Indiana Culturally Affirming Healthy Sexuality Education & Resources for People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities

This page will provide contact and program information for organizations in Indiana that provide healthy sexuality education supported by organizational policies:

AccessAbility

  • Type: disability services
  • Mission:   The result is that our communities are enriched through the full participation of ALL PEOPLE. Building advocates and inclusive communities.
  • Services: Provide individual consumers, governmental agencies, corporations and other non-profits with the tools necessary to ensure the acceptance, respect and inclusion of everyone. 
  • Location:  9105 East 56th Street Suite 308 Indianapolis, IN 46216
  • Phone:   (317) 926-1660
  • Fax:   (317) 926-1687
  • Email: info@abilityindiana.org
  • Website:  http://www.abilityindiana.org/

The Arc of Indiana

  • Type: disability services; Policy advocacy and direct services
  • Mission:   The Arc of Indiana is committed to all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities realizing their goals of living, learning, working and fully participating in the community.
  • Services: pooled special needs trust, advocacy network, support in applying for medicaid, medicaid waviers, SSI, SSDI, vocational rehab, career counseling, community living options, lifecourse framework, supported decision making, education for consumers and providers, health insurance education, audio and visual resources
  • Locations:  https://www.arcind.org/about-the-arc/local-chapters/ 
  • Phone: 800-382-9100
  • Fax: 317-977-2385
  • Email:   https://www.arcind.org/contact-us/ 
  • Website:  https://www.arcind.org/ 

Indiana Institute on Disability and Community (IIDC)

  • Type: disability services; advocacy, education, community services, research
  • Mission:   to work with communities to welcome, value, and support the meaningful participation of people of all ages and abilities through research, education, and service. 
  • Services: Interdisciplinary pre-service preparation and continuing education; Research, including basic or applied research, evaluation, and public policy analysis; Information dissemination; and Community services, including training, technical assistance, and model demonstration.
  • Location: 1905 North Range Road, Bloomington, IN 47408-9801 (https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/contact-us-map )
  • Phone:  812-855-6508
  • Fax:  812-855-9630 
  • Email:  iidc@indiana.edu
  • Website:   https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/ 

Self-Advocates of Indiana (SAI)

  • Type: disability services; Personal Advocacy
  • Mission:   Self-advocacy is important because it is a way for people to know that all people, including people with disabilities, have rights. We help people understand that we want to be treated with respect. It is a way for our voices to be heard.
  • Services: education, state and local advocacy, resource consolidation
  • Location: 143 W. Market Street, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN  46204
  • Phone:  317-977-2375 
  • Fax:  317-977-2385 
  • Email:  https://www.saind.org/contact-us/ 
  • Website:  https://www.saind.org/ 

The Village of Merici

  • Type: disability services; direct services
  • Mission:  The Village of Merici, Inc  provides residential and community opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities that promote a strong sense of community. By creating a sense of community we will create a sense of belonging.
  • Services: provides residential supported living and community integration services to individuals with developmental disabilities. The Village of Merici is an approved provider through the Bureau of Developmental Disabilities (BDDS) Waiver programs and is accredited through CARF International.
  • Location:  5707 Lawton Loop East Drive, Indianapolis  IN 46216
  • Phone: 317-292-9408
  • Email:   colleenrenie@villageofmerici.org 
  • Website: http://villageofmerici.org/

Credit

Post written by Skye Ashton Kantola, Assistant Director, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu and  Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), cwilliams@icadvinc.org.

Help us bring your voice to the forefront!

Request for Submissions

The Indiana Disability Justice Task Force ( or “IDJ”) is looking for contributors for the online Disability Justice and Violence Prevention Resource Hub!  We can compensate you for your participation. If you are selected to be published, you will receive $250!  (Please be aware this could affect benefits and services for those who have them. Please seek out guidance.)

The IDJ Task Force is always looking for:

Along with your submission as outlined below, please also include:

  • The name you’d like associated with the publication.
  • Any organization or agency affiliation that you’d like included with the publication.
  • A brief bio that can be included with the publication.
  • A photo with an image description that can be included with the publication (if submission is in written, not video format).  If you’d like to learn about image descriptions and how to write them, please Read This.
  • Additional information about where people can find you and support your work, such as social media handles, website, etc.

