Sexual Consent - Community of Practice for Residential Aged Care
The Sexual Consent Community of Practice is an educational activity building the skills and confidence of residential aged care service providers to safeguard older people by developing a Sexual Consent Protocol. The COP recognises a significant barrier to promoting sexual rights and responsibilities in aged care is understanding where the line is - or when consensual sexual expression becomes sexual assault.
The Community of Practice (COP) provides participants with a generic Sexual Consent Protocol to localise to their service, a summary of the evidence and support to troubleshoot implementation of the Protocol.
The Community of Practice (COP) provides participants with a generic Sexual Consent Protocol to localise to their service, a summary of the evidence and support to troubleshoot implementation of the Protocol.
Delivery & dates
The COP is hosted online - with the first session held in late July 2024. The sessions will be an hour long and repeated monthly for a year (except Dec and Jan). Participants are not required to attend all sessions. The theoretical component of the COP meeting will be recorded for participants unable to attend on the day. The discussion and trouble shooting will not be recorded.
Aims
The aim of the Sexual Consent Community of Practice (COP) is to increase the skills and confidence of residential aged care service providers to promote sexual consent. This will be achieved by supporting COP participants to:
- Understand sexual consent in the context of the Aged Care Quality Standards, the Charter of Resident’s Sexual Rights and Responsibilities and the Code of Conduct for Aged Care
- Understand key considerations in sexual consent, including affirmative consent and the perspectives of people living with dementia
- Review a Sexual Consent Protocol that includes when and how to check sexual consent – and who makes decisions about sexual consent
- Localise the Protocol to the context of their service
- Implement the Protocol and make improvements in response to feedback from key stakeholders
- Identify and trouble shoot issues and concerns raised by older people, families and staff.
Program
This educational activity supports residential aged care service providers to develop and implement a Sexual Consent Protocol for their service
- Sexual Rights and Responsibilities in Residential Aged Care
- Affirmative consent and assent
- How to use a Protocol
- How decisions about sexual consent are made
- When to check sexual consent
- Who makes decisions about sexual consent
- Educating colleagues and team alignment
- Intervening when consent is not given
- Working with families.
Cost and Registration
TBC
Facilitators
Dr Catherine Barrett is the Director of Celebrate Ageing Ltd and has over four decades promoting the sexual rights of older people - in a range of roles, including as a nurse in residential aged care, an academic and the coordinator of the Opal Institute. Catherine has coedited a book on the sexual rights of older people, coordinated #ReadyToListen project led by OPAN and including resources on sexual consent.
