Final Report Summary - SEXUAL ASSISTANCE (Commercial Sex, ‘Sexual Assistance’ and People with Disabilities: A Qualitative Inquiry on Sweden, Britain, and Switzerland)
SEXUAL ASSISTANCE - Project Number 302299
FINAL REPORT - SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
Period covered: 1 November 2012 – 31 January 2015
_____________________________________________________________
I. PROJECT AND OBJECTIVES
This project contributed to the debate on commercial sex and “sexual assistance” for people with disabilities in Europe through the use of a comparative and diachronic method for the exploration of the perspectives and experiences of the people most directly involved in the field, including people with disabilities, users, non-users, and potential users of the sex-related services, as well as their carers, sexual assistants, activists, including sexologists, therapists, policy-makers. The cases of Switzerland and Italy came into sight as very interesting for their markedly different approaches to the phenomenon, and for the recent reactions it has provoked at the political level.
The general research objective of this project was thus to analyse the development of sex-related practices for people with disabilities. In the aim to articulate this general objective, the project pursued two interrelated specific research objectives: 1) Analyse the national public debates. The project contributed to understand the different positions currently existing on sexual assistance, and who are the groups, movements, or individuals supporting the different positions. This included in particular three groups: policy-makers and activists supporting the rights of disabled people, the rights of women, the rights of sexual minorities; individuals and groups of practitioners in the field of personal assistance, psychotherapy, sexology, general medicine, nursing, as well as directors of residential institutions; organisations directly engaged in the promotion of sexual assistance. 2) Analyse the existing practices of sexual assistance, by accessing the knowledge of those directly involved, in particular sexual assistants and people with disabilities who use their services. The research has addressed the ways in which the decision to engage in sexual assistance is made, the ways in which the actual encounters are organised, and how the actors reflect upon and make sense of their experiences.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES
From the point of view of the gathering of qualitative data, the fellow was successful in gaining trust and unique access as a participant observer to two organizations which play a crucial role in this field as they organise training and provision of sexual assistance in Italy and Switzerland. Participant observation with these organisations emerged as the only way to study the actual practices of sexual assistance, and allowed the researcher to have extensive and repeated conversations with 15 sexual assistants operating in Switzerland, Italy and France (5 men and 10 women), 5 people with disabilities using their services (3 men and 2 women), and 5 sexologists and therapists training the sexual assistants. The researcher has been closely following the provision of classes and the ways in which the assistance is offered in Switzerland and Italy, Moreover, the researcher has interviewed 12 stakeholders in Switzerland and Italy, including family members and disabled and feminist activists. The participant observation has taken place in Geneva, Bologna, and Paris (where some of the sexual assistants operating in the other countries live). The fieldwork has been done through repeated short travels (generally 5 to 10 days) to Switzerland, Italy, and France, which have allowed the researcher to take part in the many activities of the hosting Gender Studies Department in Lund.
During these two years, the fellow has also been very active in the host institution with organising events and activities, as a Member of the Advisory Board on Seminars and Public Events, at Gender Studies Department at Lund University. In particular, Dr. Garofalo was crucial to the organization of the Gender Studies Day Symposium 2014, ‘Crip Intersections’, held on the 9th of April 2014, and to the One-Day Workshop ‘In Conversation: Gender Studies and the Future of Labour’ that took place on the 24th of September 2014. Also, Dr. Garofalo demonstrated teaching and supervising abilities, and she is currently in charge of the course ‘Scandinavian Models of Gender Equalities’, teaches in Postgraduate courses at the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as co-supervises two PhD students, and supervises three MA students.
Throughout the length of the project, the fellow has prepared and completed publications based on the preliminary and final results of the project. In 2014, Dr. Garofalo published a book titled Selling and Buying Sex published in Italian by the social sciences editor Il Mulino, which includes a part on services addressing people with disabilities, and which is currently translated into French (PUF) and Swedish (Daidalos). Furthermore, the fellow has published one journal article on comparative policies on prostitution in Europe, and two articles on sexual assistance published by Edizioni Centro Studi Erikson, the most established Italian publisher targeting medical and social practitioners, people with disabilities, and their families. Finally, a fellow’s peer reviewed article will come out in the Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Wiley-Blackwell, in 2015.
