ONE of the best kept secrets among the nations elderly population is that they can still have sex and still enjoy it, a Melbourne academic yesterday told an Albury meeting of aged care professionals.

Prof Rhonda Nay, of La Trobe University at Bundoora, told the meeting convened by the Mercy Health Service that sexuality and ageing was one of those taboo topics which often rated alongside talking about death. 

"When you look at the media, whether it is at the movies or in the newspapers, the image of sex is young and wrinkle-free," Prof Nay said. 

"A lot of health professionals and sons and daughters of these people are mortified when residents or loved ones are behaving sexually either by themselves or strike up a relationship with someone else. 

"In fact there is nothing wrong with these behaviours, its just the private environment is not provided for them." 

Prof Nay said a move to recognising the rights of those people in care meant that health professionals and families were increasingly being forced to think of older people as being sexual. 

"A move to single rooms is one way of providing privacy and there have been innovative solutions created to address the issue of how you can create privacy," she said. 

Prof Nay said the issue of sexuality among the elderly extended to providing full information should they be facing surgery or the provision of medication which may affect their libido. 

She said sexuality was important to a sense of identity regardless of the age of the individual. 

"If you define old people as asexual, it is then easy to define them as non-human," she said. 

"Weve got to start changing the view that sex is related to youth because for many people sex can be great at any age."