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Let's Talk Disability and Sex

A connection day to discuss sexuality and young people with disabilities

Our team at the Bloorview Research Institute hosted a virtual connection day on April 28, 2021 that brought together young adults with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities, healthcare workers and researchers. 

The aim of this day was to:

  • Share the research on sexuality and disability
  • Come up with new research questions and identify poorly understood problems
  • Create an accessible resource that will help start the conversation on sexuality

Art Exhibition- Illuminating a Hidden Narrative:

As part of the connection day event, we are excited to present Illuminating, a digital art exhibition that shows how young adults living with disabilities feel about navigating their sexuality in healthcare settings. Click here to visit the exhibit!

    Speaker Presentations
    Play VideoDr. Loree Erickson
    Early Intimate Relationships- Dr. Loree Erickson
    Working with lived experience, activist cultural production, and academic research, this talk introduces some of the ways that dominant ideologies surrounding sex/uality and disability result in numerous barriers and structural practices that undermine and determine the collective worth and well-being of disabled communities. Dr. Loree Erickson uses the concept “Cultures of un/desirability” to do this work. Dr. Loree Erickson highlights a few of the key interrelated aspects and impact of cultures of undesirability particularly on disabled youth in the early years.
    Click to listen to Dr. Loree's talk
    Play VideoGabriella Carafa
    Early Intimate Relationships- Gabriella Carafa
    As a person with lived experience of disability and a registered social worker, Gabriella knows how important it is to have conversations about sexuality and relationships. In this talk about early intimate relationships, Gabriella reflects on how her lived experience has shaped the way she facilitates conversations, provides education and supports young people and their caregivers to increase their comfort level on the topic of sexuality and relationships. Gabriella reflects upon how early social experiences can help with navigating intimate relationships, communication and expressing sexual needs.
    Click to watch Gabriella's talk
    Play VideoDr. Shaniff Esmail
    Meaningful sexual lives and sexual rights- Dr. Shaniff Esmail
    Sexuality is an essential part of who we are and what we do. Physical and cognitive disabilities can potentially affect sexuality adjustment and create concerns surrounding healthy sexual expression. Sexual health programs tend to orientate around harm-reduction, leaving significant aspects unaddressed. When it comes to developing a strong sense of self and rich, intimate lives, individuals with disabilities continue to exist on the margins. Although there are no recipes when dealing with sexuality and disability, this talk attempts to bring about a greater awareness of the barriers faced by researchers and service providers and suggest strategies in promoting healthy sexual expression for young people with disabilities.
    Click to watch Dr. Shaniff's talk
    Play VideoRainbow Hunt
    Meaningful sexual lives and sexual rights- Rainbow Hunt
    Rainbow is a transgender woman with an intellectual and learning disability. Rainbow talks about how it is important for all people to have positive spaces where they feel safe in their sexuality. Many resources are not available to people if they cannot get to downtown Toronto because of distance and transportation costs. People are often isolated due to a lack of resources and social supports, especially people who identify as LGBTQ+. Rainbow talks about how to create spaces for people to celebrate who they are and feel like they are a part of a community, specifically discussing a grassroots community collective called Rainbow’s Pride In Scarborough.
    Click to watch Rainbow's talk
    Play VideoDr. Alan Martino
    Multiple and Converging Identities- Dr. Alan Martino
    This talk shares the results of a systematic review addressing the juncture between disability and sexualities, illuminating the unique challenges that LGBT+ disabled people face when exploring their sexuality, establishing relationships, and remaining sexual. Similarly, a small interview study suggests that, because of social isolation, restrictions, and surveillance, participants are often unable to access spaces that allow intimate relationships to flourish. This work sheds light on the consistent experiences of invisibility, exclusion, and lack of support for LGBT+ disabled people. Future studies should make space for the array of sexualities among disabled people by exploring their narratives, experiences, and perspectives.
    Click to listen to Dr. Alan's talk
    Play VideoMari Ramsawakh
    Multiple and Converging Identities- Mari “Dev” Ramsawakh
    Mari “Dev” draws from their own experiences living as a racialized, non-binary, and queer disabled person to explain the complexities of having a relationship to their own sexuality as a multiply marginalized person. Mari gives examples from their life as to how an understanding of intersectionality is essential to provide the appropriate resources, tools and information required to have a healthy empowered sense of sexuality.
    Click to watch Mari's talk

    Event booklet, presentation transcripts and slides:

    Please click on the documents below to view our event booklet, presentation transcripts and slides from the day!

    pdf-iconLet's Talk Disability & Sex! Event Booklet
    pdf-iconSpeaker Presentation Transcripts
    pdf-icon Presentation Slides- Talk 1 Speaker 2 Gabriella Carafa
    pdf-icon Presentation Slides- Talk 2 Speaker 1 Dr. Shaniff Esmail
    pdf-icon Presentation Slides- Talk 3 Speaker 1 Dr. Alan Martino