Our Engagement with Disability and Sex Positivity
Creating Spaces Where Everyone Deserves Pleasure
At Adult Lifestyle Centres, we believe pleasure is a right — not a privilege and Engagement For People with disabilities is a must. They are too often left out of conversations about sex and intimacy.
Our mission is simple: ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, feels welcome in our stores. That means more than just access — it means respect, informed guidance, and support when choosing products that suit unique needs and bodies.
We don’t just stock shelves — we listen, assist, and advocate.
What Sex Positivity Really Means
Moving Beyond Shame and Silence
Back in 2008, writer and activist Allena Gabosch helped define the idea of sex positivity. She described it as:
“An attitude towards human sexuality that regards all consensual sexual activities as fundamentally healthy and pleasurable, and encourages sexual pleasure and experimentation.”
In short, sex positivity is about removing shame. It’s about recognising that healthy, consensual sex — in all its forms — is worth celebrating. It also champions sex education, body autonomy, and the right to explore your own pleasure without guilt.
Pleasure Isn’t Just Biological – It’s Emotional
Love, Desire, Connection
Unlike most species, humans don’t just have sex to reproduce. We have sex to feel, to connect, to share love, passion, and enjoyment. That makes sex more than just a physical act — it’s emotional, social, and deeply personal.
The sex positivity movement has played a big role in breaking down old taboos. We’re now more open to talking about what turns us on, what matters to us, and how we can build better, safer, more satisfying sexual experiences.
Even if you’ve never heard the term “sex positive,” you’ve seen its impact — in media, advertising, relationships, and the slow but steady shift away from shame and silence.
Disability and Sexuality – Breaking the Silence
Challenging the Myth of Asexuality
Too often, people with disabilities are treated as if they’re asexual, uninterested, or incapable of experiencing desire. That mindset is not only wrong — it’s harmful. It pushes people further into isolation, denies them the chance to explore their bodies, and invalidates very real, human needs.
At Adult Lifestyle Centres, we’re working to challenge those assumptions. We recognise that people with disabilities deserve access to products, information, and conversations that help them experience pleasure on their own terms.
Practical Support That Respects Every Body
Tools, Products, and Advocacy
We’ve sourced a wide range of sexual aids and devices designed specifically to support those with physical or cognitive limitations. Whether it’s easier-grip toys, adaptable positioning supports, or low-effort stimulators — we’re here to help people find what works for them.
But we don’t stop at products. We also work closely with carers, families, and support organisations to help open up honest conversations about sex and disability. That includes sharing knowledge, suggesting tools, and promoting an understanding of sexual rights — not just function.
Because everyone deserves pleasure. And everyone deserves to feel like they matter.
Organisation Spotlight: Touching Base
Bridging the Gap Between Disability and Sexual Expression
Based in Sydney, Touching Base has been advocating for the sexual rights of people with disabilities since the early 2000s. The organisation was created in response to a clear need: to support safe, respectful connections between people with disabilities and sex workers.
Their work is grounded in the belief that access to intimacy and sexual expression is a basic human right, as recognised by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Touching Base challenges the legal, social, and physical barriers that prevent many people from having their needs met.
Making Connections – Referrals from Touching Base
A Safe and Informed Way to Access Sex Work
Touching Base offers a referral service to help people with disabilities connect with sex workers who are respectful, informed, and capable of meeting specific needs.
The process starts with a confidential intake, where clients — or their carers — answer questions about their disability, sexual preferences, boundaries, and any necessary supports. This helps the organisation understand what kind of service the person is seeking and what accommodations might be required.
Once this information is collected, Touching Base uses it to match the client with a sex worker who is experienced, suitable, and understands the individual’s functional needs. It’s not just about physical compatibility — it’s about trust, safety, and the freedom to express sexuality without judgement.
You can explore this service further at their referral page here.
Sexual Expression and Disability
What Sex Workers Can Offer
Once a match is made, the sex worker may engage in physical sexual activity, use sexual aides on the client, or provide a combination of services based on the individual’s goals and boundaries.
Touching Base emphasises that clients can be of any gender, and the services are designed for people of all identities — including those with physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychosocial disabilities.
The key is understanding. By working with a sex worker who has been trained to support people with disabilities, the experience is not only safer — it’s more meaningful. It respects the client’s body, their desires, and the accommodations needed for comfort and pleasure.
Training and Resources for Sex Workers
Building Confidence, Safety, and Respect
To support these interactions, Touching Base also provides workshops, training, and resources for sex workers who want to work with people with disabilities.
The training helps providers:
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Learn about different types of disability
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Understand how to adjust services based on individual needs
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Create a safer, more respectful environment for every client
By building this knowledge base, sex workers are better equipped to support their clients confidently and ethically — making sure both parties feel respected and safe at all times.