In terms of presentation of results to various audiences, Dr. Garofalo has presented the findings of the project on several occasions across Europe. She has shared her work in an International Workshop and Gender Studies Symposium at the Gender Studies Department in Lund, and presented research results at the Disability Studies Conference in Lancaster, Britain, at the ProsPol COST Meeting in Salamanca, Spain, as well as the International Conference on Autism in Rimini (invited speaker), Italy. Also, the fellow has been invited to present her work by two important actors in the policy-making in this field in Italy: the Municipality XII of Rome and the City of Bologna. Finally, Dr. Garofalo has given interviews for the national newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, has been invited to discuss issues of sex-related services on national Italian TV, RAI News (20 minute program ‘Di Mattina’), and has given an interview to the Swedish Public Service Radio (SR – P1 – Program Obs).
The fellow has strengthened international collaborations and built future projects, namely in Sweden, France and the UK, in addition to Italy. Dr. Garofalo and Prof. Rydström, the researcher in charge, have elaborated a new project on sexual assistance, spinning off from the present one, and have submitted it to two different funding agencies (FORTE Sweden Jan.2015 and VR Sweden March 2015). Dr. Garofalo has also separately submitted an application for funding for a similar project to Italy (MIUR Rita Levi Montalcini March 2014). Crucially, Dr. Garofalo has been invited to join the Prospol COST Action in 2003, a very active network in this field, of which Prof. Rydström also became a member in 2014. Finally, Dr. Garofalo got short-term funding (SMS COST Prospol) for developing further research with Prof. Mai (London Met UK/LAMES France) on measuring exploitation in sexual services.
III. RESULTS
The project has been very productive. In particular, it is important to emphasise the following achievements and their impact:
- The researcher conducted participant observations during 18 months with 15 sexual assistants, with 5 sexologists and psychotherapists organizing sexual assistance and trainings for assistants, and with 5 people with disabilities, both men and women, using sexual assistance services. Moreover, 12 key informants, family members disabled and feminist activists, were interviewed in Italy and Switzerland. Amongst them, sexual assistants and service users are a very hard to reach population (only 2 of them currently communicate with researchers or the media, the others have to hide). This opens up a unique understanding of the complex problems raised by actual practices of sexual assistance, both at the policy level, and from a perspective of social justice, gender and disability rights. The project significantly contributes with evidence-based research to change a debate which has been increasingly criticised for being too abstract and normative.
- It has been possible for the fellow to take part in public debates with policy makers and stakeholders in Italy and Sweden, and she was repeatedly consulted as an expert in the field by residential managers and psychotherapists working with people with disabilities in Italy, Switzerland and France.
FINAL REPORT - SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT
Period covered: 1 November 2012 – 31 January 2015
_____________________________________________________________
I. PROJECT AND OBJECTIVES
This project contributed to the debate on commercial sex and “sexual assistance” for people with disabilities in Europe through the use of a comparative and diachronic method for the exploration of the perspectives and experiences of the people most directly involved in the field, including people with disabilities, users, non-users, and potential users of the sex-related services, as well as their carers, sexual assistants, activists, including sexologists, therapists, policy-makers. The cases of Switzerland and Italy came into sight as very interesting for their markedly different approaches to the phenomenon, and for the recent reactions it has provoked at the political level.
The general research objective of this project was thus to analyse the development of sex-related practices for people with disabilities. In the aim to articulate this general objective, the project pursued two interrelated specific research objectives: 1) Analyse the national public debates. The project contributed to understand the different positions currently existing on sexual assistance, and who are the groups, movements, or individuals supporting the different positions. This included in particular three groups: policy-makers and activists supporting the rights of disabled people, the rights of women, the rights of sexual minorities; individuals and groups of practitioners in the field of personal assistance, psychotherapy, sexology, general medicine, nursing, as well as directors of residential institutions; organisations directly engaged in the promotion of sexual assistance. 2) Analyse the existing practices of sexual assistance, by accessing the knowledge of those directly involved, in particular sexual assistants and people with disabilities who use their services. The research has addressed the ways in which the decision to engage in sexual assistance is made, the ways in which the actual encounters are organised, and how the actors reflect upon and make sense of their experiences.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES
From the point of view of the gathering of qualitative data, the fellow was successful in gaining trust and unique access as a participant observer to two organizations which play a crucial role in this field as they organise training and provision of sexual assistance in Italy and Switzerland. Participant observation with these organisations emerged as the only way to study the actual practices of sexual assistance, and allowed the researcher to have extensive and repeated conversations with 15 sexual assistants operating in Switzerland, Italy and France (5 men and 10 women), 5 people with disabilities using their services (3 men and 2 women), and 5 sexologists and therapists training the sexual assistants. The researcher has been closely following the provision of classes and the ways in which the assistance is offered in Switzerland and Italy, Moreover, the researcher has interviewed 12 stakeholders in Switzerland and Italy, including family members and disabled and feminist activists. The participant observation has taken place in Geneva, Bologna, and Paris (where some of the sexual assistants operating in the other countries live). The fieldwork has been done through repeated short travels (generally 5 to 10 days) to Switzerland, Italy, and France, which have allowed the researcher to take part in the many activities of the hosting Gender Studies Department in Lund.
