The content in this post focuses on breaking down or critically reviewing research papers or “white papers” (fact-based best practices documents usually published by non-profits).
NPR provides 8 in-depth stories about sexual violence and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including interviews with people who have been harmed by sexual violence and their family. This series is available as a podcast as well as transcripts.
Post by Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams, Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
What do we mean when we say consent? Do we mean empowered decision making, a legal exchange, or what? Here are a few ways to look at it. Find the entire discussion about consent in the 2018 webinar series, webinar #2.
Pre-screen individuals using trauma-informed processes as a sexual consent tool can trigger trauma-related memories. Healthy sexuality classes are part of comprehensive violence prevention efforts that include organizational assessments and policy changes as necessary to support health and wellness for all people.
Post written by Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams, Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
When I feel sad I tell someone. It makes me feel better. I sit in a different room. It brings tears to my eyes. It feels good to cry. I feel a lot better. It makes me keep going.
Written by a participant with disabilities
The guide shares the stories of one collaboration with 25 people with a variety of disabilities who sought to increase social inclusion, which is the connective tissue that creates an opportunity to have safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments. If you are looking for prevention tools meant to create protective environments (per the CDC Stop SV: a Technical Package to Prevent SV), please check out the Inclusion Appendix or the Inclusion Project Guide that ICADV developed with 25 people with developmental and cognitive disabilities and featured by PreventConnect and National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).
The complete guide to replicate the project and all accessible data collection methods created and used by the Bloomington Inclusion Collaborative. You will find agency inclusion mapping tools developed by Evelyn G. Smith who worked at Middle Way House, focus group protocols for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities, focus group protocols for caregivers, and community-wide participatory social mapping tools that were developed with people with a variety of disabilities. Please use and share these tools and resources!
The public health approach to violence prevention asks us to engage in a 4 step process to identify the problem, address the associated factors that increase or decrease violence (risk/protective factors), evaluate both the process and outcomes, and share the findings (positive and negative).
The Bloomington Inclusion Collaborative formed in 2015 with the financial support of the Indiana State Department of Health Rape Prevention and Education grant to collaboratively develop community-wide solutions to increase inclusion based upon unique barriers found in Bloomington, Indiana. Adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities along with eleven cross-sector partners engaged in participatory social mapping to assess barriers to inclusion in neighborhoods, public spaces and businesses.
In 2016, the data about barriers to inclusion specific to Bloomington were prioritized for solutions-advocacy and implementation. By sharing the tools developed over the course of the project along with the lessons learned, the Bloomington Inclusion Collaborative encourages others to engage with people with disabilities to examine factors that reduce sexual violence risks specific to their communities and implement practice-based solutions to increase inclusion, which is protective across all aspects of human life.
Inclusion project tools created in collaboration with Maggie Matson, MPH, and Bloomington Inclusion Collaborative include:
In partnership with Stone Belt, Arc (2016), ICADV participated in a national conversation with CALCASA and PreventConnect about emergent inclusion efforts in sexual violence prevention and in research using the data and efforts of the Bloomington Inclusion Collaborative. The project was followed through to a session at the 2016 National Sexual Assault Conference, which co-presented by two project stakeholders. The session was recorded and it is available below.
Post written by Cierra Olivia Thomas Williams, Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence
This special information packet by CALCASA provides an overview of ableism, legal rights, and prevalence of sexual violence of people with disabilities. Not only does the tool provide suggestions for outreach and engagement, it provides a comprehensive list of physical accessibility improvement suggestions and list of disabilities with definitions and disability support agencies in California. The packet includes primary prevention strategies, including suggestions to increasing community inclusion for people with disabilities.