Webinar

Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering the Movement Around Self-Advocates

Nothing about us without us is a common phrase used in the disability rights movement to mean nothing should be created for a community without the meaningful participation of that …
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Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering the Movement Around Self-Advocates

Nothing about us without us is a common phrase used in the disability rights movement to mean nothing should be created for a community without the meaningful participation of that community. Self-advocates have been leaders in the disability rights movement for years and are increasingly expanding their work in the survivor advocacy field. They have the wisdom and life experience to know how to dismantle ableism and best support victims of crime with disabilities, if only we listen.

This webinar, aimed at survivor advocacy organization and disability service providers, will provide an overview of the participation of self-advocates at the intersection of violence and disability. The self-advocates on the panel will discuss the essential role self-advocate leaders must play if we want to end gender-based violence. Join us for this engaging conversation with Cindy Bentley, facilitated by Leah Green.

Activating Change
Webinar: Disability, Aging, and the Unique Impact on Service Delivery

In honor of Elder Abuse Awareness month, Sandra Harrell, from Activating Change, discusses the unique dynamics of abuse experienced by two communities of older adults with disabilities: those who are …
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Webinar: Disability, Aging, and the Unique Impact on Service Delivery

In honor of Elder Abuse Awareness month, Sandra Harrell, from Activating Change, discusses the unique dynamics of abuse experienced by two communities of older adults with disabilities: those who are formerly able-bodied and are aging into disability and those with early-acquired disabilities who are aging with disabilities. Sandra also discuss the barriers to services these survivor communities experience, as well as the implications for service providers.

Watch this webinar at your convenience.

Activating Change
Sexual Assault and Autistic Survivors

This webinar, featured Erica Blackwood of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Olga Trujillo of Activating Change, who addressed the barriers autistic survivors face in seeking healing services …
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Sexual Assault and Autistic Survivors

This webinar, featured Erica Blackwood of the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Olga Trujillo of Activating Change, who addressed the barriers autistic survivors face in seeking healing services following sexual violence and the ways in which service providers can better meet their needs. This powerful webinar explored the lived experience of an autistic survivor and offered participants guidance on what accommodations are helpful as well as those things to consider for effective communication with autistic survivors.

Watch the webinar at your convenience.
Supporting Black Deaf Survivors

Black deaf survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence often have to navigate a web of barriers to accessing healing services: programs designed to respond to domestic and sexual violence, for …
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Supporting Black Deaf Survivors

Black deaf survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence often have to navigate a web of barriers to accessing healing services: programs designed to respond to domestic and sexual violence, for instance, may not have the knowledge or resources to address the needs of Deaf survivors while Deaf programs may not have the knowledge or experience to address survivorship. However, the Deaf community has been working to address this gap in services by developing programs specifically at this intersection. This webinar featured one of those programs, DAWN, which was formed inn 1999 in the Washington metropolitan area and has been providing direct support services to women and their families in the Deaf community. Listen to a conversation between Roberta Eaton, DAWN’s Executive Director, and Raven Sutton, Senior Survivor Resource Specialist, as they discuss DAWN’s unique approach to meeting the needs of Black deaf survivors.
Sex Trafficking and Disability

People with disabilities are targeted at higher rates than their peers to exploitation and/or abuse, including sex trafficking. Sex traffickers deliberately target individuals they know they can isolate and control …
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Sex Trafficking and Disability

People with disabilities are targeted at higher rates than their peers to exploitation and/or abuse, including sex trafficking. Sex traffickers deliberately target individuals they know they can isolate and control and both individual and systemic conditions increase the risk for people with disabilities. Specifically, people with disabilities often live in relative isolation, may rely on assistance from others to get to work and to access basic services and may be denied information about trafficking. Compounding these individual risk factors are barriers within our systems to identifying and supporting survivors with disabilities. This includes barriers to reporting or seeking help, a lack of disability-centered victim responses, and a lack of economic resources due to the devaluation of people with disabilities and their labor. Many survivors of trafficking also acquire disabilities as a result of being trafficked, yet few service providers are prepared to provide services and supports to survivors who have this experience. In recognition of human trafficking awareness month, this webinar explored the unique risk factors of persons with disabilities, and what service providers and communities can do to take action at multiple levels.
Sexual Violence in the Lives of Indigenous People with Disabilities

