14.06.2024
- The launch of this initiative coincides with the celebration of the international day of awareness of abuse and mistreatment in old age.
- The campaign is part of the Heldu Sexua(ri) project, a project that focuses on the lack of support for a vital aspect, such as sexuality, in care spaces.
- #LosDerechosSexualesNoCaducan consists of a series of images with key messages, a podcast, and a text published by an expert on the subject.
Donostia-San Sebastián / June 14
Taboos and social prejudices lead inexorably to see how sexuality tends to be ignored and even rejected as we get older or have support needs. This discrimination, latent and naturalized, goes up several notches if we look at the usual practice in residential centers. Thus, what is commonly observed in these care spaces is the lack of attention to aspects related to the sexuality of the people who live there.
On the one hand, professionals are no strangers to this social imaginary, which sets an expiration date for this facet of life. Moreover, it is seen as an element that complicates day-to-day care and can cloud the relationship with families. On the other hand, many of these older people make this viewpoint their own and adopt a self-discriminatory approach.
Sexual and reproductive rights are part of universal human rights. Sexuality is a fundamental part of our lives.
That is why, to talk about good treatment, to take steps towards a model of person-centered care (ACP), from that good accompanying people offering them lives with meaning, it is necessary to rescue sexuality from oblivion and give it the space it deserves, either in team meetings, in protocols for prevention, detection and action against gender violence, in the training of the teams, etc.
#SexualRightsDon'tCaducan consists of a text by Nerea Almazán, researcher at Matia Institute, an expert in addressing the sexuality of people living in care spaces; a podcast, with the participation of Feliciano Villar and Josep Faba, from the University of Barcelona, and Miren Iturburu, a colleague at Matia Institute and member of Matia's ethics committee, and a series of images showing key messages that lead to reflection and the adoption of a rights-based approach to an issue that is not trivial for the welfare of these people.
This campaign is part of the Heldu Sexua(ri) project, an initiative aimed at advancing the accompaniment of the sexuality of people living in residential centers. This project was born thanks to the subsidies of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, in coordination with the Basque Government, to pilot projects of innovation in residential centers for the elderly through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and the Next Generation EU funds obtained at the request of the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030.
