Social Inclusion as Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy

In this workshop, presenters Cierra Olivia Thomas- Williams from the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, along with Evelyn Smith from Middle Way House Inc. and Tiba Walter from Stone Belt, Inc. address the critical role and implications of increasing social inclusion for adults with developmental disabilities, whose voices are often forgotten, as a strategy to reduce risk factors for sexual violence. The workshop highlights the use of physical and social mapping to increase social inclusion for adults with developmental disabilities in a community in Indiana. Using public health frameworks, interactive activities and discussion, the presenters share their insights and lessons learned in this project. Further, this workshop introduces the participants to the skills needed to incorporate the social inclusion component and an evaluation method to identify possible risk factors in their sexual violence prevention programming.