Prevention for ID/ADS

Sexual Violence Against Women Living with an Intellectual Disability or an Autism Spectrum Disorder must stop !

Project in collaboration with the Montérégie-Ouest Integrated Health and Social Services Center

As part of a grant received by the Quebec Women’s Secretariat, CALACS Châteauguay has combined its efforts to deploy a project aimed at combating sexual violence against women living with an intellectual disability (ID) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

The title of this project is: “Sexual violence against women living with an intellectual disability or an autism spectrum disorder must stop!” “.

This allows, through various activities, to promote the consolidation of the partnership between CALACS Châteauguay and the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, more particularly the ID 7 and over and ASD teams, specific and specialized. The project foresees several activities. First, a round of awareness meetings (general meeting and in-depth meeting) with the teams of interveners throughout the CISSS de la Montérégie territory, addressing in particular intervention in the context of disclosure, and aimed at equipping interveners to act in these situations.

Then, the project allowed the production and distribution of a leaflet intended for the entourage of people with ID or ASD who are victims of sexual assault, the objective being to inform about the problem, as well as about helping attitudes to adopt to act in support of a person who has experienced sexual violence. In addition, the project includes a collaboration agreement between CALACS and the CISSS de la Montérégie-Ouest, in order to agree on clear intervention and referral processes in matters of sexual assault.

The content of an awareness meeting was also created to raise awareness among the personnel of paratransit companies of the problem of sexual assault among people living with an ID or an ASD. It is therefore within the framework of this project that the production of an animation guide was carried out allowing the setting up of three workshops to raise awareness of sexual assault, aimed at users. Ultimately, this project is part of CALACS Châteauguay’s desire and commitment to fight against all forms of sexual violence perpetrated against all women, taking into account their specific realities such as their physical and intellectual abilities.

We believe that the issue of sexual assault is a social problem that requires a social response. This obviously involves intervention with victims, but also and necessarily prevention and control. These are the values that underpinned the project.