Nearly 3 million people in the United States identify as “American Indian or Alaskan Native” (2010 U.S. Census). Due to systemic and historical oppression, individuals within these communities experience high …
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Sexual Violence in the Lives of Indigenous People with Disabilities

Nearly 3 million people in the United States identify as “American Indian or Alaskan Native” (2010 U.S. Census). Due to systemic and historical oppression, individuals within these communities experience high rates of sexual assault and have high rates of disability. This webinar looked at Indigenous survivors of sexual assault who also have a disability and the unique barriers they encounter in their healing journey.
Promising Practices for Serving Domestic Violence Survivors with Disabilities

This webinar featured a panel of experts who explored the unique barriers that people with disabilities have to navigate when seeking healing and the strategies that advocates employ to proactively …
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Promising Practices for Serving Domestic Violence Survivors with Disabilities

This webinar featured a panel of experts who explored the unique barriers that people with disabilities have to navigate when seeking healing and the strategies that advocates employ to proactively remove those barriers. Specifically, they explored the civil-legal needs of survivors with disabilities, the needs of survivors who acquire a disability through domestic violence, and the unique needs of Deaf survivors.
Centering Survivors with Disabilities in Your Organizational Policies

When survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors engage with your victim service organization or disability program, they are necessarily engaging with the policies that guide the delivery of your services. …
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Centering Survivors with Disabilities in Your Organizational Policies

When survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors engage with your victim service organization or disability program, they are necessarily engaging with the policies that guide the delivery of your services. Regardless of they type of organization, failure to account for the lived experiences of survivors with disabilities in your organizational polices results in delays in service provision, confusion among staff about what is allowed, safety concerns among survivors, the provision of inadequate or unsafe services, or the denial of services completely.

This two-part webinar series examined key policies that victim service and disability organizations should have in place to account for unique circumstances in the lives of survivors with disabilities, including personal care attendants, service animals and guardianship.
Providing Accessible and Effective Services to Survivors of Sexual Assault with Disabilities

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and in support of survivors everywhere, we dedicated this month’s End Abuse of People with Disabilities webinar to lifting up promising practices for serving survivors …
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Providing Accessible and Effective Services to Survivors of Sexual Assault with Disabilities

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and in support of survivors everywhere, we dedicated this month’s End Abuse of People with Disabilities webinar to lifting up promising practices for serving survivors with disabilities. The webinar featured a panel comprised of a survivor with a disability, a national expert, and a local advocate, this webinar explored the unique barriers that people with disabilities have to navigate when seeking healing and the strategies that advocates can employ to proactively remove those barriers. The panelists provided practical guidance from their own experience to help you ensure that survivors with disabilities feel respected and supported within your programs

Panelists, Cathy Saunders, Self-Advocate with Illinois Imagines, Cierra Olivia Thomas-Williams, Prevention Specialist at Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Heidi Sue LeBoeuf, Counseling Director at Pathways For Change and facilitator Sandra Harrell, Associate Director, Center on Victimization and Safety led this discussion.
What’s Happening for Deaf Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence?

Deaf domestic and sexual violence programs are few and far between in comparison to hearing programs. There are only 20 “for Deaf, by Deaf” programs compared to approximately 3,000 programs …
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What’s Happening for Deaf Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence?

Deaf domestic and sexual violence programs are few and far between in comparison to hearing programs. There are only 20 “for Deaf, by Deaf” programs compared to approximately 3,000 programs designed for hearing survivors. What does this mean for Deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence trying to heal from violence and abuse? A panel of advocates from Deaf domestic and sexual violence programs discussed the state of Deaf services. These boots-on-ground advocates shared information about their programs, including about the National Deaf Hotline, the barriers Deaf survivors experience when trying to access services from hearing programs, the disparities Deaf survivors of color experience, and why understanding what’s happening, and the resources available to Deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence, is critical.