Sexual Assault & Persons with Disabilities

--originally printed in January 2005

"Persons with disabilities are at a much greater risk for sexual assault than persons without disabilities. When sexual violence does occur, they receive fewer services and support," says Shirley Paceley, Director of Blue Tower Training Center in Decatur, Illinois. Shirley is doing something about this problem. Blue Tower is a national provider of training, consultation and resources on sexual abuse prevention and intervention for persons with developmental disabilities. Shirley was the Project Coordinator for the WE CAN Stop Abuse project which developed and implemented an effective curriculum to teach prevention skills to persons with developmental disabilities.

With a lifelong passion for violence prevention, Ms. Paceley’s work has extended to young children -- when she co-authored "SAFE BEGINNINGS: Protecting Our Children From Sexual Abuse" with Orieda Horn Anderson. Blue Tower Training Center has released a children’s CD of prevention music, called "I LIKE ME! Growing Songs for Healthy Children." "We feel that with music, we can help children build a strong foundation of healthy sexuality and a healthy self-concept," says Paceley. Songs on the CD include feelings, touches, secrets, telling, respect, diversity and more.

To learn more about the products and services available through Blue Tower Training Center go to: http://www.thedatesafeproject.org in the "Educational Tools" section.