Online Workshop: Preventing Abuse: Helping Self-Advocates Become Sexual Self-Advocates
Workshop Summary
Abuse prevention is not only about teaching people to say no. People also need to know and believe that their body, mind, and life are theirs—and know what they want to say yes to. This workshop gives you practical activities and frameworks for teaching sexual self-advocacy: making choices, understanding consent, naming limits, and speaking up.
Note: This is a pre-recorded, 90-minute workshop. Instant access upon purchase. Includes workshop slides, self-assessment handouts, research resources, a personal self-advocacy skills guide, and the participant chat transcript.
Why This Workshop Exists
We know the rate of sexual abuse among people with I/DD is very high. NPR reported that people with intellectual disabilities experience sexual assault at seven times the rate of people without disabilities—and twelve times the rate for women. A research summary from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities also says most abuse is committed by someone the person knows. Some studies estimate this could be as high as 96%.
And we know abuse is never the fault of the person who was abused. The responsibility belongs to the person who committed the abuse. Sexuality education may help reduce risk, but it cannot guarantee that abuse will not happen.
So, what can we teach?
Stranger-danger education is not enough. People need to know the names of their body parts. They need to understand different types of relationships and touch. They need to learn about consent, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and how to speak up when something does not feel right.
These are sexual self-advocacy skills. This workshop gives you practical ways to teach them.
Sexual Self-Advocacy Is More Than Saying No
Sexual self-advocacy means speaking up for yourself sexually. It means getting information, making your own choices, stating your limits and desires, and respecting another person’s limits and desires.
It is not only about saying no. It is also about knowing what you want to say yes to. A person needs to know that their life belongs to them and have opportunities to make decisions about it.
Self-advocates from Illinois Imagines say:
“I am a human being, just like everyone else; I am a sexual being, just like everyone else; I am not a child; I am an adult.”
— Self-advocates, Illinois Imagines
Think about what changes when people believe this. They can learn what they want in a relationship. They can practice asking for it. They can say when something is not okay. And they can learn that they also need to listen when another person says no.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Katherine repeats one message with her students:
“It is your body and you get to decide what’s right for you.”
— Katherine McLaughlin, workshop presenter
But saying it once is not enough. People need ways to practice it.
In this workshop, you will explore a name-tag activity that teaches body autonomy. You will look at different types of relationships and ask: Who can touch your body? What kinds of touch fit this relationship? When is touch not okay?
You will also use a simple two-part consent test. Did the person say yes? Was the yes freely chosen? Both answers need to be yes.
Then, you will look at healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships. You will explore relationship rights and responsibilities, as well as ways to practice speaking up. This includes saying no, asking for help, speaking up to people in authority, and accepting another person’s no.
Who This Workshop Is For
This workshop is for self-advocates who want to learn more about their bodies, rights, consent, and healthy relationships. It is also for special education teachers, direct support professionals, residential and day-program staff, case managers, social workers, therapists, counselors, parents, and sexuality educators who support people with I/DD.
It is especially helpful if sexuality education has been absent or incomplete in your setting, or if you need practical activities for teaching body autonomy, consent, relationship skills, and abuse prevention.
What You Will Learn
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
Explain how sexual self-advocacy can support abuse prevention without blaming people who experience abuse
Teach body autonomy with activities that reinforce each person’s right to make decisions about their own body
Use a types-of-relationships framework to talk about touch, privacy, helping relationships, and sexual boundaries
Teach consent by asking two questions: Did the person say yes? Was the yes freely chosen?
Help self-advocates identify healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships
Practice assertiveness skills, including saying no, accepting no, asking for help, and speaking up to people in authority
Workshop Price
$45/one-time
Purchase once — watch as many times as you like.
What is Included?
Your purchase includes immediate access to the 90-minute video recording, plus the following downloadable resources:
Preventing Abuse Workshop Slides — The full presentation slide deck covering abuse statistics, sexual self-advocacy, body autonomy, relationships and touch, consent, and healthy and unhealthy relationships.
Are You Abusing Someone? — A self-assessment handout for recognizing controlling, threatening, or harmful actions in a relationship and talking about taking responsibility.
Are You Being Abused? — A self-assessment handout for recognizing fear, pressure, control, isolation, unwanted sexual activity, and other signs of an abusive relationship.
NACDD Report — A research summary on abuse, neglect, and exploitation involving people with I/DD, including risk factors, reporting barriers, and prevention initiatives.
Statistics from a 2011 Literature Review — Supplemental research findings on sexual abuse rates and patterns affecting women and men with disabilities.
Canadian Statistics and Resources — Canadian statistics and links to additional teaching resources on consent.
Personal Self-Advocacy Skills — A framework for teaching people to use their voice, solve problems, understand rights and responsibilities, make decisions, negotiate, and manage risk.
Workshop Chat Transcript — Participant questions, discussion, and resources shared during the original session.
Katherine McLaughlin, M.Ed., AASECT Certified Sexuality Educator, is the Founder, CEO, and Lead Trainer for Elevatus Training. She has been a sexuality educator and trainer for over 30 years. As a national expert on sexuality and intellectual and developmental disabilities, she trains professionals and parents, as well as people with I/DD, to become sexual self-advocates and peer sexuality educators.
