(I)legality of sexual assistance in Europe

Mapping literature and reflections on public sexual health policies

Abstract

Sexuality is recognized as a universal human right. However, due to a set of existing barriers, some people with functional diversity continue to complain about difficulties in experiencing their affective-sexual lives. In the European context, the figure of sexual assistants – people trained to provide sexual services to clients with functional diversity – has been built as one possible answer to the expression of sexuality. This service type differs according to the places in which they are provided. The present article focused on mapping the literature about legislation and practices of sexual assistance in different European countries in order to reflect on the importance of developing public sexual health policies.