Young women paying for college by stripping in a club? Crack addicts working street corners under the watchful eye of their pimp? But we have fewer go-to images about their clientele. What kind of person pays for sex, anyway? Businessmen traveling for work, looking for some action while their wives are at home with the kids? Bi-curious women looking to explore having sex with another woman in a judgement-free setting? Bros at a bachelor party? In fact, these people are often overlooked in our society in general, not just when it comes to sex.
In a poll conducted by a newspaper in the United Kingdom, 44 percent of respondents said that they would never have sex with someone who had a physical disability. Sex is a basic human need, as essential for our survival as air, food, and water. An active and satisfying sex life improves physical and mental health, self-esteem , and overall quality of life.
So it makes sense that many people with disabilities would turn to brothels or prostitutes to meet that need. Nearly 38 percent of men with disabilities said they would, as did 16 percent of women with disabilities. Sex therapist and author Tuppy Owens has a long track record of advocating for people with disabilities, especially when it comes to accessing sexual services. She runs the Outsiders Club , which helps people living with mental and physical disabilities find sex partners, as well as the Sex and Disability Helpline and the Sexual Respect Toolkit , which are aimed at helping healthcare and social workers initiate conversations about sex.
Owens is far from alone in doing this work. Australian sex worker Rachel Wotton founded Touching Base , a nonprofit that connects disabled people with sex workers who can help them fill their innate needs for physical intimacy, affection, and sexual pleasure; since Wotton founded the organization in , similar services have sprung up in Canada and New Zealand.
Indeed, in countries like Holland, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, where sex work is legalized, people with disabilities can receive government-subsidised sessions with sex workers. In Holland and Denmark, social workers specifically ask disabled clients whether they need support around their sexuality and will connect them with sex therapists or sex workers. It was new and I tried to get my lip action going a bit as well. Mik Scarlet, who works with organization Enhance the U.
