With the interactive exhibition INA, the Limita specialist unit offers a program to prevent the sexual exploitation of young people and adults with cognitive disabilities. Ruth Bonhôte from Opferhilfe beider Basel and Sandra Schlachter from the ESB’s prevention and reporting office explain in an interview what makes the exhibition so valuable in prevention work.
Ruth Bonhôte, who is committed to protecting people with disabilities from violence on behalf of the Basel Victim Support Association, visited the INA traveling exhibition at the beginning of September. What do visitors learn? And why is the exhibition recommended to all institutions that work with people with disabilities?
How did it come about that you were able to visit the prevention exhibition?
Ruth Bonhôte: I am a member of the “Prevention and Reporting Offices Expert Group” of the Association of Social Enterprises in beider Basel, and it had organized the visit to the touring exhibition at the ESB in Liestal. It was a special opportunity, as the INA is always fully booked for many months. ESB not only made the exhibition accessible to its own residents and employees, but also opened its doors to clients from other institutions in the region. In doing so, it made a valuable contribution to the prevention of sexualized violence against people with disabilities.
How is the exhibition designed?
Various stations focus on key prevention messages, for example “My body belongs to me”, “I know good and bad secrets”, “I can say no” or “Getting help is important”. The stations use different materials, colors, representations and tasks to encourage children to engage with the prevention message and acquire knowledge. The use of different media activates different senses, making the exhibition a varied and exciting experience.
Who is the exhibition suitable for?
It is suitable for both young people and adults with cognitive disabilities and is designed so that it can be completed independently or with the help of trained INA employees. These INA employees include people with and without disabilities. They are available for questions, discussions and assistance.
How did you experience the visit?
Despite the difficult subject matter, the exhibition is a source of joy, pleasure and strength, as it conveys a great deal of empowerment and encouragement to visitors. People with disabilities experience sexualized violence far more often than people without disabilities. In view of this fact, as a victim support worker and former specialist in the disability sector, I can warmly recommend INA to all institutions that work with people with disabilities.
Interactive prevention exhibition INA
The interactive prevention exhibition INA is a program for the prevention of sexual exploitation of adolescents and adults with cognitive disabilities by the Limita specialist unit. The exhibition is designed as a course and is shown in one institution for two months at a time. INA also includes information events, further training modules and a reflection phase lasting several months.
A comprehensive program
The ESB has booked the INA traveling exhibition. Sandra Schlachter from the Prevention and Reporting Office explains how it came about. And how the participants reacted to it.
Why did the ESB set up a prevention and reporting office? When was that?
Sandra Schlachter: The ESB is committed to the guidelines of the Charter for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Other Boundary Violations, which associations, organizations and institutions signed in 2011. Against this background, the establishment of the prevention and reporting office was a matter of course for us, even if its implementation involved considerable effort. This was actively supported by the management and implemented in 2023.
You have booked the INA traveling exhibition. How did this come about?
As part of our commitment to providing regular further training, the INA traveling exhibition offers us an excellent opportunity to strengthen our clients’ self-competence in dealing with closeness, distance and setting boundaries and for them to come to terms with self-determined sexuality. INA also makes it possible to anchor prevention as part of an organizational development process.
How did the participants react to the exhibition?
Very different: some showed great interest and were open to trying it out, others reacted rather skeptically or dismissively, for example with statements such as “I already know that” or “I learned that at school.” The exhibition was accompanied by trained staff, who actively involved the participants and reached many of them in discussions, which was particularly valuable.
What were the main questions?
Many questions arose and each participant focused on different topics. The challenge was to respond to the individuals and protect their integrity at the same time.
How did you experience this visit?
At first, the participants were mostly curious, but still reserved. The interactive elements of the exhibition, which also included loud noises, helped them to overcome their reticence. As soon as the first buttons were pressed and voices were heard, the spell was broken and the participants became active and introduced their own topics.
What did you and the ESB team take away for your day-to-day work?
There were great encounters and an exciting exchange, both across departments and organizations. This has already increased awareness and expanded the level of knowledge. We are currently still in the middle of the process and will evaluate the exhibition period together with the experts as part of the reflection events and develop further measures for implementation.
What is particularly important to you in your work at the Prevention and Reporting Center?
Raising awareness of boundary violations and anchoring the topic in people’s consciousness. This includes shedding light on “dark spots” and creating spaces for reflection. It is also important to promote respectful treatment and self-determination and to be a trustworthy contact person, both for those affected and for people who may have committed boundary violations themselves. In this way, emotional relief can take place at all levels, while at the same time efforts can be made to come to terms with the situation and make improvements.
Are there areas where you would like to see more support from politicians or society?
If there is one thing I would like to see, it is that the services offered by prevention and hotlines become more accessible to everyone, especially people in small and medium-sized organizations. This includes setting and reviewing quality standards and ensuring funding. In my opinion, this process will continue to require great commitment and must be supported by society and politicians.
ESB
ESB is a social enterprise for people with support needs. Its aim is to strengthen their self-determination and enable them to live as independently as possible. ESB offers young people and adults training and jobs as well as housing with professional support, care and advice. A total of around 100 residential places and 480 jobs are available at 23 locations – 22 of them in the canton of Basel-Landschaft and one in the canton of Basel-Stadt.
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With the interactive exhibition INA, the Limita specialist unit offers a program to prevent the sexual exploitation of young people and adults with cognitive disabilities. Ruth Bonhôte from Opferhilfe beider Basel and Sandra Schlachter from the ESB’s prevention and reporting office explain in an interview what makes the exhibition so valuable in prevention work.
The Limita association is committed to protecting children, young people and people with disabilities from sexual exploitation. Managing Director Yvonne Kneubühler explains why her services are needed, where there is a need for action and why she is not losing confidence despite the slow progress being made.
This year, the prevention campaign “16 days against violence against women” focuses on people with disabilities. Opferhilfe beider Basel has recorded a song with young people with disabilities. The aim is to raise awareness of violence against particularly vulnerable people.
At night and at weekends, the number is operated by Dargebotene Hand beider Basel.
The Dargebotene Hand provides basic counseling and, if necessary, refers the victim to the day service for counseling.
Victim Support beider Basel is available 24/7
Tel: +41 61 205 09 10
