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The purpose of this study is to compare the UK demographics of forced marriage of people with learning disabilities and people without learning disabilities to inform effective safeguarding practice.

An analysis of all cases of forced marriage reported to the UK Government’s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) between 2009 and 2015.

People with learning disabilities are at five times greater risk of forced marriage than people without learning disabilities. Men and women with learning disabilities are equally likely to be forced to marry, whereas amongst the general population, women are more likely than men to be forced to marry. Patterns of ethnicity, geographic location within the UK and reporters are the same for people with and without learning disabilities.

The analysis is based on cases reported to the FMU, and for some cases, data held was incomplete. More importantly, many cases go unreported and so the FMU data does not necessarily reflect all cases of forced marriage in the UK.

Forced marriage of people with learning disabilities is a safeguarding issue. Practitioners across health, education, criminal justice and social care need to better understand the risk of forced marriage for people with learning disabilities. Links to practice resources developed as part of the wider project are provided.

This is the first time that researchers have been given access to FMU data and the first time that a statistical analysis of cases of forced marriage involving someone with a learning disability have been analysed.

This article explores the sexual experiences of women with learning difficulties, highlighting the blurred nature of the boundary between abusive and consented sex.

The research reported here examines the experiences of women with learning disabilities who have lived at the only specialist refuge available in this country. A full description of the specialist refuge is given and lessons drawn for other learning disability service providers. The importance of safe, women‐only space is emphasised.

The research investigated how women with learning disabilities understand and experience the menopause, and the support available. This paper Reports the experiences and attitudes of those people to whom women with learning disabilities might turn for support. GPs generally Reported relatively little experience in treating women with learning disabilities for menopause‐related symptoms and some recognised the need for pro‐active work. Carers played a key role in facilitating women's access to primary health care. Staff in residential and day services recognised the role they played in supporting women through the menopause, but were hampered by lack of time and resources. Mothers of middle‐aged women with learning disabilities who still lived at home felt well‐placed to support their daughters through the menopause and viewed this transition positively. The need for specialist educational materials was emphasised by all those who took part in this research.