Disabled people have sex. Why can’t the NHS understand that?
When the consultant conducting a smear test assumes a wheelchair user isn’t sexually active, that isn’t just an insult – it’s downright discriminatory, says James Moore
As epithets go, “No sex, please – we’re British” died a death some time ago. But “no sex, please – we’re disabled”? That’s still very much alive.
Kat Watkins, a wheelchair user from Wales, has told the BBC how, during her smear test, a doctor assumed she was not sexually active because of her disability – she has osteogenesis imperfecta, which creates brittle bones. Watkins says the insult was compounded by another remark, that she had “a very odd shape”.
Even as someone who has suffered indignities at the hands of the medical profession, I found this quite the shocker. But I think I know where it comes from.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies