The fight for sexual rights in aged care homes

Midway through the Q&A section of a webinar on older people’s sexual rights, a woman named Beverley asks whether aged care providers can confiscate residents’ sex toys.

The question is deftly handled by one of the experts, Dr Catherine Barrett from Celebrate Ageing, who gently asks, “I wonder why you would want to remove those items? Are they infringing on the rights of somebody else? So if a resident wants to use sex toys, if they want to pleasure themselves in the privacy of their own room, they have the right to do so.”

Another panellist, Gwenda Darling, 71, a Pallawa woman who is a member of the Aged Care Council of Elders, is even stronger in her response. She says she would be asking different questions: “Do aged care workers have a responsibility to ensure there are enough batteries, or do we ensure they have a mains charged vibrator?”