This French language version of Alzheimer Europe's guide to help raise awareness of issues around sex, gender and sexuality in dementia was translated by our national member associations in France and Luxembourg, respectively France Alzheimer and Association Luxembourg Alzheimer.
The original English language version, Sex, Gender and Sexuality in the Context of Dementia: A guide to raise awareness amongst health and social care workers was written by Alzheimer Europe in 2022 (published in January 2023) and is based on the ethics report Sex, gender and sexuality in the context of dementia: a discussion paper, published by Alzheimer Europe in December 2021.
The guide is about the experience and wellbeing of men, women and non-binary people with dementia who are living alone or with a partner and who may or may not be sexually active. We draw attention to inequality, discrimination and lack of sensitivity towards their needs and wishes, both from other people and through structures and procedures within society, also towards their families, carers and in some cases health and social care workers. The guide is not limited to the experience of LGBTQ+ people, but their experience is often qualitatively different to that of non-LGBTQ+ people, and they encounter several issues that others do not, hence the frequent reference to this group in the guide.
We would like to thank the authors of the original English language version: Dianne Gove, Committee Chair (Luxembourg), Simone Anna Felding (Denmark), Aileen Beatty (United Kingdom), Andrea Capstick (United Kingdom), Jean Georges (Luxembourg), Helga Rohra (Germany), Anthony Scerri (Malta), Charles Scerri (Malta), Annemarie Schumacher Dimech (Switzerland) and Karin Westerlund (Sweden). We would also like to thank the following individuals who contributed to the original report: Patrick Ettenes (United Kingdom), Fabrice Gzil (France), Phil Harper (United Kingdom) and Linn Sandberg (Sweden).
As for the new French language version, we would also like to say a big thank you to Lorène Gilly and Chiara Melchior, from France Alzheimer and Association Luxembourg Alzheimer respectively, for their work in translating the guide.
Finally, we would like to thank CESAS (National Reference Centre for the Promotion of Emotional and Sexual Health) in Luxembourg for contributing to the layout costs and, together with Maud Théobald from the Centre LGBTIQ+ Cigale, for providing its expertise in LGBTQ+ terminology.