During these two years, the fellow has also been very active in the host institution with organising events and activities, as a Member of the Advisory Board on Seminars and Public Events, at Gender Studies Department at Lund University. In particular, Dr. Garofalo was crucial to the organization of the Gender Studies Day Symposium 2014, ‘Crip Intersections’, held on the 9th of April 2014, and to the One-Day Workshop ‘In Conversation: Gender Studies and the Future of Labour’ that took place on the 24th of September 2014. Also, Dr. Garofalo demonstrated teaching and supervising abilities, and she is currently in charge of the course ‘Scandinavian Models of Gender Equalities’, teaches in Postgraduate courses at the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as co-supervises two PhD students, and supervises three MA students.
Throughout the length of the project, the fellow has prepared and completed publications based on the preliminary and final results of the project. In 2014, Dr. Garofalo published a book titled Selling and Buying Sex published in Italian by the social sciences editor Il Mulino, which includes a part on services addressing people with disabilities, and which is currently translated into French (PUF) and Swedish (Daidalos). Furthermore, the fellow has published one journal article on comparative policies on prostitution in Europe, and two articles on sexual assistance published by Edizioni Centro Studi Erikson, the most established Italian publisher targeting medical and social practitioners, people with disabilities, and their families. Finally, a fellow’s peer reviewed article will come out in the Encyclopedia of Gender and Sexuality Studies, Wiley-Blackwell, in 2015.
In terms of presentation of results to various audiences, Dr. Garofalo has presented the findings of the project on several occasions across Europe. She has shared her work in an International Workshop and Gender Studies Symposium at the Gender Studies Department in Lund, and presented research results at the Disability Studies Conference in Lancaster, Britain, at the ProsPol COST Meeting in Salamanca, Spain, as well as the International Conference on Autism in Rimini (invited speaker), Italy. Also, the fellow has been invited to present her work by two important actors in the policy-making in this field in Italy: the Municipality XII of Rome and the City of Bologna. Finally, Dr. Garofalo has given interviews for the national newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, has been invited to discuss issues of sex-related services on national Italian TV, RAI News (20 minute program ‘Di Mattina’), and has given an interview to the Swedish Public Service Radio (SR – P1 – Program Obs).
The fellow has strengthened international collaborations and built future projects, namely in Sweden, France and the UK, in addition to Italy. Dr. Garofalo and Prof. Rydström, the researcher in charge, have elaborated a new project on sexual assistance, spinning off from the present one, and have submitted it to two different funding agencies (FORTE Sweden Jan.2015 and VR Sweden March 2015). Dr. Garofalo has also separately submitted an application for funding for a similar project to Italy (MIUR Rita Levi Montalcini March 2014). Crucially, Dr. Garofalo has been invited to join the Prospol COST Action in 2003, a very active network in this field, of which Prof. Rydström also became a member in 2014. Finally, Dr. Garofalo got short-term funding (SMS COST Prospol) for developing further research with Prof. Mai (London Met UK/LAMES France) on measuring exploitation in sexual services.
III. RESULTS
The project has been very productive. In particular, it is important to emphasise the following achievements and their impact:
- The researcher conducted participant observations during 18 months with 15 sexual assistants, with 5 sexologists and psychotherapists organizing sexual assistance and trainings for assistants, and with 5 people with disabilities, both men and women, using sexual assistance services. Moreover, 12 key informants, family members disabled and feminist activists, were interviewed in Italy and Switzerland. Amongst them, sexual assistants and service users are a very hard to reach population (only 2 of them currently communicate with researchers or the media, the others have to hide). This opens up a unique understanding of the complex problems raised by actual practices of sexual assistance, both at the policy level, and from a perspective of social justice, gender and disability rights. The project significantly contributes with evidence-based research to change a debate which has been increasingly criticised for being too abstract and normative.
- It has been possible for the fellow to take part in public debates with policy makers and stakeholders in Italy and Sweden, and she was repeatedly consulted as an expert in the field by residential managers and psychotherapists working with people with disabilities in Italy, Switzerland and France.