Unwed mothers have family agencies to help them deal with their situation, but single seniors who have problems with sex have no one to turn to. There are no agencies trained or hotlines designated to handle the sexual concerns of elderly Chinese who have no partners or spouses.
The biggest hurdle is adult children not understanding that despite their parents being in their 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s, a lot of their widowed mothers or fathers still feel the need for intimacy, but the kids often frown at another marriage. This results in many seniors who live alone suffering from psychological distress, noted Shanghai Daily.
That’s because they are hesitant to bring up the issue for fear of rejection by family members and friends. Even secretly watching porn movies could be risky if their adult children caught them doing so. When an elderly Shanghai man was caught watching adult movies at home, his children threatened to lock him up in an asylum.
The situation fuels an increase in HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among seniors after having unprotected sex with prostitutes or masseuses, said Huang Yanping, a physician who specializes in male health problems at Renji Hospital.
Older single women are not spared. In Zhejiang Province, a 91-year-old woman was diagnosed with AIS in 2015 after she had sex with three male seniors.
Because sex is a source of pleasure, companionship and a sense of well-being, children must “show more understanding, tolerance and respect for that need,” explained Zhang Jiarui, marriage expert of jiayuan.com, the largest dating website in China. He disclosed that to continue enjoying a sex life, 34 percent of single seniors try to marry, while 30 percent seek a new partner to stave off loneliness.
Sun Pengbiao, secretary-general of the Shanghai Gerontological Society, suggested a study on the sociological and psychological problems of China’s graying population which are fast becoming as prominent as their medical issues. Sun pointed out, “As a society, we pay attention to whether seniors eat well and sleep well, but their spiritual and more physical needs are ignored. We need to raise public awareness about this.”
In 1990, 5.5 percent of China’s population was aged 65 years old and above. By 2025, their share in the country headcount is expected to go up to 13.3 percent and rise further to 23 percent, or 114 million, by 2050, according to the Oxford Journals.