Disabled people are often painted in the mainstream media as the lowest of the lows in society. Some are even seen as doomed figures, presented as the unwilling, sexless inhabitants of a life not worth living.
Rarely do we talk about people with disabilities in more broad, complex terms—and rarer still do we acknowledge their sexual desires and needs.
The government of Germany is boosting both the domestic s3x economy and the intimate endeavours of its disabled citizens. Put simply, s3x is increasingly described as a right everyone should be able to enjoy.
Now a German political party has proposed that disabled citizens should be able to pay for s3x workers using public funds.
The BBC reports that a spokesperson for Germany’s left-wing Green Party told newspaper Welt am Sonntag that she “could imagine” authorities paying for “sexual assistance” where those with disabilities could claim back money paid for s3x.
This would be permitted as long as they could prove they have a medical need and that they lacked sufficient funds to hire a s3x worker.
Critics argued that it was a misuse of taxpayer funds that left vulnerable people open to exploitation, while others said that sexual expression is a human right.
Not all disability rights campaigners are in favour of the German proposals. “I think [it] could be seen as a bit patronizing,” explains Dr Tuppy Owens of the Sexual Health and Disability Alliance (SHADA).
Owens also runs the TLC Trust, which helps disabled men and women to find responsible sexual services. “Mostly, disabled people would like to be treated the same as anyone else.”
But why s3x? Besides the obvious pleasure, intercourse is a form of mental and physical therapy. In psychology, many experts mention its ability to fulfil needs for intimacy, validation, stress relief or stronger self-esteem.
