Sexual Assistance Research Articles

¿Es la asistencia sexual un derecho?

En este trabajo voy a reflexionar sobre la cuestión de la asistencia sexual y su posible configuración como derecho. La contestación a la pregunta sobre si la asistencia sexual es un derecho puede variar dependiendo del marco en el que nos desenvolvamos. Así, podemos estar hablando desde un marco estrictamente jurídico, desde un marco ético, o desde un marco a caballo entre ambos como es el de los derechos humanos. A partir de aquí, la pregunta sobre si la asistencia sexual es un derecho dependerá de la pregunta sobre qué es la asistencia sexual. La justificación de la asistencia sexual en relación con personas que no pueden realizar actividad sexual sobre su propio cuerpo puede encontrar una justificación ética de la mano de la teoría de las necesidades o de la mano de las Actividades Básicas de la Vida Diaria, e igualmente puede formar parte de los derechos sexuales o del derecho a elegir una forma de vida.

Psychodynamics of the Sexual Assistance for Individuals with Disability

This article aims at analyzing the issue of in individuals with disability (subjects with physical and/or mental disabilities) and the new professional figure of the sexual assistant, already accepted and adopted in some parts of Europe. The sexual assistant as a professional figure has been raising many moral and practical dilemmas and additionally is a controversial figure. A service, which can offer to these particular subjects, the possibility to explore their sexuality raises many questions concerning the social, legal and moral issues, which may or may not legitimize the adoption of this practice. Moreover it can be difficult to disentangle all the complexities and issues that may be created by this professional figure. Beyond the problems that such an approach undoubtedly raises, it is a fact that the sexuality of people with disabilities is often neglected or denied. This new professional figure has the merit to underline and highlight the problem.

Similarities and Differences Between Sexual Surrogacy, Sex Work and Facilitated Sexual Assistance

Similarities and Differences Between Sexual Surrogacy, Sex Work and Facilitated Sexual Assistance

Realizacja potrzeb seksualnych przez osoby niepełnosprawne: rzeczywistość — perspektywy — kontrowersje

The aim of this article is to examine how the sexuality of disabled persons is perceived by persons in their immediate surroundings (parents, caretakers, health professionals). The latter’s understanding of the question is one of the factors affecting how disabled persons define their needs and what possibility they will have of fulfilling them. On the basis of the literature on the subject, the author presents the findings of research concerning the satisfaction of sexual needs by persons with a physical or mental disability. She also indicates various ‘alternative’ methods of fulfilling these needs, such as sexual assistance, sexual therapy with a substitute partner (on the basis of the literature on the subject), and prostitution (on the basis of her own research). Consideration of the scientific and popular perspectives and the socially accepted or unaccepted manners by which disabled persons can satisfy their sexual needs makes it possible to determine to what degree these persons’ right to fulfill their sexual needs is realized in practice.

Masturbation Practices of Men and Women with Upper Limb Motor Disabilities

Masturbation is a little-discussed topic but an ubiquitous reality. Masturbation practices are multidimensional and influenced by sociocultural, religious, physical and psychological factors. The social discourses most often conveyed concerning people with disabilities aggravate their image as immature, asexual people. The aim of this article is to document the masturbation practices of men and women with upper limb disabilities. To do so, a qualitative methodology was used, involving semistructured interviews with 18 people with upper limb disabilities, aged 18 years and over. The results of the study show that the realities they face have both similarities and differences, but all subjects encountered substantial difficulties. Similarities included a significant need to discover their sexuality during adolescence as well as diverse issues related to a mismatch between body schema and social norms and difficulties masturbating due to lack of comfort. Differences included men having greater anatomical knowledge than women. The main reason why people with disabilities experience such difficulties is that these issues have not been given much attention and few solutions exist. To promote these people’s sexual autonomy via masturbation, a set of solutions is suggested, including educational and hospital programs, guides, training, adaptation of sex toys, and legalization of appropriate sexual assistance.