Please submit questions and publications to barizmendi@icadvinc.org. Submissions will be accepted year-round on a rolling basis.  Please note that Online Hub coordinators are mostly volunteer-based, so please be patient as you wait for a response.  Once submitted, a Task Force member will confirm receipt.  Shortly after, you will receive edits or a confirmation that the submission is ready for publication along with an expected publication date.  Please be sure to confirm you are prepared for publication.  Once published, please share widely!

Credit

Publication Guidelines written by Skye Ashton Kantola, Assistant Director at Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu.

Webinar 11: The Spectrum of Prevention in Rape Crisis Centers: Risk Factors and People with Disabilities

Description

75% + of the population of people with disabilities will experience sexual violence in their lifetime. Despite such high victimization rates, there is a dearth of sexual violence research including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Indiana Abuse Prevention Disability Task Force (APDTF) completed a literature review of sexual violence risk factors for people with disabilities including developmental and intellectual disabilities and member panelists of the APDTF will highlight the findings. Haleigh Rigger, Indiana Statewide Rape Crisis Coordinator, will discuss what RCCs can do to engage in primary prevention of sexual violence within their agencies and in local communities.

Webinar Outline
  • 5 minutes: Housekeeping & introductions (Skye/Cierra)
  • 15 minutes: Grounding in SVPP & making a connection to Disability Justice (Cierra & Skye)
  • 20 minutes: Review task force efforts (Cierra, Haleigh, Jen)
  • 20 minutes: Application for Rape Crisis Centers (Haleigh)
  • 10 minutes: Attendee questions (Skye/Cierra)
  • 5-10 minutes: Resource recommendations (Crew)
Presenters
  • Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams (she/her), Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, cwilliams@icadvinc.org.
  • Skye Kantola (she and they), Programs Coordinator, Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu
  • Haleigh Rigger (she/her), Rape Crisis Coordinator, Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking, haleigh@indianacesa.org
  • Jennifer Milharcic (she/her), Disability Consultant, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, jenmilharcic@gmail.com

Closed Captions & Transcript created by Skye Ashton Kantola, MESA Program Coordinator

Co-Sponsors

Risk Factors for Sexual Violence Among People with Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities

The Abuse Prevention Disability Task Force completed a literature review in 2018-2019 to identify risk factors associated with sexual violence and people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. Sexual violence (SV) primary prevention requires increasing protective factors and reducing/eliminating sexual violence perpetration risk factors; and though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified risk and protective factors for sexual violence perpetration, the research may not include people with cognitive and developmental disabilities. People with cognitive and developmental disabilities communicate using a variety of methods and some people do not use written or spoken “standardized” language. The result is hundreds of thousands of people are left out of scientifically designed SV data collection practices, such as NISVS and YRBSS. The task force literature review included science-based evidence (journal articles), practice-based evidence (toolkits), and practice wisdom (community resources) created after the year 2000.

Risk Factor Infographics
Risk Factor Plain Text

These free and readily available resources reviewed (see citations below) generally associated risk factors with victimization and with disability increasing one’s risk for sexual violence victimization (as a result of structural inequities that place people with disabilities at greater risk). There were no clear findings to report beyond the CDC about risk and protective factors for perpetration. The task force organized the sexual violence risks for victimization across the social ecological model according to the level of their impact on people with disabilities, including cognitive and developmental disabilities. We are developing recommendations to pass along to those who are interested, so keep checking back.

