"For Fear that They Would Turn Away from me": From Transgressing Boundaries to Sexual Abuse in Spanish Autistic Women and Non-Binary People.

Abstract

Background: Autistic women and non-binary people experience higher rates of abuse, including sexual abuse, with different negative repercussions for their mental health. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors that lead autistic women and non-binary people to become victims of sexual abuse.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with seven women and two non-binary people, all of them Spanish and with a late diagnosis of autism. We analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results: We generated four main themes as follows: (1) crossing their own boundaries to belong to a group, (2) maintaining the relationship at all costs, (3) abuse by their relationships, and (4) relationships today. We highlight a gradient of severity of the abusive behavior that includes the transgression of boundaries in the first phases of the relationship to fit in with the group, which results in the normalization of abusive behaviors and a lack of identification of these. This escalation of violence by their partners leads them, in most cases, to experience sexual abuse, which they become aware of sometime later.

Conclusion: We must address abuse as a social issue and a process of awareness in the population so that autistic people are not pressured to alter their authentic selves to gain acceptance within society.

Community brief: Why was this study conducted?: We conducted this study because when we talked with autistic women and gender dissidents, they told us many stories about how they did not know how to set boundaries, which often led others to manipulate or even abuse them. Currently, little is known about this subject, and even less so in Spanish culture.What was the purpose of this study?: This study aimed to explore the experiences of autistic women and gender dissidents regarding the transgression of boundaries and abuse by their "friends" and partners.What did the researchers do?: We used a semi-structured interview that autistic professionals, researchers, and collaborators created, ensuring that it respects the autistic community. Nine participants told us about their experiences, which we transcribed and analyzed. We observed and searched for patterns in all the data to identify common themes across the participants.What were the results of this study?: We generated four major patterns (themes) that ranged from the least severe experiences (the transgression of boundaries) to the most severe (abuse). Concerning boundary transgressions, we found that some participants reported acting in a certain way to please others or avoid conflicts, for example, always doing what they were told, even though it did not seem right to them. Concerning abuse, we found very distressing stories of manipulation and sexual abuse.What do these findings add to what was already known?: As far as the authors know, this is the first study that attempts to understand how autistic Spanish population perceive harm, manipulation, or abuse by friends or partners, highlighting the important things that they wanted to tell us. In addition, we underline how Spanish culture normalizes behaviors such as kissing, touching, or hugging, which participants identified as one of the first transgressions of boundaries.What are the potential weaknesses in this study?: It was not the objective of this work; however, we did not investigate other types of violence in other contexts, such as bullying or mobbing.How will these findings help autistic people now or in the future?: Researchers are listening, and these findings can guide future research, social movements, and campaigns to raise awareness of this issue. We hope this serves as a first step for society to know about what is really happening, to reduce the prevalence of abuse and help autistic people to recognize boundaries and abusive relationships.