Today we’re releasing two important resources together as a part of our Proud and Supported Series:
- A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex
- What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?
Everyone deserves access to sex education. But information about what sex is, and ways to make sex safer for everyone involved, isn’t always accessible. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities can and do have sex and deserve accessible sex education!
“A Self-Advocate’s Guide to Safer Sex” talks about things like:
- Why people have sex.
- How to have safer sex.
- What pregnancy is and how to prevent it.
- What STIs (including HIV) are and how to prevent them.
- What sexual and reproductive health care is, and how to get it.
And more!
This toolkit is available in Easy Read and plain language. You can find these materials here.
We hope this resource will help you make choices that work for you and your partners, and help you advocate for your sexual and reproductive rights!
Our second resource, “What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?” addresses the serious problems that a lack of accessible information about sexual abuse creates. People with disabilities are at a higher risk of sexual abuse. The lack of accessible information means many people may not know they are being abused. People with disabilities deserve accessible information to recognize sexual abuse and seek help when it happens to us.
Our guide “What Do I Need to Know About Sexual Assault?” covers:
- What is consent?
- What is sexual assault?
- What you can do if you’ve been assaulted.
- How to support others who have been assaulted.
Sexual abuse is a hard thing to talk about, but silence will not stop this violence. This resource is available in Easy Read and plain language here.
We know this is a hard subject to read about. If you need support, you can contact RAINN:
The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) is one resource for people who have been sexually assaulted. RAINN has a phone hotline you can call. The RAINN hotline number is 1-800-656-4673. You can also contact RAINN through their online chat. RAINN can help you find sexual assault resources in your state or area. Los recursos y servicios también están disponibles en español.
This resource was made possible due to generous funding from the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (NYS DDPC). It was developed in collaboration with the National Alliance of Direct Support Professionals (NADSP) and the Burton-Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University.