Sex Workers and Touching Base
A Network Built on Respect, Safety, and Consent
Sex workers who wish to support people with disabilities can provide their details directly to Touching Base. Once listed, they may be matched with appropriate clients based on the client’s needs, preferences, and support requirements.
To ensure safe, ethical, and informed services, participating sex workers can also undergo training through Touching Base. This helps them build confidence in working with clients who have physical, sensory, intellectual, or psychosocial disabilities.
It’s worth noting that Touching Base currently receives no government funding, making their work even more vital and reliant on community collaboration and support.
Sexuality and Disability Education Program – Family Planning NSW
Empowering Through Education for Over 30 Years
Family Planning NSW has been leading inclusive sexual and reproductive health education for decades, including the Sexuality and Disability Education Program. This program is offered across clinics in Ashfield, Newcastle, Penrith, Dubbo, and Fairfield, making it accessible to both urban and regional communities.
Backed by the Australian Skills Quality Authority and the NSW Institute of Teachers, Family Planning NSW delivers evidence-based programs with a strong reputation for quality and accessibility.
Their mission is clear: equip educators, disability workers, carers, and healthcare professionals with the knowledge and tools to support people with disabilities in exploring healthy relationships, consent, sexuality, and self-expression.
Closing the Gap in Sexual Education
Addressing the Real Needs of People with Disabilities
People with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disabilities, often face barriers to receiving comprehensive sexual education. These barriers may be systemic, cultural, or based on false assumptions that they are not sexually active — or shouldn’t be.
The NSW Council for Intellectual Disability highlights that people with disabilities should be supported in making informed choices about their relationships, sexuality, and sexual activities. Many individuals in this community have partners, desires, and the same emotional needs as anyone else.
But too often, they are excluded from sex education programs, either due to misconceptions, a lack of inclusive curriculum, or outdated education models that separate students with disabilities from their peers.
A Sex-Positive and Inclusive Approach
Recognising Desire, Rights, and Autonomy
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities makes it clear — all people, regardless of ability, have the right to access sexual health education and support. Yet, many are still left behind.
People with disabilities may be removed from mainstream education under the idea of “tailored learning,” or dismissed as being unable to understand topics around sex and relationships. In reality, many simply haven’t been given the tools, the time, or the respect to learn in ways that suit their needs.
As a result, people with disabilities are often left uninformed, unprotected, and isolated — which puts them at higher risk of abuse, exploitation, and poor sexual health outcomes.
Where Change Needs to Happen
Education, Access, and Advocacy
To change this, we need more inclusive, adaptive sex education — and more organisations like Family Planning NSW and Touching Base who are leading the way. We need:
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Educators trained in disability-inclusive sex ed
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Families and carers supported to have open conversations
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A cultural shift that sees disability and sexuality not as opposites, but as naturally connected parts of being human
Everyone deserves the right to explore their sexuality safely, joyfully, and with dignity. That includes people with disabilities — without exception.
Support and Knowledge for People with Disabilities
Informed Choices Begin with Access and Respect
Everyone has the right to make informed decisions about their body, relationships, and sexual health. For people with disabilities, this right is too often denied, ignored, or mishandled.
Tailored information, respectful guidance, and access to appropriate resources are crucial. Support should always consider the person’s abilities, communication style, and preferences — never assume what someone wants or needs based solely on their disability.
When this support is missing, individuals become more vulnerable — not just to poor health outcomes, but also to abuse, coercion, and neglect.
The Alarming Reality of Abuse
Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities
The data on abuse against people with disabilities is deeply troubling — and often underreported. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, there is currently no consistent national data collection on rates of sexual assault involving adults with disabilities.
However, past research paints a clear and disturbing picture:
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A landmark study by Wilson & Brewer (1992) found that people with a disability were twice as likely to be victims of personal crime and 10.7 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.
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In 2007, a study by Heenan & Murray for CASA (Centres Against Sexual Assault) reported that 26.5% of 850 rapes in Victoria involved a victim with a disability.
These numbers make one thing clear: people with disabilities face significantly higher risks of sexual violence — and support systems must respond with care, education, and action.
Why Tailored Sex Education Matters
Beyond the Basics – Consent, Health, and Confidence
A strong, inclusive education program is one of the most effective ways to reduce vulnerability and support sexual wellbeing. Tailored sexual education helps individuals understand their rights, bodies, and desires in a way that respects their pace and capacity to learn.
Topics must include:
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Bodily autonomy and privacy
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Masturbation and sexual expression
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Intercourse, protection, and STI prevention
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The meaning and importance of consent
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Understanding relationships — both heterosexual and same-sex
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Accessing sexual health services and support
Education that includes these core themes can equip individuals with the language, confidence, and understanding to make safe, empowered decisions.
