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Co-designing the Questions: Shaping Sexual Safety Research with Neurodivergent Communities
- NDRP
- Jan 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 7
About this project
This project is bringing together neurodivergent women, trans and gender-diverse people to co-design a future research proposal about pleasure-centred sexual safety.
It’s an area where this community’s experiences have often been missing from research and decision-making.
Who’s involved?
A cross-sector team is leading the work.
La Trobe University
Dr. Sophie Hindes (Research Lead)
Investigators and project staff from The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society at La Trobe
Dr Lily Moor
Dr Natalie Amos
Professor Adam Bourne
Lived experience co-design facilitator
Jax Brown
Partners from the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC)
Dr Jac den Houting
Partners from La Trobe’s Reducing Gender-Based Violence Research Group
Dr Sarah Vrankovich
Dr Jessica Ison
Women with Disabilities Victoria (WDV)
WDV co-design and subject matter specialists
Dr. Léna Molnar and Melissa Jolley
Staff supporting recruitment, accessibility and translation
Lived Experience Community Partners
Three neurodivergent people have been recruited through a co-designed Expression of Interest process with WDV. All three are now casual staff at La Trobe, supported by WDV to take part as co-researchers and co-designers.
They are:
Zoe Simmons
Emma Jago
Lukas Burgess.
The team is working together to understand what sexual safety, pleasure, agency, and comfort mean to the communities involved, and how future research can reflect their priorities.
Zoe Simmons, a Lived Experience Community Partner, says,
“It's been surreal to be a part of this project. But it goes to show how much this project values lived experience, and that means a lot to me. Autistic, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people experience violence at significantly higher rates – and so do so many other marginalised communities. It's not okay that so many of us have these experiences. Let's work together to stop them before they happen. It feels like we are doing something powerful here, and I can't wait.”
Some members of the project team.
What people are asking
The team has begun early conversations about:
What does “pleasure-centred sexual safety” mean in practice.
How to describe sexual safety in inclusive ways
When terms like “pleasure,” “comfort,” or “agency” feel more appropriate, and
How to include people who are asexual in these discussions.
These early discussions are helping the team consider what kinds of questions the future research proposal should focus on.
Taking time for co-design
NDRP funding is giving the team the time to build trust, deepen relationships and make decisions together before finalising future research.
So far, the team has held four co-design meetings
A gentle meet-and-greet to build trust, share lived and professional experience, and agree on how decisions would be made together.
A second session focused on identifying gaps in current research and imagining what a future project could look like.
A third session where they worked together to decide the aims and research questions for the proposal.
A fourth session on what meaningful inclusion would look like in a future project and how this could be achieved through research methods.
How the team are putting co-design into practice:
Used the fist-to-five consensus method to support group decision-making
Worked closely with WDV to run a transparent EOI recruitment process
Met with WDV before each co-design session to plan and reflect
Partnered with OTARC for the first time
Onboarded three neurodivergent Community Partners as La Trobe staff.
These steps help create a safe and considered foundation for the next stages of co-design.
Co-design in action
This project shows what co-design looks like in practical ways, with lived experience embedded in decision-making.
Shared leadership
People with disability, including the three Community Partners, help shape decisions about:
Meeting structure
Project priorities
Agreed language, and
Decision-making approaches.
The team is using accessible tools to make sure everyone has an equal say. Their meetings are also facilitated by a lived experience professional.
Different ways to take part
The team is supporting different participation needs by:
Allowing smaller or slower-paced discussions
Adapting meetings for sensory and communication needs
Preparing materials with WDV’s accessibility expertise
Language exploration
One early task has been to unpack how to talk about pleasure and safety in a way that includes everyone.
For example:
Some people prefer language like comfort, agency, connection, or positive experiences.
Not everyone relates to the word ‘pleasure’, especially people who identify as asexual.
The group is choosing language together so that the research reflects everyone’s experiences.
Partnership is at the centre
A strong theme so far is the importance of the partnership between La Trobe and WDV.
Sophie says,
“This project is such a nice example of partnership; academia, community organisations and lived experience, where everyone has an equal say and we are actively working to redistribute power.”
Extra information: Recruitment, roles and practical setup
Three neurodivergent Community Partners were recruited through a co-designed process with WDV.
Two other contributors connected through earlier WDV co-design work, and one via La Trobe’s Sexual Violence Lived Experience Think Tank.
The team is supported by an experienced lived-experience facilitator.
Recruitment and onboarding revealed barriers in university HR systems (e.g., inaccessible documents, contracting requirements). This work is helping prepare for later stages.
Meetings are scheduled well in advance to support participants’ access, energy needs and availability.
Early insights
The project began in July 2025, but important impacts are already emerging.
New partnerships are growing
A new partnership between La Trobe and WDV strengthens La Trobe’s capability to work alongside lived experience experts with disabilities.
Community Partners are now part of the team
Three neurodivergent Community Partners have been hired and brought on board, shifting how the university approaches accessibility and inclusion. They are also amongst the first cohorts to be paid the new Lived Experience casual pay rate at La Trobe. This rate of pay recognises lived experience as expertise.
Accessibility practices are improving
Through the partnership with WDV, La Trobe is improving meeting materials, processes and onboarding systems to be more accessible.
Shared understanding is increasing
Co-design sessions help the team build shared language, identify priorities, and map what matters most to neurodivergent gender-marginalised people when talking about and researching sexual safety.
Extra information: Research systems learning and future planning
No university ethics were needed for this preparatory stage which removed a major barrier.
Early discussions are helping clarify what a future strengths-focused Round 2 proposal might include.
Time spent addressing HR barriers is helping strengthen future disability-inclusive research processes.
The team continues to refine meeting agendas and pacing to support participation.
Why this work matters for safety
Sexual safety is about far more than preventing harm. It’s also about:
Agency
Comfort
Confidence
Pleasure, and
Having relationships that are positive and respectful.
Using co-design in the project from the beginning helps the team to reshape conversations about sexuality, safety, rights and wellbeing.
This project makes sure neurodivergent women, trans and gender-diverse people are at the centre of defining what sexual safety means for them instead of having definitions handed down from outside.
About this page
We wrote this page in plain English so it is clear and accessible to everyone. The ‘Extra information’ sections include deeper detail for anyone who wants it. You don’t need to read these to understand the project.
People with disability are co-researchers on this project, and we aim to reflect that priority in this series.
