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Dementia, sexuality and consent in residential aged care facilities
  1. Laura Tarzia,
  2. Deirdre Fetherstonhaugh,
  3. Michael Bauer
  1. Australian Centre for Evidence-Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), La Trobe University, Bundoora, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Laura Tarzia, Australian Centre for Evidence-Based Aged Care (ACEBAC), Level 5, Health Sciences 2, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia; l.tarzia{at}latrobe.edu.au

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.

  • Aged
  • capacity
  • feminism
  • sexuality/gender
  • women

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests None.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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