I love the Danes. While all about are losing theirs, our friendly friends from frosty fields find themselves in a bit of a pickle. The Copenhagen Post reports:
The Social Democrats criticise official guidelines that instruct health care workers to assist disabled people to contact prostitutes. The opposition party’s MP and equal opportunities spokesman Kirsten Brosbøl criticised the Ministry of Social Affairs for instructing health care workers who assist disabled people to buy sex.
This all stems from a government report published some years ago, entitled “Sexuality - Regardless of Handicap”. One of the paper’s tenets is that “sexual health is a basic human right”. Given this, it becomes part of the social worker’s role to (ahem) service the disabled’s sexual needs.
The assisting person must in some cases escort the person to the prostitute. It can also be essential for the assisting person to talk to the prostitute, together with the person, to express requests and ensure that enough time is provided
Not far behind the thrust of Social Democrats, of course, comes Stig Langvad, chairman for the Confederation of Special Needs Organisations:
My general opinion is that disabled people should have equal access to the same opportunities as everyone else in society. Since we have prostitution in Denmark, disabled people should get assistance when circumstances demand
Great place, eh? The question is not so much how it is that the state can reconcile the protection of women (particular rights) and sexual needs (human rights), even less whether social workers should get a percentage of earnings - as do pimps; rather, the issue is whether or not horniness is in itself a disability.
Further reading:
No help to buy sex
Sexuality and Autism.
