6 Sexuality and rights in later life
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Paul Willis
Abstract
Social work is a human rights-based profession. Advocating and upholding human rights is a core activity embedded in the international definition of social work (IFSW, 2014). In the context of supporting older people, this intersects with the United Nations (UN) Principles for Older Persons (United Nations, 1991), which sets out independence, participation, self-fulfilment and dignity as principles integral to supporting older people to fully participate in society. Missing from discourses both on ageing and on human rights is an understanding of sexual rights. The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) (2014) identifies 16 sexual rights as ‘grounded in universal human rights’; however, social and cultural discourses compound the invisibility of older adults’ sexual rights and inhibit discussion about the sexual well-being of older adults in social work practice contexts.
Abstract
Social work is a human rights-based profession. Advocating and upholding human rights is a core activity embedded in the international definition of social work (IFSW, 2014). In the context of supporting older people, this intersects with the United Nations (UN) Principles for Older Persons (United Nations, 1991), which sets out independence, participation, self-fulfilment and dignity as principles integral to supporting older people to fully participate in society. Missing from discourses both on ageing and on human rights is an understanding of sexual rights. The World Association for Sexual Health (WAS) (2014) identifies 16 sexual rights as ‘grounded in universal human rights’; however, social and cultural discourses compound the invisibility of older adults’ sexual rights and inhibit discussion about the sexual well-being of older adults in social work practice contexts.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Preface xv
- Social work and critical gerontology: why the former needs the latter 1
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Critical gerontology as guiding principles for social work with older people
- The lifecourse and old age 19
- Human rights and older people 35
- Agency and autonomy 51
- Poverty and late-life homelessness 66
- Sexuality and rights in later life 81
- Ethnicity, race and migrancy 97
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Applying the critical gerontological lens to social work research, policy and practice
- Assessment, care planning and decision making 115
- Elder abuse 130
- Dementia: a disability and a human rights concern 146
- User involvement 161
- Opportunities and future prospects for gerontological social work with a critical lens 177
- Index 192
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables viii
- Notes on contributors ix
- Acknowledgements xiii
- Preface xv
- Social work and critical gerontology: why the former needs the latter 1
-
Critical gerontology as guiding principles for social work with older people
- The lifecourse and old age 19
- Human rights and older people 35
- Agency and autonomy 51
- Poverty and late-life homelessness 66
- Sexuality and rights in later life 81
- Ethnicity, race and migrancy 97
-
Applying the critical gerontological lens to social work research, policy and practice
- Assessment, care planning and decision making 115
- Elder abuse 130
- Dementia: a disability and a human rights concern 146
- User involvement 161
- Opportunities and future prospects for gerontological social work with a critical lens 177
- Index 192
