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Sex for Women After 50 Is Important After All, European Court Rules Sex for Women After 50 Is Important After All, European Court Rules
(about 1 hour later)
It turns out that sex after 50 has value after all.It turns out that sex after 50 has value after all.
That was the judgment of Europe’s top human rights court when it rejected the decision by Portuguese judges that reduced damages to a middle-aged woman who could not have sex after a botched operation. That was the judgment of Europe’s top human rights court when it rejected a decision by Portuguese judges that reduced damages to a middle-aged woman who could not have sex after a botched operation.
The surgery — which occurred in 1995, when she was 50 — happened at “an age when sex is not as important as in younger years,” the judges ruled in 2014. Their decision provoked accusations of sexism and ageism at the time.The surgery — which occurred in 1995, when she was 50 — happened at “an age when sex is not as important as in younger years,” the judges ruled in 2014. Their decision provoked accusations of sexism and ageism at the time.
The woman, Maria Ivone Carvalho Pinto de Sousa Morais, now 72, challenged the decision, taking the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France. On Tuesday, that court ruled, 5 to 2, in her favor.The woman, Maria Ivone Carvalho Pinto de Sousa Morais, now 72, challenged the decision, taking the matter to the European Court of Human Rights, based in Strasbourg, France. On Tuesday, that court ruled, 5 to 2, in her favor.
“The question at issue here is not considerations of age or sex as such, but rather the assumption that sexuality is not as important for a 50-year-old woman and mother of two children as for someone of a younger age,” according to the majority’s ruling. “That assumption reflects a traditional idea of female sexuality as being essentially linked to childbearing purposes and thus ignores its physical and psychological relevance for the self-fulfillment of women as people.”“The question at issue here is not considerations of age or sex as such, but rather the assumption that sexuality is not as important for a 50-year-old woman and mother of two children as for someone of a younger age,” according to the majority’s ruling. “That assumption reflects a traditional idea of female sexuality as being essentially linked to childbearing purposes and thus ignores its physical and psychological relevance for the self-fulfillment of women as people.”
Mrs. Morais’s lawyer, Vítor Manuel Parente Ribeiro, praised the ruling.Mrs. Morais’s lawyer, Vítor Manuel Parente Ribeiro, praised the ruling.
“It is the international recognition of a personal injustice,” he said in a telephone interview. “She is a very physically weakened woman, and feels that the injustice she suffered in Portugal has been attenuated.”“It is the international recognition of a personal injustice,” he said in a telephone interview. “She is a very physically weakened woman, and feels that the injustice she suffered in Portugal has been attenuated.”
He said the decision showed that, within Europe, “there are clear differences between the states, some of which have more open-minded attitudes than others.”He said the decision showed that, within Europe, “there are clear differences between the states, some of which have more open-minded attitudes than others.”
Mrs. Morais was in her late 40s when she was given, in 1993, a diagnosis of a painful vaginal disease known as Bartholinitis. She underwent surgery in May 1995, the month she turned 50, at the gynecology department of what is now known as the Central Lisbon Hospital.Mrs. Morais was in her late 40s when she was given, in 1993, a diagnosis of a painful vaginal disease known as Bartholinitis. She underwent surgery in May 1995, the month she turned 50, at the gynecology department of what is now known as the Central Lisbon Hospital.
The operation left Mrs. Morais with severe pain, depression and incontinence. She had trouble sitting and walking. She could no longer have sex. She stopped visiting relatives and friends and going to the beach and the theater, and considered suicide. It turned out that one of her nerves had been injured during the surgery.The operation left Mrs. Morais with severe pain, depression and incontinence. She had trouble sitting and walking. She could no longer have sex. She stopped visiting relatives and friends and going to the beach and the theater, and considered suicide. It turned out that one of her nerves had been injured during the surgery.
Mrs. Morais sued, and in October 2013, a court ordered the hospital to pay her 80,000 euros (about $93,000) in compensation for her physical and mental suffering, and about €16,000 for a maid to help her with daily chores.Mrs. Morais sued, and in October 2013, a court ordered the hospital to pay her 80,000 euros (about $93,000) in compensation for her physical and mental suffering, and about €16,000 for a maid to help her with daily chores.
In October 2014, Portugal’s Supreme Administrative Court reduced the compensation by a third, finding, among other things, that she “probably only needed to take care of her husband,” given that her children were grown.In October 2014, Portugal’s Supreme Administrative Court reduced the compensation by a third, finding, among other things, that she “probably only needed to take care of her husband,” given that her children were grown.
Mrs. Morais had already been suffering pain and depression before the surgery, the judges ruled, saying the surgery “merely aggravated an already difficult situation.”Mrs. Morais had already been suffering pain and depression before the surgery, the judges ruled, saying the surgery “merely aggravated an already difficult situation.”
But it was the additional finding — that sex was less important because Mrs. Morais was 50, with two children, at the time of the surgery — that stirred the greatest outrage.But it was the additional finding — that sex was less important because Mrs. Morais was 50, with two children, at the time of the surgery — that stirred the greatest outrage.
Portugal’s government acknowledged an “unfortunate use of terms,” but said that the court’s ruling should be upheld, given the totality of the reasoning.Portugal’s government acknowledged an “unfortunate use of terms,” but said that the court’s ruling should be upheld, given the totality of the reasoning.
The European court did not agree. It found that the woman’s “age and sex appear to have been decisive factors” in the Portuguese decision, and reflected “prejudices prevailing in the judiciary in Portugal.”The European court did not agree. It found that the woman’s “age and sex appear to have been decisive factors” in the Portuguese decision, and reflected “prejudices prevailing in the judiciary in Portugal.”
Moreover, it noted that two men in Portugal, in their 50s, had been awarded substantially greater damages in similar malpractice cases.Moreover, it noted that two men in Portugal, in their 50s, had been awarded substantially greater damages in similar malpractice cases.
Mrs. Morais, her lawyer said, now plans to go back to the courts in Portugal to reopen the case and seek greater damages.Mrs. Morais, her lawyer said, now plans to go back to the courts in Portugal to reopen the case and seek greater damages.
One judge, Ganna Yudkivska of Ukraine, who was part of the majority, called the Portuguese decision a “humiliating and insolent intrusion into the most intimate sphere of the applicant’s private life,” and a reflection of the patriarchal assumption that sexual life is primarily tied to procreation.One judge, Ganna Yudkivska of Ukraine, who was part of the majority, called the Portuguese decision a “humiliating and insolent intrusion into the most intimate sphere of the applicant’s private life,” and a reflection of the patriarchal assumption that sexual life is primarily tied to procreation.
Two judges, Georges Ravarani of Luxembourg and Marko Bosnjak of Slovenia, disagreed. “In order to find discrimination, it has to be established that in Portugal men suffering from a comparable physical inability to that of the applicant, in their capacity as men, are treated differently from women suffering from a similar physical incapacity,” they wrote in a joint dissenting opinion.Two judges, Georges Ravarani of Luxembourg and Marko Bosnjak of Slovenia, disagreed. “In order to find discrimination, it has to be established that in Portugal men suffering from a comparable physical inability to that of the applicant, in their capacity as men, are treated differently from women suffering from a similar physical incapacity,” they wrote in a joint dissenting opinion.