Disability and Sexual Violence

A discussion led by Hilary Conroy to explore the impact of sexual violence within the disabled community.

Hilary, who hails from a social work background, has been an influential figure within the sexual violence sector in the city of York for a number of years and as a University of York graduand, we are especially delighted to welcome her back to speak about this important topic.

Hilary has worked on a number of preventative projects across the city including her work at Reshape, who specialised in reducing sexual harm by working with offenders and, more recently, her involvement with the All About Respect project at York St John University where they look to promote a respectful environment on campus by addressing issues of harassment and sexual violence. Hilary has recently joined The University of York staff team where she is based within the Centre for Applied Human Rights and is working in partnership with York Centre for Voluntary Services to seek out and amplify marginalised voices within the disability community. She is also working with the York Disability Rights Forum who are working to raise awareness, challenge social perceptions and improve local services for the disabled community.

This session will be of great interest to anyone looking to understand more about the impact of sexual violence on the disabled community. It will be of particular significance to researchers, undergraduate and postgraduate students, academics, those in student support roles or those working specifically with the disabled community or within the sexual violence field.