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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Clem Bastow and Ali Schnabel

The uproar over the NDIS and sex work shows society still struggles to see disabled people as sexual beings

NDIS Bill Shorten Pauline Hanson
A young disabled woman in a wheelchair at home, seen from behind
‘Even in questioning whether NDIS participants might need to use the services provided by sex workers, the spectre of these attitudes lingers.’ Photograph: Jozef Polc/Alamy

Disabled people are once again being kicked around in a game of ideological football. This week the minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, ruled out the use of sex work services under the scheme as part of his efforts to impose austerity on a program that provides life-changing supports for more than half a million disabled Australians.

It does not take an actuary to recognise that, given there were just 228 requests in 12 months, the material impact upon the scheme of disallowing sex work services will be minimal. The discourse surrounding this issue, however, betrays a deeper undercurrent of social attitudes toward disabled people. Namely, that they do not have sexual needs, are not interested in sex and shouldn’t be having it anyway.

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