Service Provider Awareness Training (SPAT)

Our SPAT workshop has now been adapted for online delivery. Workshop dates will be added below as they are confirmed.

Each SPAT online workshop takes place over two 3 hour live sessions and includes:

  • Presentations by experienced trainers
  • Interactive group discussions & activities
  • Certificate upon completion

Online SPAT Cost: $210 – This covers the cost of both sessions.

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SPAT workshop is for carers, support workers and disability service providers. If you are a sex worker and want to attend one of our training workshops, please head here

If you are a disability carer, support worker or disability service provider and would like to go on our waiting list wanting to be notified of future ONLINE SPAT workshops please follow this link.

Join our waiting list now


Information for Organisations

We can also provide this workshop to disability service provider organisations independently. If your organisation is interested in us providing the workshop for your staff, please contact us via training@touchingbase.org and we will get in touch to discuss how we can best make this work for you. 

Service Provider Awareness Training Workshop

This workshop is aimed at service providers and support staff to allow them to explore the issues they may face when assisting people with disability to access the sex industry.

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CANCELLATION POLICY: Cancellations received more than two weeks prior to the training day will receive 100% refund. Cancellations received after this time will receive 50% refund. There is no refund available for non-attendance or cancellation on the actual day of training. Touching Base Inc reserves the right to cancel a workshop and in this case a full refund will be provided. Touching Base Inc is not responsible for any costs incurred by participants in attending our training.

Target Audience

Disability service providers, policy officers and support staff in New South Wales.

This workshop is specifically for participants who are connected to a disability organisation or directly support people with disability. Sex workers please go to the PDAT workshop page for more information about working with clients with disability.

Rationale

The Touching Base Committee believes that there is a clear need for our training project, to provide education for providers and support staff , supporting them to fulfill their legal obligations to assist people with disability to follow the sexual lifestyle options of their choice, including non-heterosexual lifestyles. The training will help facilitate healthier sexual health outcomes for people with disability by enabling them to make better-informed choices for themselves and empower both people with disability and their support staff to address this often neglected area of service provision. In the last few years SWOP has received extensive inquiries from service providers regarding how best to access Sex Industry services. The initial Touching Base Forum in Feb 2000 asked “How could carers better support or facilitate a relative or client to access sexual services?” Participants identified the needs to –

  • Assist groups to overcome historical view of morality of sex/sex work
  • Encourage networking with other support staff or advocacy groups
  • Find out what sex services are available from local workers and
  • Empower clients to make choices and decisions as sexual beings.

The Touching Base Survey of Service Providers in NSW (2002) examined barriers service providers and support staff faced when accessing sexual services for their clients. 27 (75%) respondents indicated that they felt they would benefit from training and education in relation to assisting with and/or arranging access to sex work services and 29 (81%) indicated that they felt their organisation would benefit from such training.

Goal
  • To build the capacity of workers in the disability sector to support people with disability to access the sex industry
Objectives
  • To introduce and discuss facts about the sex industry
  • To provide information about Touching Base Inc
  • To explore the legal and policy obligations of the support worker when assisting people with disability in accessing sex services
  • To develop strategies to support the rights of people with disability to access sex services
  • To provide resources to support disability worker’s role

Touching Base endorses The Uluru Statement from the Heart and acknowledges First Nations as the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia, their diversity, histories and knowledge, and their continuing connections to land and community. As Australians all, we respect our nation’s First Peoples, their cultures, and Elders of past, present and future generations.