project on sexuality and eroticism of disability, as well as her recent work on the subjectivity and agency of disabled women in the kink and fetish world. She will introduce the intersectional model of disability to revisit a series of issues related to (dis)ability and body, gender and sexuality, kink and relationships. The intersectional model helps us to unpack capitalist ideals, such as heteronormative able-bodiedness, in social work education, practice and research. The presentation ends with recommendations and joint action to build cultural humidity in the social work community to validate and respond to the experience and needs of those with marginalised and stigmatised identities.

Bio

Dr Carmen Yau is a Lecturer in Social Work and Lead of Well-being Research Unit at the Goldsmiths, University of London. In 2023, She completed her PhD on constructing self-identity and sexuality of women with disability via social media. She received her Master of Social Work from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2017), a Professional Diploma in Health Counselling from Hong Kong Baptist University (2013), Bachelor of Social Sciences (Psychology) from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2005).

Carmen is a multi-award-winning advocate in the community of the disabled. She won the Disability Power 100 award in 2024. In 2021, she was nominated for the UN Women’s Rise and Raise Other Award as an acknowledgement of achievements that she has made supporting and inspiring women and girls around the world. In 2020, She was the third-place winner in Tatler’s Hot List of “Sixteen Women Fighting for Fairness in Asia”. Her ambition is to advocate disability and gender mainstreaming. Over the years she developed a strong partnership with shareholders from disability and women communities at the local and regional levels.

Carmen devotes her passion and time to addressing the intersectionality of disabled women. Her research relates to health inequality and management, gender and sexuality, independent living, technology and social media, and social work education and research. Carmen’s erotica “Sugar XXX’s Stories” is an impactful narrative practice to gain the representation of sexuality and disability. She had a TEDx talk to share the rationale and impact of her project. Her story and research are regularly featured in media, documentaries and movies. With her lived experiences and her expertise, Carmen is a global disability expert who pursues radical changes for all.