Tamworth Flirt wants to help fill the gap in sex education for disability community

As a young man with a disability, he felt as though it was a topic or part of society that was closed off to him.

His first visit to the Tamworth Adult Store, Flirt, changed all that.

He found a "safe" and "inclusive" environment where he could ask questions about sex.

"It is a good, comfortable environment to come in," Max said.

"If you ever have a question, you can ask Steph or one of the other members of the staff about information about things."

Jeremy Smith is Max's support worker from Disability Consulting Support.

He said since he'd been going to the store, Max had "opened up" and felt more confident talking about sex.

"Overtime, Max became more comfortable talking about sexual health and wellbeing, and it became a common thing for him to talk about that he wouldn't have previously with other staff or his parents," he said.

Mr Smith has been a support worker for a number of years.

He said what he has found is that there is a lack of sexual education in the disability community.

"A lot of people are not even aware that inside their plans, they can have access to sexual wellbeing/health products," he said.

"People do not understand that people with disabilities do still have the same desires and needs, that mainstream people do as well, and that gets overlooked so often."

However, this could be banned by NDIS

Part of the problem is a major gap in sexual education for disabled people. Where, in the past, it has been viewed as a 'taboo' topic.

Flirt store manager, Stephanie Constable, said it is almost like there is "barrier there" or a "miscommunication".

"Back a long time ago, people with disability were not given the opportunities to be in a relationship or live freely," she said.

"I believe people with disability, they are either told not to speak about it, or parents have said 'This is something we don't want them to know about', or support workers think it is not important to them.

"But when they come in here they want to ask questions and access information."

Since Flirt Tamworth opened its doors, Mrs Constable said she has seen a lot of disabled customers come into the store seeking information on sex and sexual wellbeing.

'Equally Flirty' was a campaign launched by the franchise, which aimed to challenge the prejudices and cater for disabled customers.

"Our staff have undertaken some form of NDIS training, this includes how to speak to someone with a disability, how to approach someone with a disability, if they are unable to hear or speak; if we write something down on a piece of paper or turn the music down," she said.

"They maybe blind, so having products that include braille or have testers that they can hold in their hands, or if they would like their support worker to come in with them, and we can offer them a shopping experience to find a time and close off the store."

Toy manufacturers have also begun to design more inclusive product lines, including ergonomically designed wands, hands free male masturbators, and products for people with limited mobility.

Ablelism has been the main barrier preventing disabled people from accessing information.

Amanda Damion, the clinical lead counsellor for the Northcott sexuality and education service, said it is the hardest societal barrier to knock down.

"There is also a societal bias that people with disability are asexual, so they don't have any sexual feelings," she said.

"On the flip side, they are hypersexual, which means sexual education is not provided, because it is not deemed necessary, or sexual education will lead to harmful sexual behaviours."

Ms Damion said, unfortunately, many are learning about sex through sexual violence.

"I often ask people, 'Where they learn about sex' and two out of six will say, 'When I was assaulted'," she said.

"How can you identify sexual violence, when no one has ever taught you what sex is."

As a result, Ms Damion said sex education and information needs to be made more accessible.

It is "really invaluable" to have a place such as Flirt to refer rural people to, she said.

"We have to make sure that anyone wanting more information about their bodies or sexuality receive it in an accessible way."