After the release of videos and other materials created for the Talk About Sexual Violence project in 2017—which focused on women with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) who experience sexual violence—the project team was approached by males with IDD who are survivors of sexual assault about crimes perpetrated against them. People with IDD report that many health care providers are uneducated about how to interact with patients with disabilities and don’t know about their high risk of sexual violence. The problem is exacerbated when society leads men to believe that rape and sexual assault only happen to women, when in fact men, and especially men with IDD, are victimized at alarmingly high rates.

For this reason, in 2018 Talk About Sexual Violence turned its attention to specific challenges men with disabilities experience. It is critical that health care professionals and their patients talk openly about sexual violence prevention. Talk About Sexual Violence provides tools that help create a safe place to have these conversations.