Sexual Assistance in Italy: An Explorative Study on the Opinions of People with Disabilities and Would-Be Assistants

Providing assistance services for sexual activity is becoming of increasing importance to the community of people with disabilities and to mental health professionals. Nevertheless, the literature on this topic is sparse. The aim of this study is to explore potential clients’ and assistants’ views, needs, experiences, opinions, and concerns about sexual assistance (SA) in Italy. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 people with a congenital physical disability and 10 would-be assistants. A Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze data. Participants with disabilities considered SA useful. Despite most of them having unfulfilled sexual needs, they would prefer to have their sexual needs met within a romantic relationship. Would-be assistants constructed themselves as people who have a “natural aptitude to being useful”. Results suggest that SA services might represent an opportunity for people with disabilities to discover new ways to satisfy their personal needs and to live more autonomously while, at the same time, allowing would-be sexual assistants to fulfill their desire to be helpful. Nevertheless, the use of SA is likely to only be a part of the answer to fulfilling the sexual needs of people with disabilities.

Právo na rozkoš: O sexuální asistenci pro lidi s "postižením". Rozhovor Lucie Hradecké s Danielou Komanickou

Právo na rozkoš: O sexuální asistenci pro lidi s "postižením". Rozhovor Lucie Hradecké s Danielou Komanickou

Fonction sexuelle et handicap physique

While the right to a sexual life for disabled people is not contested, their sexuality cannot be summed up in a debate for or against sexual assistance. In a similar way, sexual function can only be understood in light of all the difficulties related to disability. Medical progress can improve sexual function and solve many problems in order to facilitate access to procreation. However, these are not well known and are reserved to specialized teams. Many disabled persons are totally autonomous in their sexuality, but for some who require medical assistance, it is necessary to support them in a process of creation where therapeutic interventions consist of facilitating or stimulating the patient's own resources.

The psychosexual profile of sexual assistants: an internet-based explorative study.

IntroductionSexual assistance may have some aspects that resemble prostitution and others that might lead one to think of sexual assistants as similar to a group of subjects whose sexual object is disability (devotees). In this study, we investigate whether a rigorous selection and training process on the part of specialised organisations may reduce the risk of training subjects with an atypical sexual interest and behaviours resembling prostitution.Materials and MethodsThe study population consisted of 152 subjects defining themselves as sexual assistants. Subjects were initially contacted on websites specifically dedicated to sexual assistants and prostitutes. One hundred and twenty subjects were selected, by propensity score analysis, and studied by means of a modified version of a semi-structured questionnaire previously developed to investigate a population of subjects attracted by disability.ResultsThe study group was composed of 80 trained and 40 untrained sexual assistants, with mean ages of 41.5 (SD +/−12.58) and 44.5 (SD +/−11.62), respectively. A significant number of untrained subjects affirmed that their motivation in carrying out sexual assistance was of a remunerative nature, while this number was lower among the trained assistants (p = 0.001). Nearly all untrained subjects claimed to do one or more of the following activities during sexual assistance: sexual intercourse, oral sex, and masturbation. Among the trained subjects, however, only 47.5% claimed to do one or more of these activities, which means that there is a significant gap between trained and untrained assistants (p<0.0001). The existence of an atypical sexual interest was more evident between untrained rather than between trained subjects (p<0.0001).ConclusionsSexual assistance represents a way through which people affected by disabilities may attain the right to explore their sexuality in a safe setting. This can be guaranteed only if sexual assistants are trained and carefully selected by specialised organisations.

Peut-on légiférer à propos de l’assistance sexuelle en France ?

The question about sexual assistance law in favor of disabled people in France reveals from double analysis. On one hand, this law is necessary: it would regulate a practice carried out clandestinely. In the other hand, this law is now in conformity with the principle of non-negotiability of human body.

Ensuring the complementarity of country ownership and accountability for results in relation to donor aid: a response

ID allocations by donor countries to sexual and reproductive health and rights and the values that underlie that aid are a timely and important topic. In general, data about such funding are weak and the field would benefit significantly from better and more comprehensive data on what the funds are earmarked for and how they are used. In the absence of such data, it is extremely difficult to address the issue objectively. This paper is a response to the paper by Sara Seims on improving the impact of sexual and reproductive health development assistance from the seven like-minded European donors. 1 It offers a different perspective on several of the key issues she raises.