To improve the lives of older people who are homosexual or living with HIV, a report makes 23 proposals. Among them, the creation of retirement homes for homosexuals.
“These people are numerous, specific, sometimes flayed, particularly sensitive, and we must do everything to support them in the field of age,” declared on November 27 the Ministry in charge of the Elderly and Autonomy Michèle Delaunay. She commented on the report of three associations on “the aging of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) and people living with HIV (PLWHIV)”. The purpose of this report is to better support this audience as it ages. The issue of their care had never been addressed.
Fighting homophobia in the elderly
The associations which wrote this report believe that it is essential to raise awareness, inform and train healthcare professionals and non-healthcare professionals in the specificities of these audiences. They mention in particular the “LGTphobias experienced by the elderly. “
It is necessary to break away from stereotypes, particularly around HIV, and to protect patients from attacks by staff and residents. To do this, the report proposes to train the staff of accommodation facilities for dependent elderly people (EHPAD) in the acceptance of gender differences and HIV. It also stresses the importance of ending admission discrimination linked to sexual orientation and HIV status. This will have to pass, according to them, through a renewed charter that takes LGBT people into account.
Establishments for homosexuals
The flagship measure advocated by the report is also likely to be the most controversial. It proposes to create EHPAD intended for LGBT only. Such a structure would make it possible to protect “communities confronted in their lives with illegality, discrimination, […] to the HIV epidemic. “However, the report underlines the risk of creating” LGBT ghettos, […] reduction of the individual to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is why he proposes experiments taking into account the expectations of patients, while specifying that the goal is not to generalize this care. Michèle Delaunay welcomed this proposal and even plans to extend it to the religious field.
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