During the early phases of OPAN's Ready to Listen project, providers repeatedly said that they couldn’t prevent sexual assault until they were able to clearly identify what consensual sexual expression looked like.
That’s why, through OPAN’s partnership with Dr Catherine Barrett and the Older Women’s Network, OPAN developed this Charter of Sexual Rights and Responsibilities in Residential Aged Care.
It has been developed because sexual rights are not well understood or promoted in this context. In our ageist world, older people are often not expected to be sexual, and as a result their sexual rights are often overlooked.
The Charter aims to promote sexual rights, particularly the right to be free from sexual assault.