The first five female staff, specially trained to support the sexual needs of people with disabilities, have just been licensed to work in the Czech Republic.
People with disabilities in the Czech Republic receive advice on sex – Photo: Rozkoš bez Rizika organisation
Ceskenoviny quoted Lucie Šídová – director of the Rozkoš bez Rizika (R+R) organisation, the training body – as saying that sexual assistance workers for people with disabilities have begun providing a paid service at centres for people with disabilities and care homes. People with disabilities in the Czech Republic receive advice on sex – Photo: Rozkoš bez Rizika organisation
According to the Czech Ministry of the Interior, although the service has been approved and licensed, it must still comply with specific binding conditions.
At an international conference on sexual assistance held in the capital Prague, Lucie Šídová affirmed: “Sexual assistance workers are selected very carefully. They volunteer to do this work. They have many years of experience with men and with work involving physical contact with the human body”.
Two years ago, the civil society organisation R+R proposed rolling out a sexual assistance service for people with disabilities. Together with other foreign organisations, R+R works with the “Right to sex” project, supported by the Czech Ministry of Finance through a cooperation programme between Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
To date, sexual assistance services exist in countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. All staff who register to take part in this service must complete the required courses and training.
After completing their training, sexual assistance workers in the Czech Republic must sign a commitment to follow professional ethical principles.
As well as sexual assistance, they will guide clients on how to behave more assertively, dare to voice their own needs, use sexual aids, build cooperative relationships and use contraceptives.
These workers will also advise the relatives of people with disabilities.
However, people with disabilities who wish to use the sexual assistance service must seek out information about the workers they need themselves, because R+R and the relevant experts are not allowed to act as intermediaries.
According to Michal Smid, a lawyer with the Czech Ministry of the Interior, although prostitution is not prohibited by Czech law, it is not considered a lawful source of income either. The authorities will punish those who engage in procuring.
Lawyer Michal Smid affirmed that R+R is not allowed to broker sexual assistance services. It may publish a list of all staff providing this service, but may not profit from it.
The Czech daily Lidové Noviny argues that allowing sexual assistance workers to operate legally at centres for people with disabilities or care homes in the Czech Republic will spark debate on an issue long regarded as taboo in public opinion in the country.
Lucie Šídová believes that the sexual needs of people with disabilities and older people need to be recognised, although this cannot be achieved overnight.
She said: “It needs to be raised gradually in awareness. Sexual assistance is often compared with prostitution”.
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