joggon
25-07-19, 02:34
'We are sexual beings': why disability advocates want the NDIS to cover sexual services
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/22/we-are-sexual-beings-why-disability-advocates-want-the-ndis-to-cover-sexual-services
Ange McReynolds was 32 when she first asked one of her friends to “call up to ask for an escort”. McReynolds, who has severe cerebral palsy, represented Australia at the 2000 Paralympics in the sport of boccia, which is similar to bocce.
Still, in her words, she relies on others to do everything for her. The same goes for sex. “I access the service once a month,” McReynolds tells Guardian Australia. “It costs me $280 for two hours.”
Now 39, McReynolds says that, if she could, she would go more often. Every second week would be her preference. “I would like to see the NDIS fund it, because some of us can’t afford to see a sex worker,” she says in an email interview.
The minister responsible for the national disability insurance scheme, Stuart Robert, thinks he knows what the public might think about that.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8959ce8db5409ca4367b9ac28c9be7183fb76f74/0_0_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&
NDIS to appeal after woman wins right to funding for sexual therapy
Last week, Robert declared that the idea the scheme might fund sexual services did not meet “community expectations”.
Robert was forced to wade into the issue after a woman in her 40s with multiple sclerosis won the right to have sexual therapy funding in her NDIS plan (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/11/woman-wins-right-to-ndis-funding-for-sexual-therapy).
The story was a tabloid’s dream: a woman seeking “sexual release” paid for by the taxpayer. In the end, reporting of the tribunal decision was quite restrained, but if advocates were relieved, it was short-lived.
Soon after the news broke, Robert said the agency would appeal to the federal court, a rare move that increases the likelihood of a precedent-setting decision.
If there was any consolation for advocates, it’s that the tribunal had approved funding for sexual therapy, which is generally not “hands on”, but did not rule on sex worker services. Much to the confusion of advocates and the agency, this was what the applicant had actually sought.
The appeal means the federal court may yet rule that the insurance scheme must fund sexual services for people with disabilities – a huge public win for the disability community after years of uncertainty.
‘It just seems a bit unfair’
Replacing the disjointed state-by-state system, the NDIS now provides funding packages to cover “reasonable and necessary” support for more than 300,000 Australians. More than 100,000 of these people are receiving support for the first time.
But the definition of what is “reasonable and necessary” has been the subject of dispute, amid arguments between the states and the commonwealth (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/14/australians-with-life-threatening-swallowing-condition-win-ndis-battle), and between the agency and disability advocates (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/18/ndis-people-with-severe-mental-health-problems-being-denied-access-on-a-daily-basis).
There is no data on how many people might want to access sexual services through the NDIS – but advocates claim that some people had already done so previously and the agency had simply turned a blind eye.
It later had a public change of heart, according to disability groups, and in the recent Administrative Appeals Tribunal case, the agency warned that offering sexual services presented a financial risk to the scheme’s future.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/22/we-are-sexual-beings-why-disability-advocates-want-the-ndis-to-cover-sexual-services
Ange McReynolds was 32 when she first asked one of her friends to “call up to ask for an escort”. McReynolds, who has severe cerebral palsy, represented Australia at the 2000 Paralympics in the sport of boccia, which is similar to bocce.
Still, in her words, she relies on others to do everything for her. The same goes for sex. “I access the service once a month,” McReynolds tells Guardian Australia. “It costs me $280 for two hours.”
Now 39, McReynolds says that, if she could, she would go more often. Every second week would be her preference. “I would like to see the NDIS fund it, because some of us can’t afford to see a sex worker,” she says in an email interview.
The minister responsible for the national disability insurance scheme, Stuart Robert, thinks he knows what the public might think about that.
https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8959ce8db5409ca4367b9ac28c9be7183fb76f74/0_0_5568_3341/master/5568.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&
NDIS to appeal after woman wins right to funding for sexual therapy
Last week, Robert declared that the idea the scheme might fund sexual services did not meet “community expectations”.
Robert was forced to wade into the issue after a woman in her 40s with multiple sclerosis won the right to have sexual therapy funding in her NDIS plan (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/11/woman-wins-right-to-ndis-funding-for-sexual-therapy).
The story was a tabloid’s dream: a woman seeking “sexual release” paid for by the taxpayer. In the end, reporting of the tribunal decision was quite restrained, but if advocates were relieved, it was short-lived.
Soon after the news broke, Robert said the agency would appeal to the federal court, a rare move that increases the likelihood of a precedent-setting decision.
If there was any consolation for advocates, it’s that the tribunal had approved funding for sexual therapy, which is generally not “hands on”, but did not rule on sex worker services. Much to the confusion of advocates and the agency, this was what the applicant had actually sought.
The appeal means the federal court may yet rule that the insurance scheme must fund sexual services for people with disabilities – a huge public win for the disability community after years of uncertainty.
‘It just seems a bit unfair’
Replacing the disjointed state-by-state system, the NDIS now provides funding packages to cover “reasonable and necessary” support for more than 300,000 Australians. More than 100,000 of these people are receiving support for the first time.
But the definition of what is “reasonable and necessary” has been the subject of dispute, amid arguments between the states and the commonwealth (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/14/australians-with-life-threatening-swallowing-condition-win-ndis-battle), and between the agency and disability advocates (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/sep/18/ndis-people-with-severe-mental-health-problems-being-denied-access-on-a-daily-basis).
There is no data on how many people might want to access sexual services through the NDIS – but advocates claim that some people had already done so previously and the agency had simply turned a blind eye.
It later had a public change of heart, according to disability groups, and in the recent Administrative Appeals Tribunal case, the agency warned that offering sexual services presented a financial risk to the scheme’s future.