Lotus Collaborations UK is set up to support the needs of:
Autistic survivors of Sexual Violence;
Neurodivergent Survivors of Sexual Violence (autistic + with another minority neurology).
We aim to work well for those who require specialist support to move beyond traditional specialist counselling.
Directors are Neurodivergent Survivors and allies with a wealth of experience in accessing and providing specialist support and mentoring to victim-survivors of sexual violence.
Lotus Collaborations UK has a vision where Autistic and Neurodivergent Victim-Survivors of Sexual Violence are believed and supported to move on with their lives following their subjection to sexual violence and as they recover.
Using our core values of:
Transparency;
Integrity;
Building knowledge; and
Sharing knowledge
Lotus Collaborations UK will aim to meet its objectives to:
Collaborate with victim-survivors and provide opportunities for them to voice, explore, and share ideas around recovery pathways.
Initiate and respond to bespoke training initiatives that address the overlap between neurodivergence and sexual violence.
Establish collaborations to engage institutions on a variety of projects to target different societal groups and raise awareness of sexual violence.
Improve options for pathways to recovery for neurodivergent victim-survivors of sexual violence through the raising of awareness and training among the general public.
Many neurodivergent victim-survivors of sexual violence struggle to access services for a range of reasons. A key contributing factor is often due to past negative experiences and which have resulted in them being wary of being judged. This worry is often related to their different identities and is high on the agenda. This is backed by the figures for the reporting of sexual violence by disabled and neurodivergent individuals in addition to those with other protected characteristics and intersectional identities.
Training, consultancies and collaborations all offer a diversity of opportunities for victim-survivors and service providers to come together to exchange knowledge and address individual and societal attitudes which hamper the recovery pathways of individuals. It is these that are at the heart of Lotus Collaborations UK in a bid to support the wellbeing of survivors as they begin to thrive.
Directors and Lotus collaborators will work together to build a wide selection of resources to meet the requirements of individuals and services. This means that different communication needs will be addressed in order to reach an extensive and inclusive audience.
Of importance will be supporting individuals and services to engage in collaborations and events that recognise the diversity of victim-survivor experiences. This would encourage positive conversation around the experiences of victim-survivors as unique individuals, many of whom have added to, or developed, their skill set by turning their experiences around to raise societal awareness of sexual violence.
Lotus Collaborations UK does collaborations (for example with survivors, schools and community groups), training (for example with police, practitioners, voluntary sector services, and specialist services), consultancies (for example with specialist services), activities (in collaboration with others as part of our awareness-raising mission). As a further example, activities may take the format of informal community events engaging a range of sectors of the community. Alternatively, activities may take place within education establishments or through offering placements.