Improving the Sexual education for people with intellectual disability Erasmus Project

Project Title

Improving the Sexual education for people with intellectual disability

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Inclusion – equity; Access for disadvantaged; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

Sexuality is a source of energy of life, necessary for the growth and development of each one of us. When we talk about people with intellectual diversity, in many cases it is seen as a threat. There is a widespread belief that they will not be able to channel all this energy, which can even be dangerous for themselves or their environment, and too often we have seen how this source has been prevented by preventing its development. By preventing sexuality from flowing naturally, preventing access to the necessary supports to understand and channel positively their sexual development, what is achieved is to put one’s own growth in crisis, all that unchanneled energy ends up exploding like a Geyser and inadequate sexual behavior begins to occur.

Sexual education is the transmission of information and knowledge adapted to the capacity of understanding of each one; relevant answers to all questions always in terms of truth, using the occasions that arise spontaneously in everyday life (both at school and at home); integration in the program and in the global educational process. Sex education provides the individual with the necessary tools and training on how to channel their sexual energy, and allow this source to flow responsibly and satisfactorily.

The SEXINLIFE project will allow the exchange of good practices among related entities on the sexual education of people with intellectual disability. This will allow professionals to offer a quality sexual education in their Centers of attention to people with intellectual disability. They will allow families to have reference elements contributed by other peers, other relatives who have lived through the same space of insecurity and fear. And they will know in first voice the results of providing life opportunities to their daughters and sons in the voice of the daughters and children of other relatives. It will allow people with diversity who have long been beneficiaries of sex education to have a shuttle from which to turn their life experiences and on the other hand to people who have not yet had access to this education will give them the possibility that in their centers can be launched and know the resources needed to develop sex education programs, complete, from a sexological perspective.

The general objective of SENINLIFE is to exchange good practices among the professionals of the Centers that work with people with intellectual diversity, to share knowledge, resources and tools on Sexual education for people with intellectual and / or functional diversity, which allows to increase the quality of life of this group and their families, thus guaranteeing their active inclusion in society.

The specific objectives of the project are:
– Give voice to the sexual rights of people with intellectual diversity.
– Open the concept of sexuality from a sexological approach; in the plane of sexual identity, sexual affectivity and sexual behavior.
– Exchange knowledge and methodological resources for sexual education adapted to the needs of understanding the different levels of cognitive impairment.
– Support families to see sexuality as an opportunity for life and growth and not as a problem.
– Create a network of resources for people with intellectual diversity, families and professionals.
– Transfer successful experiences to Centers that want to develop sex education.

The Project Association is composed by 5 organizations from five EU Member States: 3 from Southern Europe (Spain, Portugal and Cyprus), one from Central Europe (Poland) and one from Eastern Europe (Bulgaria). This broad coverage of the EU territory will help to collect, compare and share experiences between different countries that share a need: to develop Sexual education for people with intellectual diversity, in territories with little or no development of this topic of fundamental importance. At the same time, it will help reach a large number of stakeholders, and establish joint working networks at European level.

The partners of the project are:
– San Xerome Emiliani Association (Spain)
– Bulgarian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (Bulgaria)
– Associacao de cerebral paralysis of Viseu (Portugal)
– Stowarzyszenie na Rzecz Spoldzielni Socjalnych (Poland)
– IMS Research & Development Center (Cyprus)

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 108668 Eur

Project Coordinator

ASOCIACIÓN SAN XEROME EMILIANI & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Association for Social Cooperatives
• Bulgarian Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (BAPID)
• IMS Research & Development Center
• Associação de Paralisisa Cerebral de Viseu
• ASSOCIAZIONE PEGASO ONLUS