A new guidebook for elder care nurses in the United Kingdom, issued by the Royal College of Nursing, offers guidelines for caregivers to deal with what it called the “taboo subject” of sexuality among senior citizens living in nursing homes, noting in its introduction that, “sexuality remains a fundamental aspect of being human throughout life. It encompasses gender identities and roles, sexual orientation, intimacy, sexual expression and sexual acts.”
Among those sexual acts, according to the guidebook Older People in Care Homes: Sex, Sexuality and Intimate Relationships, viewing online porn and using sex toys for masturbation—without violating the privacy or personal space of other care home residents.
According to the guidebook, nurses in elder care facilities encounter the thorny issue of senior sexuality more frequently than is generally understood.
“Jefferson, a resident who lives with multiple disabilities and is physically unable to care for himself, asks his key carer to assist him with masturbation,” the guidebook recounts, citing one example of a difficult situation encountered by caregivers in one facility. “There is no concern that Jefferson lacks mental capacity to make decisions, and the principles of sexual rights would support his right to fulfilling sexual activity.”
But the facility staff felt “ill-equipped” to provide the help the patient requested, and also worried that to do so might violate sexual offense laws, so, “following expert advice from sexual health services, mechanical assistive devices that individuals use themselves were procured.”
The exact nature of the “mechanical devices” was not specified in the Royal College of Nursing guide.
In another case study, a nursing home resident demanded that he be allowed to procure a prostitute and avail himself of her services in the nursing home. According to the guidebook, facility staff decided that to prevent the resident from employing a prostitute to meet his sexual needs would be a violation of his human rights.
In another instance, a resident who told staff he wanted to watch porn on his laptop computer was told he would be permitted to do so, on the condition that he used headphones and viewed the adult material in a way that no other residents or staff would inadvertently see it.
Senior citizens in care homes should be permitted to pursue their own sexual interests and fetishes, the guidebook says, noting that advanced age does not necessarily diminish the “strong desire” for “their usual sexual practices which might include cross dressing [and] sadomasochism.”
“Just because people live in a care home doesn't mean they lose the same rights, choices and responsibilities they once enjoyed in their home,” RCN spokesperson Dawne Garrett said.
Photo by Morderska/Wikimedia Commons
