When Padma Deva meets a new client for work she does so not in an office or coffee bar but in the privacy of a hotel room. The meeting typically lasts for two hours during which time the two of them are likely to undress, massage and caress one another. Sometimes they will have full sexual intercourse.
At the end of the encounter, the satisfied client will pay Padma for the service she has provided and the two will go their separate ways β until their next appointment. But you would be wrong. Her clients include lawyers and doctors as well as students and builders. Some are married, others not. But all are suffering from issues such as erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation or crippling shyness.
Her oldest client is aged 65 while the youngest is 25 β both men consulted Padma because they were virgins and felt unable to have any sort of sex life. Yet despite the veneer of clinical respectability, sexual surrogacy is a deeply controversial practice. Critics, perhaps understandably, dismiss it as morally reprehensible, degrading and, at the very least, of dubious therapeutic benefit. Some have even questioned its legality, although there are no laws specifically prohibiting it.
Padma was inspired by the film Sweet November and says that she saw herself in the Keanu Reeves character. Padma β a slender and strikingly attractive year-old brunette β is used to hearing such accusations, which is why she has agreed to speak openly for the first time about her work in a bid to dispel some of the misunderstandings that surround it, though she would not consent to be photographed for fear of attracting unwelcome attention in public.
She argues that although we may live in a liberal age, those with sexual problems seldom have the confidence to discuss their issues openly, even with partners. That is where sexual surrogates like her come in. Trained by the International Professional Surrogate Association, Padma says her role is to be a form of mentor, guiding people who are struggling with intimacy issues. She and the client meet in a hotel room or rented accommodation for the sessions.
