The Long-term Success and Implementation of ReWiKs
The second funding period of ReWiKs (Reflection, Knowledge and Skills – Training Employees and Residents to Expand the Sexual Self-determination of Adults with Impairments in Residential Facilities’) began in June 2019. The goal is to disseminate the materials and findings from the ReWiKs project nationwide and to bring about their long-term implementation.
Background
During the first funding period of the ReWiKs project the focus was on developing and evaluating differentiated, extensive and practicable materials that would serve the sexual self-determination of people living in residential facilities. The resulting ReWiKs Media Package is aimed equally at employees and residents in facilities for people with disabilities and offers diverse options for addressing attitudes, structures and practices on an organisational level and for residents to confront the conditions in their own living environment. The ReWiKs Media Package is to be published in 2020.
During intensive practical dialogues trial ideas for the in-depth confrontation with the subject matter (training for employees) and for exchange and joint action regarding sexuality and self-determination (working circles for residents) were developed and tested. Both formats are effectively contributing to an expansion of the (sexual) self-determination of people with disabilities living in residential facilities.
These experiences and insights on the topic form the foundation for the further development / the expansion of the project in the second funding period.
The project firmly sees itself upholding the legal rights as put forward in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which demand and implement the equal participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of society. The areas of sexuality, love, relationships and family are central topics in every person’s life and they are significant regardless of how someone lives and / or what their individual physical or cognitive starting position is.
Research results in these subject areas and the results from the first funding period show that there is a great need for further development in strengthening the sexual self-determination of people with disabilities, the professional (further) qualification of the accompanying and assisting specialists and the thematic organisational development in inpatient and outpatient forms of living for people with disabilities.
The ReWiKs Media Package is a collection of materials evaluated in practice that meets these needs and can offer suggestions and practical support for staff members and residents of the facilities.
Project Goals
For the project’s second funding phase the following goals emerge from this given background:
- The nationwide dissemination of the findings from the first funding phase and their long-term implementation in facilities and services providing integration assistance, in residential facilities for people with disabilities, in advice centres and within the self-help context
- The initiation, establishment and evaluation of formats of exchange regarding the subject area of sexuality and self-determination for people with disabilities outside of the residential facilities in question
- Implementing training programmes for staff members in residential facilities on how to apply and disseminate the ReWiKs Media Package, as well as for the purpose of encouraging organisational development processes
- The maintenance, differentiation and digitalisation of the different project materials
- Checking the transferability of the materials for further target groups and adjacent subject areas
Project Structure
The implementation of the project goals will occur by working through three project modules in two closely collaborating project teams that are focusing on different focal points. Compared to the predecessor project the main tasks are more closely connected and related to each other.
The content and technical management of the entire project is carried out by Prof. Sven Jennessen from the Humboldt University of Berlin. The two project teams are located at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences and the Catholic University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Participation Research, Münster. The overall co-ordination of the project is carried out by the Humboldt University of Berlin.
Module 1: Training for Employees in Assisted Living Facilities (‘ReWiKs Pilots’)
Module 2: Opportunities for Meeting and Exchange for Residents on the Issue of Sexuality and Self-determination (‘Working Circles’)
Module 3: Material Maintenance and Expansion
Outside of the modules the project will also engage in PR work and networking activities with relevant partners in line with the project goals. As in the first funding phase of the ReWiKs research project, the work of the academics is critically reflected on and accompanied by a participatory project advisory board made up of various stakeholders with and without disabilities.
Bibliography Created during the Project
Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (ed.). (2020). Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung durch Reflexion – Wissen – Können. Menschen mit und ohne Behinderungen gestalten gemeinsam den Lebensbereich Wohnen. Ein Modellprojekt gefördert durch die BZgA (Schriftenreihe Forschung und Praxis der Sexualaufklärung und Familienplanung). Cologne: BZgA. Publication under way, likely publication date is 2020
Jennessen, S., Marsh, K., Schowalter, R., & Trübe, J. (2019). “Wenn wir Sex haben würden, dann wäre aber was los.“ – Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung als Element von Selbstbestimmung. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik, 25(4), 6–13.
Trübe, J., Krüger, T., & Jennessen, S. (2019). Sexuell selbstbestimmt leben. Das Projekt ReWiKs. Werkstatt:Dialog, (4), 48–49.
Arlabosse, A., Bössing, C., & Römisch, K. (2018). Sexuelle Bildung als Voraussetzung für sexuelle Selbstbestimmung. Erwachsenenbild und Behinderung, (2), 3–13.
Jennessen, S., & Ortland, B. (2018). Selbstbestimmte Sexualität – der Weg zur sexuellen Gesundheit für Menschen mit Behinderung. In K. Walter & K. Kerstin (eds.), Gesundheit inklusive. Gesundheitsförderung in der Behindertenarbeit (pp. 145–158). Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Römisch, K., Arlabosse, A., & Bössing, C. (2018). ReWiKs – Ein Modellprojekt zur Förderung sexueller Selbstbestimmung. Erwachsenenbildung und Behinderung, (2), 14–20.
Ortland, B. (2017). Partizipative Organisationsentwicklung im Bereich der sexuellen Selbstbestimmung. Die Materialien aus dem Forschungsprojekt ReWiKs. BZgA (ed.), FORUM Sexualaufklärung und Familienplanung, Heft 1(Sexualität und Behinderung), 22–25.
Ortland, B. (2016). Sexuelle Selbstbestimmung von Menschen mit Behinderung. Grundlagen und Konzepte für die Eingliederungshilfe. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.
Ortland, B., Jennessen, S., Römisch, K., Kusber-Merkens, D., Reichert, L., & Arlabosse, A. (2016). Das Modellprojekt ReWiKs. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, 59(9), 1085–1092. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00103-016-2399-3
Ortland, B. (2015). Sexuelle Vielfalt als Herausforderung – Aktuelle Ergebnisse der Befragung von Mitarbeitenden in Wohneinrichtungen der Eingliederungshilfe. Teilhabe, 54 (1), 10–17.
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