10/2 #DisabledResilient Twitter Chat: Sexual Violence & Disabled People

 

You are invited to participate in the #DisabledResilient Twitter chat co-hosted by Dolores Tejada of San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR), Patty Berne of Sins Invalid and Alice Wong of the Disability Visibility Project®. #DisabledResilient seeks to raise the voices and experience of resilience of disabled survivors of sexual violence.

San Francisco Women Against Rape (SFWAR) is a women of color led, volunteer-based organization that has provided rape crisis services to survivors of sexual assault for over 40 years. SFWAR has a long history of recognizing rape and sexual assault as an issue that also affects people with disabilities and has provided services to people with disabilities since its inception. In 2017, SFWAR launched its Department of Disability and D/deaf Services as a way to provide community informed services for all people with disabilities.

Sins Invalid is a disability justice based performance project that celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and LGBTQ and gender-variant artists as communities who have been historically marginalized. Led by disabled people of color, Sins Invalid’s performance work explores the themes of sexuality, embodiment and the disabled body, developing provocative work where paradigms of “normal” and “sexy” are challenged, offering instead a vision of beauty and sexuality inclusive of all bodies and communities. In its 11th year, Sins Invalid is seen as a thought leader in Disability Justice and continues to alter the cultural context in which people with disabilities are seen and experienced, nurturing an aesthetic vision in which all bodies are recognized as valuable and beautiful.

In collaboration with Sin Invalid, SFWAR launched the #DisabledResilient campaign to bring awareness to the issue of sexual violence within disability communities, including through educational advertisements on San Francisco buses and BART, social media cards, and outreach at local events. SFWAR recognizes the resilience of survivors with disabilities and offers its support. All services are free and confidential.

Additional Links

Janelle White, SFWAR’s Executive Director, on why SFWAR made an intentional move to name and center survivors who have disabilities and survivors who are d/Deaf on the third page of the most recent annual report, which you can read here: http://sfwar.org/pdf/2014_2015_Newsletter.pdf

How to Participate

Follow @DisVisibility, @SF_WAR and @SinsInvalid on Twitter for updates.

When it’s time, search #DisabledResilient on Twitter for the series of live tweets under the ‘Latest’ tab for the full conversation.

If you might be overwhelmed by the volume of tweets and only want to see the chat’s questions so you can respond to them, check @DisVisibility’s account. Each question will tweeted 6-8 minutes apart.

Check out this explanation of how to participate in a twitter chat by Ruti Regan: https://storify.com/RutiRegan/examplechat

Check out this captioned #ASL explanation of how to participate in a chat by @behearddc

https://www.facebook.com/HEARDDC/videos/1181213075257528/

Introductory Tweets and Questions for Chat

Welcome to the #DisabledResilient chat on survivors with disabilities. Remember to use the hashtag when you tweet.

This chat is co-hosted by @SF_WAR, @SinsInvalid & @disvisibility #DisabledResilient

If you respond to a question such as Q1, your tweet should follow this format: “A1 [your message] #DisabledResilient”

We will be talking about sexual violence & disability during this chat. Please note PwD=people w/ disabilities #DisabledResilient

FYI: This chat may be provocative & trigger traumatic memories. Please practice self care & take care of yourself. #DisabledResilient

Q1 Roll call! Please introduce yourself and share what brought you to this chat today. #DisabledResilient

Q2  What narratives do you hear about sexual violence and disability in the media? Are they problematic? Why? #DisabledResilient

Q3 How do you think ableism factors into the rates of sexual violence that PwDs experience? Other forms of oppression? #DisabledResilient

Q4 What is the relationship btwn the desexualization of PwDs & sexual violence? #DisabledResilient

Q5 What are some barriers disabled ppl face when reporting & accessing services as a survivor of sexual violence? #DisabledResilient

Q6 How should education & prevention of sexual violence address the needs of disabled people? #DisabledResilient

Q7 What services, supports, changes do you want to see for disabled survivors of sexual violence? #DisabledResilient

Q8 For disabled survivors of sexual violence, what does resilience & healing mean to you? What gives you support? #DisabledResilient

Thank you for joining our #DisabledResilient chat. Please continue the convo!

A Storify will be up tomorrow. Check the #DisabledResilient hashtag.