Consenting to sexual activity.

Engaging in sexual activity is an essential Human Right protected under article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights ( Council of Europe, 1950 ) and should be free from state interference. District nurses, however, often express concern over the possibility that adults with acquired brain injury or a learning disability cannot give a real consent to participate in sexual activity and so should be prevented from doing so. In this article Richard Griffith reviews the case law in relation to the capacity to consent to sexual activity.