Did you know disabled people have sex and they like it?
– undressing disability campaign
Sexuality
Every person is a sexual being and has sexual thoughts, attitudes, feelings, desires, and fantasies. Having a physical or intellectual disability doesn’t change your sexuality and your desire to express it – or the emotions that can go with it. In fact, the World Health Organization says:
Sexuality is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects of life.
Disability & Sexuality
People with disability have limited opportunities to learn about sexuality, relationships, and reproductive and sexual health. They are facing barriers such as self-esteem issues, finding a partner and overcoming physical and emotional barriers but also the fact that not many people want to talk about sex and disability.
One of the biggest barriers for people living with a disability to express their sexuality is the negative societal attitude and assumption that they are not sexual. Having a lack of knowledge and information around safe relationships also means people with disability experience much higher rates of sexual abuse than the general population.
Research has shown that improvements in knowledge result in improved self-esteem, decision-making and self-protection skills for people with disability. Therefore it is important for people to learn that they have the right to be safe, and are given the opportunity to learn and practise protective behaviours. The key to building sexual health in people living with a disability is to communicate openly about rights and responsibilities in relation to private body parts, sexual feelings and behaviours, healthy relationships, respect for boundaries, diversity and the law.
What we do
At Interchange, we believe that people with disability have the same rights to sexual and reproductive health, including education, as others in the community. This includes people we support having opportunities to be sexually active and ensuring they are safe.
To build our knowledge around this area we now have the module ‘Sexuality and Relationships’ within our internal learning program available to our staff. Covered within are topics such as health, sexual expression, protective behaviour and circle of relationships.
We now also have a membership with SECCA to access a wealth of information and resources relating to sexuality and disability. The non-profit organisation supports people with disability to learn about human relationships, sexuality and sexual health, as well as helping them to develop skills that will empower them to make informed choices. They also have workshops for people with disability and a free App that can be downloaded that gives tips and fun activities to help with conversations around sex.
Would you like to tell us about your experiences relating to sexuality and disability? – We’d love to hear them! Please let us know what you think is needed to break down barriers and empower people to make informed decisions around sex. Get in touch with us by emailing hello@interchangewa.org.au
We are looking forward to hearing from you!