Picture this: info-packed sessions and hands-on learning of sexual and reproductive health rights, designed for and by people with disabilities. WEI is supporting organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs) in building the capacity they seek with a new curriculum that addresses crucial human rights topics. The goal: Empower OPDs to lead the conversations in their communities about sexual and reproductive health and violence and, in turn, teach future trainings in their own communities.
WEI and the United National Population Fund (UNFPA) recently joined forces to release a brand-new, interactive curriculum on sexual and reproductive health and rights and the right to be free from gender-based violence.
The curriculum offers foundational training for organizations of people with disabilities (OPDs) by providing a resource for people with disabilities to understand and become champions of accessible and inclusive sexual and reproductive health and rights and gender‑based violence services. In two formats – both virtual and in person delivery options – it provides information and experiential learning to deepen expertise on these key human rights topics and support further engagement within the OPD community and beyond.
The need for this resource grew from the success of WEI and UNFPA’s ‘Women and Young Persons with Disabilities: Guidelines for Providing Rights-Based and Gender-Responsive Services to Address Gender-Based Violence and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.’ These Guidelines were hugely successful in sharing the key issues and information needed by women, young people, and gender-diverse people with disabilities to service providers and other key stakeholders.
After presenting the Guidelines to stakeholders, including OPDs, around the globe it became clear that our community, women and gender-diverse people with disabilities around the world, wanted more information and training on sexual and reproductive health and rights and the right to be free from violence to support their leadership in ensuring services in their communities were both rights-based and gender-responsive.
In response to this demand, the curriculums were developed to empower facilitators with disabilities to develop a comprehensive understanding of their rights and what it takes to create inclusive sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services in their communities. Designed as a ‘Train-the-Trainer’ Model, the curriculum also equips people who attend the trainings to become master trainers who then share the knowledge more broadly with their communities.
The curriculum launch took place on November 30th to coincide with International Day of Persons with Disabilities and to raise awareness of barriers related to accessibility, stigma, and attitudes that impact our communities relating to sexual and reproductive health and rights and freedom from violence. WEI and partners from UNFPA discussed the importance of this resource with panelists from Youren Foundation, One-Plus-One Disability Group, and Young People With Disabilities Network, Botswana. Rowena Koloi, Chairperson of the Young People With Disabilities Network, Botswana concluded with, “this curriculum allows young people to own it and take it to their peers, ensuring that they have the knowledge they need in order to provide services that are disability inclusive and nonjudgmental.”
Please find a link to the curriculum resources below: