Francesc Granja welcomes visitors by pressing a button that makes the front door of his home swing open.
Granja has been a quadraplegic for the last 20 years, ever since he was involved in a car crash on his way home from a meeting. He usually moves around in a wheelchair, but today he is held back by painful sores.
All three of them are listening to a conversation between two other people in the room, Felipe and Lau both assumed names. Felipe is a paraplegic and Lau is the assistant he met through Tandem; Felipe passionately argues that these encounters should always be honest and phoney feelings should never be expressed. Lau, 38, studied nursing and veterinary medicine. She teaches tantra workshops, and when a friend told her about Francesc and his project, she was enthusiastic to take part.
Her background was a perfect fit with what the association was looking for: experience in the health sector, no economic motives, and a concept of sexuality that went beyond genital encounters.
A few days later, Felipe and Lau met for coffee. They hit it off, and arranged for a more intimate date. Another time he hired a prostitute. Felipe is one of the 45 members of an association created in October After ruling out 50 percent of the applicants for volunteer work, the association settled for 15 sexual assistants who represent a balance between men and women. They also work with different sexual tendencies. Tandem does not charge for putting users and assistants in touch with each other, and recommends that any agreed economic compensation should not exceed 75 euros.
