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In Denmark they have an enlightened approach to the world’s oldest profession. Sex work is legal as long as a woman
can prove it is not
her only means of support. Now the Danes are debating another question. Should disabled people be
allowed government subsidized
home visits by prostitutes?Torben Hansen, has cerebral palsy which severely affects his
speech and ability to get around. The 59-year-old Hansen says that he had a girlfriend, but she died, and getting to a brothel
is too difficult for him, so he would like his local government to compensate him for house calls by sex workers. Even for
the libertine Danes, this question of public subsidies has provoked a controversy about just how much help you are supposed
to get from the government. Stig
Langvad of the country's Disabled Association accused politicians of double standards
saying, "The disabled must have the same possibilities as other people. Politicians can debate whether prostitution should
be allowed in general, instead of preventing only the disabled from having access to it." A similar idea is being
floated
in Australia by advocates for the disabled.
On one hand I want to tell Hansen “For God
Sakes, man. Pick yourself up off the floor and stand tall. There is a woman for every man in this world. Go out the door and
find another.” Easy enough to say. But I don’t have cerebral palsy. It’s not such an easy question to answer.
What about veterans, for instance, that come home from Iraq- as some do -psychologically and physically damaged? The VA provides
them with an array of rehabilitative services. But what about the service they may
need more than any other? Do we as
a society simply pretend this need doesn’t exist? Older people forget too easily what it was like to be young.
So I am rooting for Hansen. In this generation of billionaires and yuppies that pay five bucks for a cup of coffee, there
should be a little money somewhere for a lonely man to experience the human touch. But when I think about how well-intentioned
ideas like this
get translated into legislation, I shudder to think of it. It might just work in northern Europe.
But here, after all the loopholes are
identified, it would be abused beyond all limits and the financial advantages milked
to the last drop. Think of the bloated bureaucracies this would generate, the federal grants, the lawsuits from people who
say they caught something, the billing frauds, the
scams…
In the end, like Hansen, we must make face our
existential situation and make do with the cards we are dealt. But let’s give him credit
for trying. If the government
won’t help people in Hansen’s predicament, maybe somebody can start a charitable foundation. They can solicit
private donations (I’ll send 15 bucks) and get some corporate sponsorship. Maybe Bill Gates can kick in something. They
can call it the Foundation of Physical Satisfaction. I wish Hansen well in his quest. What is meant to be will always find
a way.
April 2006
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