Safely and Effectively Serving Student Survivors with Disabilities: The Importance of Understanding Disability Culture

Description: While more than 20% of college students have a disability, many struggle to find safe and accessible communities, services, and academics on campus. For survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, having a disability can be a barrier to receiving the same services as survivors without. Accessibility is important, but conversations and commitments to access don’t happen without a deep understanding of the communities campuses are serving. This presentation will explain how disability is as much of a culture as a population, and how that impacts the way we think about, serve, and communicate with students with disabilities. This is a foundational conversation about disability, the culture of disability, and the culture of a campus and how people with disabilities (particularly survivors with disabilities) navigate academic and social spaces.