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Dementia, sexuality and consent in residential aged care facilities.
- Source :
-
Journal of medical ethics [J Med Ethics] 2012 Oct; Vol. 38 (10), pp. 609-13. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Jun 25. - Publication Year :
- 2012
-
Abstract
- Sexual self-determination is considered a fundamental human right by most of us living in Western societies. While we must abide by laws regarding consent and coercion, in general we expect to be able to engage in sexual behaviour whenever, and with whomever, we choose. For older people with dementia living in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), however, the issue becomes more complex. Staff often struggle to balance residents' rights with their duty of care, and negative attitudes towards older people's sexuality can lead to residents' sexual expression being overlooked, ignored, or even discouraged. In particular, questions as to whether residents with dementia are able to consent to sexual activity or physically intimate relationships pose a challenge to RACF staff, and current legislation does little to assist them. This paper will address these issues, and will argue that, while every effort should be made to ensure that no resident comes to harm, RACFs must respect the rights of residents with dementia to make decisions about their sexuality, intimacy and physical relationships.
- Subjects :
- Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Australia
Choice Behavior
Female
Happiness
Humans
Kinesics
Male
Negotiating
Aging psychology
Decision Making
Dementia
Homes for the Aged ethics
Homes for the Aged legislation & jurisprudence
Homes for the Aged standards
Homes for the Aged trends
Mental Competency
Nursing Homes ethics
Nursing Homes legislation & jurisprudence
Nursing Homes standards
Nursing Homes trends
Personal Autonomy
Sexual Behavior ethics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1473-4257
- Volume :
- 38
- Issue :
- 10
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of medical ethics
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 22736582
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2011-100453