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Ex-call girl turns 'charity pimp' for French disabled

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Ex-call girl turns 'charity pimp' for French disabled
Marcel Nuss, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and his wife Jill, who will launch a course for sexual assistants. Photo: Jill Nuss

With a growing number of disabled people keen to pay for sexual services, one French former prostitute has launched a course for sex workers who are willing to help but don't know how. She tells The Local why she shouldn't be mistaken for a pimp.

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It's a simple case of people having needs that needs to be fulfilled, according to Jill Nuss, a former prostitute.
 
Nuss, from near Strasbourg, is setting up the first training program in France aimed at teaching sex workers how to best meet the needs of disabled people.
 
She says that there are so many disabled people contacting her looking for avenues to pay for sex but they only have around ten prostitutes with the know-how and willingness to help. 
 
Many prostitutes, she tells The Local, say they are "too scared" to have sexual relations with disabled clients for fear of hurting them.
 
As part of the three-day course, held near eastern France's Strasbourg, Nuss and her severely disabled husband Marcel, who heads the charity Disabled Collective and Sexuality (CHS) will teach prostitutes and care-givers everything they need to know about giving sexual help, all for a fee of €450. 
 
(Jill Nuss and her husband Marcel on their wedding day. Photo: Jill Nuss)
 
It's a controversial and risky move given that in 2013 a French government advisory panel rejected allowing the use of sexual assistants for disabled people, deeming it "too open to abuse".
 
Not only that but under French law Nuss and her husband Marcel, risk being accused of pimping for linking sex workers with those in need.
 
However Nuss says there is huge difference between her role and that of a classic pimp.
 
"We don't take any money. We don't force anyone to do anything. We just provide the link," she says. "You could call us 'pimps for charity' ".
 
They pair are prepared to fight their corner in court if it ever comes to that.
 
"We want a legal precedent so that associations like ours are not punished by the law. We take responsibility for what we do and we are prepared to fight to defend it," she concluded.
 
With the role of a sexual assistant officially recognized in neighbouring countries like Switzerland and Belgium, Nuss says it's time France caught up.
 
"Everywhere we hear that France is the country of liberty, but that disappears when it comes to things like health or sexuality. The French are too conservative and too moral," she said.
 
Husband Marcel Nuss, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, has written a book on the topic of sex - 'Je veux faire l'amour' ('I want to make love').
 
He told French radio Europe 1 that it was "bloody French hypocrisy" to blame for the fact that such courses weren't already available. 
 
"Our liberties are respected, but as soon as it comes to penises or vaginas then it comes to a stop. Let us be clear about this: the association is against all forms of sexual exploitation," he said
 
For the pair providing sexual assistance to disabled people is "not the ultimate solution" but it's one of the options to help those who have lost or never had the ability to have a sex life.
 
"Some disabled people are completely disconnected from their body," Jill Nuss says.
 
"Providing this service helps these people rediscover their sexuality and their confidence.
 
"People have told me they have gone on to find girlfriends or boyfriends after receiving this kind of assistance, because they were no longer scared of not being able to either give or receive pleasure," she said.
 
Her courses are due to begin next week.

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