The University of La Laguna hosted the 2nd Conference "Take Care of Your Sexuality: Young Women, Disabilities, and the Prevention of Sexual Violence" on Tuesday, November 10th. The event brought together professionals from the fields of disability, psychology, sexology, education, and equality to address the vulnerabilities faced by young women with disabilities and to share tools for preventing sexual violence. The conference took place in the César Manrique Auditorium of the Guajara Building, with nearly one hundred participants attending in person and also available online via [platform name missing]. streaming.
With this second edition, the "Take Care of Your Sexuality" event continues to solidify its position as a space for training, reflection, and exchange among professionals, institutions, social organizations, and people with disabilities. This initiative seeks to contribute to a more inclusive society, in which young women with disabilities can fully exercise their sexual rights and live free from any form of violence, discrimination, or infringement of their autonomy.
The official opening ceremony was attended by Inmaculada González Pérez, Vice-Rector for Internationalization and Cooperation at the University of La Laguna, Daniel Morales García, Director General of Youth of the Government of the Canary Islands, Dulce María Gutiérrez González, Director General of Disability of the Government of the Canary Islands, and Itahisa Pérez Pérez, Academic director of the conference and professor at the Faculty of Education. The event was hosted by the journalist Nira Llarena, It served to highlight the need to continue creating spaces for awareness and training on the sexual rights of people with disabilities.
During his speech, Daniel Morales celebrated the fact that the Guajara Lecture Hall was full of young people, a presence which, in his opinion, demonstrates the commitment of youth to building a fairer and more equal Canary Islands in all areas. For her part, María Inmaculada González Pérez highlighted the University of La Laguna's commitment to promoting initiatives that contribute to equality, inclusion, and the defense of the rights of all people.
The first part of the day featured presentations by Ana Laura Suárez Sánchez, from Plena Inclusión Canarias, and María del Sol Fortea Sevilla, PhD in Psychology, researcher and professor at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The former addressed structural vulnerabilities, sexual rights and strategies for preventing sexual violence in women with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For her part, Fortea Sevilla delved into the reality of autistic women through her presentation, "The Invisible Vulnerability: Autism and Sexual Violence." Both speakers contributed data, experiences, and knowledge derived from their professional careers, providing context for the reality of sexuality experienced by people with disabilities. Their contributions helped to highlight the persistent barriers to the recognition and exercise of their sexual rights, as well as the need to develop prevention and education strategies adapted to diverse realities and needs.
Mónica Dios, Yaiza Afonso and Noelia Hernández.
One of the central spaces was the best practices panel “Support, protection and tools against gender violence in disability”, moderated by Mónica Dios Rodríguez, who emphasized the importance of these types of meetings taking place at the public university, which also has the responsibility to pave the way and generate knowledge and debate on issues that are still taboo in certain social spaces.
The following participated in the discussion: Yaiza Afonso Higuera, an expert educator in gender and disability, representing the “MAPA Project”, and Noelia Hernández González, A psychologist and a sexologist, representing the "Take Care of Your Sexuality" project, shared their experiences in intervention and prevention developed through their respective projects, highlighting the importance of support and having specific, accessible resources to prevent violence. The "Take Care of Your Sexuality" project is precisely the origin of these workshops, whose first edition aimed to address the sexuality of young women with disabilities and the prevention of sexual violence. This second edition continues that work, expanding the spaces for reflection and dialogue among professionals, organizations, and the public.
The program also included a first-person dialogue panel, entitled “What they didn't tell us: the impact of sex education on our vulnerability to sexual violence,” moderated by Itahisa Pérez Pérez. Participants included Amahuici Jasaraj Álvarez, from Atelsam and Clara Direy Lorenzo González, from the La Gomera Functional Diversity Association. The dialogue allowed for highlighting the experiences and perspectives of people with disabilities themselves, as well as reflecting on the role of sex education in recognizing risk situations, exercising rights, and preventing violence.
Another highlight of the day was the graphic facilitation provided throughout the morning by María de los Ángeles Pérez Rojas, A graduate in Design, she translated the main content and reflections of the interventions into visual language. This methodology allowed for the representation of complex concepts through images, offering a complementary way to approach the topics addressed and facilitating their understanding. At the end of the meeting, she also shared her experience and perspective on the work developed.
This second edition has been made possible thanks to the support of the General Directorate of Youth of the Government of the Canary Islands, the University of La Laguna and its General Foundation, through the ULL Social Innovation Laboratory (LabINS ULL), and is funded by the State Pact against Gender Violence.
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