Orgainizational Risk Factors for People with Disabilities
Societal Risk Factors For People with Disabilities
Community Risk Factors for People with Disabilities

References:

  • Alriksson-Schmidt, A. I., Armour, B. S., & Thibadeau, J. K. (2010). Are Adolescent Girls With a Physical Disability at Increased Risk for Sexual Violence? Journal of School Health, 80, 361–367. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2010.00514
  • Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., & Smith, S. G. (2016). Disability and Risk of Recent Sexual Violence in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 106(5), 928–933. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.303004
  • Cowley, Kelsey, Fellow, Self-Advocacy Resource and Technical Assistance Center. (2018). Starting the Conversation: A Toolkit for Self-Advocates to Talk About Sexual Violence in Their Community. Toolkit available online February 13, 2020 at: https://selfadvocacyinfo.org/resource/starting-the-conversation-a-toolkit-for-self-advocates-to-talk-about-sexual-violence-in-their-community/
  • Davis, Leigh Ann, M.S.S.S.W., M.P.A., L.A.D. (2019). Resources, People with Intellectual Disability and Sexual Violence. The Arc. Retrieved online at May 20, 2019: https://www.thearc.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=2457
  • Euser, S. , Alink, L. R., Tharner, A. , IJzendoorn, M. H. and Bakermans‐Kranenburg, M. J. (2016). The Prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse in Out‐of‐home Care: Increased Risk for Children with a Mild Intellectual Disability. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 29: 83-92. doi:10.1111/jar.12160
  • Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I., Hyun-Jun Kim, and Susan E. Barkan (2012). Disability Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults: Disparities in Prevalence and Risk. American Journal of Public Health 102, e16_e21. doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2011.300379
  • Hughes K, Bellis MA, Jones L, Wood S, Bates G, Eckley L, McCoy E, Mikton C, Shakespeare T, Officer A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against adults with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Lancet; doi:10.1016/S0410-6736(11)61851-5.
  • Keilty, J & Connelly, G. (2001). Making a statement: An exploratory study of barriers facing women with an intellectual disability when making a statement about sexual assault to police. Disability & Society, 16 (2), 273-291.
  • Krahn, Gloria L. PhD, MPH, Deborah Klein Walker, EdD, and Rosaly Correa-De-Araujo, MD, PhD (2015). Persons with Disabilities as an Unrecognized Health Disparity Population. American Journal of Public Health, Supplement 2, 2015, Vol. 105, No. S2., p. S198. Retrieved November 1, 2018 from: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302182
  • National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Division of Violence Prevention (2020). Risk and Protective Factors. Accessed online May 20, 2019 at https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/riskprotectivefactors.html
  • Normand, C.L. and Sallafranque‐St‐Louis, F. (2016), Cybervictimization of Young People With an Intellectual or Developmental Disability: Risks Specific to Sexual Solicitation. Journal ofApplied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 29:99-110. doi:10.1111/jar.12163
  • Plummer, S.-B., & Findley, P. (2012). Women With Disabilities’ Experience With Physical and Sexual Abuse: Review of the Literature and Implications for the Field. Trauma Violence Abuse 2012 13: 15. Accessed online May 21, 2019 at:
  • https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patricia_Findley/publication/51787909_Women_With_Disabilities’_Experience_With_Physical_and_Sexual_Abuse/links/0deec5304c5a1c79d8000000.pdf
  • Taggart, L. & R. McMillan (2009). Listening to women with intellectual disabilities and mental health problems: a focus on risk and resilient factors. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 2009, vol 13(4) 321‒340. doi: 10.1177⁄1744629509353239
  • West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (2019). West Virginia S.A.F.E. Training and Collaboration Toolkit, Serving Sexual Violence Victims with Disabilities, B1.1 Sexual Violence 101. Sexual Victimization of Persons with Disabilities: Prevalence and Risk Factors Sexual Victimization of Persons with Disabilities: Prevalence and Risk Factors. West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services. Accessed online May 20, 2019 at:
  • https://www.arcnj.org/file_download/eeead953-679c-4937-9f6e-596248f9261e

Credit

Research conducted and post written by  Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, Prevention Specialist, Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ICADV), cwilliams@icadvinc.org. Infographics created by Kat Chappell, Outreach and Operations Manager, Indiana Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, kchappell@gcpd.in.gov. Post edited by Skye Ashton Kantola (she/they), Assistant Director at Multicultural Efforts to End Sexual Assault, kantola@purdue.edu.

Emails may have changed. Please contact Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams at Nothing Without Us Collective for the latest contact information.