Page 2915 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 14 August 2019
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MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (3.34): I thank members, particularly on this side of the chamber, who have spoken in support of this motion. I brought this motion forward this morning because I believe that everyone in this country has a right to sex. I believe that there are many case studies, as Ms Orr highlighted in her statement that she made in support of this motion, that women and men with a disability often rely on the act of sex to help relieve their frustrations, to help relieve their tension and to help live an ordinary, everyday life.
In fact, I have some case studies that I mention now. One comes from Hack, a Triple J publication, which did a lot of work with disability members of our community about their say in what they believe they need when it comes to sexual relations. John, from Bankstown in New South Wales, has used sex workers since he was 25. He has cerebral palsy and is unable to use his hands to satisfy himself sexually, as an able-bodied person may. He is also restricted to a wheelchair, so access to facilities that provide sexual services is difficult, as he needs to be hoisted in and out of his wheelchair. To have the ability to access a sex worker who can visit a premises in which he lives makes life a whole lot easier and gives him a great deal of support, release and the removal of some frustration.
Today we have heard in the chamber debate on two motions about support for people in the community. Earlier today we heard Mrs Dunne talk to a motion about hydrotherapy services in the ACT to help people who are in pain. In fact, she spoke quite strongly about the need to support people in the community who may suffer from social isolation and being able to receive release. That is exactly what my motion as amended is about.
I believe that it is everyone’s right to access sexual services. Mr Rattenbury raised this as an issue. Sexual therapy and sex workers are two very different matters, and I am calling for access to both in my motion because both are a right and have a need for people.
There are some members of the community for whom sexual therapists work wonders. They can help couples work together to form sexual bonding again, particularly if the disability has come at a difficult stage in their life. There are members of the community, particularly those who suffer from MS, for whom the disease is degenerative and therefore things change over time. Having access to sexual therapists is wonderful. But there may come a time when a partner without a disability may not be able to please or satisfy the partner with a disability and it is imperative that they are able to access the support and the service that they require.
I too could go on and on about all the goodwill and all the good reasons why I brought this motion forward today, including the many people who have contacted my office today, just today, thanking me for having the courage to stand up in this place to talk about access to services for people with disability. That is what we are talking about here, not, as Ms Lawder has stated, whether I get a headline or not.
I believe that people with disability deserve to live an ordinary life and deserve to have access to all the supports that they may need to succeed in that form. I commend my motion to the Assembly.
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