Submission in response to Senate Inquiry into the National Disability Insurance Scheme Bill 2012

Touching Base Inc

Contact Details

• Post: PO Box 523, Newtown, NSW 2042
• Email: info@touchingbase.org
• Web: www.touchingbase.org

Touching Base acknowledges the significant contribution of material for this submission by David Heckendorf.

Who we are

Touching Base was established in2001 with the goal of assisting people with disability and sex workers to connect with each other. The Touching Base Committee of Management is led by sex workers and people with disability and is supported by organisations including People with Disability Australia Inc, Cerebral Palsy Alliance(formally The Spastic Centre of NSW), Family Planning NSW, Multiple Sclerosis Limited, and Scarlet Alliance – Australian Sex Workers Association.

The work of Touching Base focuses on areas such as access, discrimination, human rights, legal issues and the attitudinal barriers that these two marginalised communities can face.

Touching Base concurs with the general principles of the NDIS, that:

• People with disability have the same right as other members of Australian society to realise their potential for physical, social, emotional and intellectual development.

• People with disability should be supported to participate in and contribute to social and economic life to the extent of their ability.

• People with disability should be supported to exercise choice and control in the pursuit of their goals and the planning and delivery of their supports.

• People with disability have the same right as other members of Australian society to respect for their worth and dignity and to live free from abuse, neglect and exploitation.

• People with disability should have the same right as other members of Australian society to be able to determine their own best interests, including the right to exercise informed choice and engage as equal partners in decisions that will affect their lives, to the full extent of their capacity.

We also concur where the legislation stipulates that:

       "...if the Act requires actions or decisions on behalf of others, the following
   principles also apply:

• people with disability should be involved in decision making processes that affect them, and where possible make decisions for themselves;“,

• people with disability should be encouraged to engage in the life of the community; - the judgements and decisions that people with disability would have made in relation to the act or thing should be taken into account; - the cultural and linguistic circumstances of people with disability should be taken into account; and - the supportive relationships, friendships and connections with others of people with disability should be recognised.

Further, Touching Base believes it is entirely natural and reasonable for any person

to seek consensual intimate friendships and relationships as a normal part of

exploring one’s physical, social and emotional needs for sexual intimacy and sexual

expression.

However, many people with disability experience overwhelming stigma and

discrimination when seeking to form intimate friendships and relationships with

others. On that basis we argue that there is a strong case for sexual services to be

recognised as a legitimate type of disability service for people with disability where

they are unable to find sexual release or sexually express themselves in any other

safe way.

Therefore Touching Base seeks the inclusion of sexual development under clause 14(a)(i), as follows:

14 Agency may provide funding to persons or entities
    The Agency may provide assistance in the form of funding for persons or
        entities:
       (a)   for the purposes of enabling those persons or entities to assist
          people with disability to:
                    (i) realise their potential for physical, social, emotional, [INSERT
             sexual] and intellectual development; and
                     (ii) participate in social and economic life; and
       (b)  otherwise in the performance of the Agency’s functions.

If it is deemed not possible to insert sexual development within clause 14(a)(i), Touching Base requests that funding to support expressions of sexuality, sexual growth, experiential sexuality education and the right to sexual release and pleasure be accommodated under the broader ambits of physical, social and emotional development. This support should be made available, in circumstances as outlined Page 3 of 4

Sexual Health Services for People With Disability

above, to adults with disability who place a high priority on pursing their potential for

sexual development within their person-centred care plan.

This will enable those people with disability to exercise the ‘same right’ to sexual

expression and sexual release that people without disability already have.

People without disability can find ways to satisfy their sexual desires and needs, either through solo activities or through finding sexual partners. Some people with profound disabilities – be it physical or intellectual – do not enjoy the same degree of opportunities to either “go solo” or to find a sexual partner. It may be the case that in some situations access to sex workers will provide the only way to achieve this equality.

In relation to people with significant mobility and dexterity impairments, David Heckendorf has previously stated “…we are the only substantive part of the community that has to pay to masturbate”.

David further identified:

   "People with disabilities have traditionally been seen as asexual. This,
    together with the general population’s uneasiness about the topic of sex and
    sexuality, means that people with profound disabilities must overcome
    significant social barriers before they can convince their professional support
   workers that they need access to sexual health services...
        I acknowledge that people's basic daily care – bathing, eating, dressing and
     toileting – are top priorities. However, the Convention on the Rights of
   Persons with Disabilities1 clearly states that governments have an obligation
    
    to ensure that people with disability can enjoy life to the same extent as their
   non-disabled peers.

 Even if this were not the case, it would be comforting to think that, if you were
   seriously disabled in an accident tomorrow – god forbid – your needs,
   including your sexual needs, would be provided for. Unfortunately, this is not
   necessarily the case at the moment."