Formal vs Informal Learning
Not Everyone Learns from Peers or Pop Culture
Most people pick up sexual knowledge through friends, media, or personal experience. But for many people with disabilities, this informal learning doesn’t happen — or when it does, it can be misleading, confusing, or even harmful.
This is why formal, structured sex education is vital. It ensures that people with disabilities are not left guessing, misinformed, or entirely excluded from understanding basic human experiences.
When done right, it can also build self-esteem, improve mental health, and reduce the risk of abuse.
The Role of Privacy and Autonomy
Why Space to Explore is Essential
Privacy is often overlooked when supporting people with disabilities — especially those who require full-time care. Yet without private space, it becomes difficult (or impossible) to engage in solo sexual activity, explore intimacy, or form romantic relationships.
Acts like kissing, cuddling, and touching are essential parts of sexual expression and emotional connection. Without space to explore or discuss these things, consent becomes complicated — especially when carers or family members feel uncomfortable talking about sexuality.
That discomfort can lead to people being wrongly viewed as asexual — their desires dismissed, their needs ignored.
Respecting the Right to Choose
Sexuality Is a Personal Decision — Not One for Others to Make
One of the biggest misconceptions is that others can decide whether a person with a disability should or shouldn’t be sexual. This is both disrespectful and deeply harmful.
The decision to engage (or not engage) in sexual activity belongs only to the individual. Carers, support workers, and educators must not assume, interfere, or block opportunities for someone to express their sexuality, as long as it’s safe and consensual.
Ignoring or suppressing these needs can lead to emotional distress, confusion, or behavioural issues, as people struggle to navigate feelings they’ve never been allowed to talk about.
Adult Lifestyle Centres – Supporting Pleasure, Access, and Autonomy
A Different Kind of Support for People with Disabilities
Many of the organisations we’ve discussed focus on education or connecting people with sex workers — and that work is essential. Where Adult Lifestyle Centres step in is by offering something slightly different: products that support sexual fulfilment, whether solo or shared, with or without the involvement of a carer or support worker.
We don’t provide sex services — but we do provide access to a wide range of adult products that can support masturbation, partnered play, positioning, and comfort during sexual activity. And we do this in a space that’s wheelchair accessible, respectful, and staffed by people who understand the importance of inclusivity.
Practical Tools for Sexual Expression
Alternatives for Carers, Families, and Individuals
For those who may not wish to engage with the services of a sex worker, Adult Lifestyle Centres offer an alternative. We stock:
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Products to support masturbation
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Toys and aides for use with partners
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Positioning devices to help with mobility or comfort during sex
These tools can help individuals explore their sexuality safely and confidently, without judgement. For carers or family members supporting a loved one with a disability, this provides a private, respectful option to help someone experience sexual pleasure and autonomy on their own terms.
Sharing Knowledge with Community Services
Building Awareness, One Resource at a Time
We work closely with organisations, support services, and carers, offering information on the range of products available — and how they might be used to support the sexual wellbeing of people with disabilities.
By doing this, we aim to expand the conversation and offer real, practical options that are often overlooked in traditional care models. Sexual health and pleasure are a part of wellbeing — and we believe everyone should have access to tools that support that.
Sex-Positive and Inclusive by Design
More Than a Store — A Resource
At Adult Lifestyle Centres, inclusivity isn’t a slogan. It’s something we practice daily — through the products we stock, the staff we train, and the people we serve. We are proud to be part of the broader sex-positive community, and committed to making adult stores accessible, respectful, and welcoming to all.
We support the right of every individual — including those with disabilities — to explore pleasure, intimacy, and connection without shame and without barriers.
Engagement For People
How can retail stores improve accessibility for customers with disabilities?
Stores can improve accessibility by ensuring ramps, wide aisles, accessible restrooms, and clear signage. Automatic doors and accessible checkout counters are also crucial.
What staff training is recommended for better service?
Staff should be trained in disability awareness, including how to offer assistance respectfully, understanding various disabilities, and using inclusive language.
How can stores effectively communicate with customers with disabilities?
Utilize multiple communication methods, such as written, visual, and verbal, and be patient when interacting. Providing information in accessible formats (e.g., large print) is also beneficial.
What are some ways to accommodate customers with sensory sensitivities?
Stores can offer quiet shopping hours, reduce harsh lighting, and limit loud noises to create a more comfortable shopping environment for those with sensory sensitivities.
How can stores involve customers with disabilities in feedback?
Encourage feedback from customers with disabilities through accessible surveys, suggestion boxes, and direct communication, and use this feedback to improve accessibility and service.
