The expert group is one of the activities of the project: “I see! About Soul and Body for Women with Intellectual Disabilities.” It involves a working meeting of experts from various fields, who have an opportunity in their work to meet with women who are at risk or who have been direct victims of sexual violence or abuse. Within the scope of the project, this group should meet two times. One of these meetings has already taken place.
The aim of these two meetings is:
- To create a vivid picture of what happens when a woman with mental disabilities in the Czech Republic is at risk or becomes a victim of sexual violence or harassment. We wish to ascertain what support is currently available to this woman and those around her, what resources are offered for dealing with such a situation in terms of prevention, recognising the situation, aiding the victim, and working with the aggressor.
- To identify weak spots in the system of prevention, help for the victim, and work with the aggressor.
- To think about possible solutions, improvements, cooperation, and exchanges of experiences.
- To create a group, which even after the end of the project will continue to be interconnected and which will work reciprocally as a consultative body for cases of sexual violence against women with mental disabilities.
First meeting of an expert working group on sexual violence against women with mental disabilities
This meeting took place on 27 January 2016 and 17 experts from various fields were in attendance. The experts also included a woman with mental disabilities who has experienced sexual harassment via the Facebook social network. Besides her, female employees from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs also attended the meeting, as did intimate confidantes from service providers, an expert on the sexuality of people with mental disabilities, a female worker from a counselling centre for victims of violence, a female worker from an intervention centre, and lawyers. The outcome of the meeting comprises a description of the situation, the identification of some weaknesses and some problems in this field, and ideas about what can be done and how to work together. Thus far, this concerns a working version that we will continue to work on. The final version of this description will be published on this website.
In this section there will also be:
- Contact details for individual experts who are willing to provide consultations in regard to sexual violence and harassment against women with mental disabilities.
- A detailed description of the tools that can used in these cases.
- A description of problems with respect to reporting or preventing these acts.