Professional Disability Awareness Training (PDAT) for sex workers

Professional Disability Awareness Training (PDAT) – for experienced sex workers only

Our next PDAT workshop will be held in Sydney on the 25th Sept 2018 – workshop flyer and registration form

If you would like to go on our list of sex workers wanting to be notified of future PDAT workshops – please send us an email to training@touchingbase.org 

Target Audience

This training programme is reserved for sex workers only.

This respects the right of sex workers to protect their identity as they pursue their professional development in the company of their immediate peers.

To be eligible sex workers must have been providing sex services for a minimum of three (3) months.

Rationale

By developing the Professional Disability Awareness Training (PDAT) programme, the Touching Base Committee pursued two of the key recommendations from our first Forum – Training and Partnership.
Although many experienced sex workers may have provided services to clients with various disability, a lack of specific awareness or training has been identified as being an issue for some people with disability and many sex workers themselves. It has also been identified that some service providers may find themselves more able to support their carers to assist clients in accessing sexual services, if there are sex workers available who have received specific training on working with clients with disability.

This training addresses several of the many barriers clients with disability, their carers and service providers may face when considering their options in accessing sexual services in NSW.

Goals

• Progress the concept of professional training being made available to sex workers and sex industry staff who wish to gain greater awareness and skills in working with clients who have a range of special needs
• Assist sex workers and sex industry staff to challenge myths and prejudices they or their workplace may have regarding clients with disability
• Inform participants of the diverse sexuality of people with disability
• Educate participants on how discrimination may create barriers for people with disability to access the sexual lifestyles of their choice – including accessing sex workers and sex services premises
• Inform on better practice for providing accessible services to people with disability
• Inform on how to arrange services through a third party (personal care attendant, family member or friend of client, etc)

Outcomes/Objectives

• Participants will gain knowledge and skills on how to increase the accessibility of their services/premises to people with disability
• Participants will gain skills in working with clients with various disabilities – including mobility and communication impairments
• Increased awareness and skills on a range of Occupational, Health and Safety issues
• Increased awareness of the sexual rights of people with disability
• Increased recognition of the rights of sex workers to have access to courses for professional development
• Sex workers and people with disability will be empowered through their vital collaboration in the development and presentation of this training programme
• Increase of the numbers of sex workers available for referrals through the Touching Base database of sex workers who have completed the Professional Disability Awareness Training (PDAT)
• Increased networking and support for sex workers who see clients with disability

Evaluation

On completion of the training programme sex workers will receive a Certificate of Attendance from Touching Base Inc. Certificates are available to participants in their working and/or personal names, allowing sex workers to safeguard their anonymity.

Click here for a more in-depth details about PDAT for sex workers.