How The Big Meeting is breaking barriers around social and sexual safety for people with disability

Posted on 3 June, 2026

Since its inception in 2022, The Big Meeting has brought people together to break the silence around sexuality, consent and violence against disabled people – challenging taboos and making meaningful change.

Held as part of the Safer Me Safer You project, 2026 marks only the third time the event has been held in person, and the second time it’s been held in Canberra.

And as people prepare to gather to celebrate inclusion, accessibility and lived experience, author, presenter and advocate Yenn Purkis sums up the event’s powerful message in a simple sentence:

“Disabled people have every right to sexuality, and they have every right to safety.”

Run by Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT (SHFPACT),  the Safer Me Safer You project has partnered with Yenn as a Peer Advisory Group member and presenter since it first began.

SHFPACT works alongside an advisory group of people with lived experience of disability – including neurodivergent people, wheelchair users and people with intellectual disability and Down syndrome – focusing on creating safe spaces for disabled people by openly discussing both sexual and social health and safety.

The Big Meeting is a direct result of that work. And it’s changing conversations.

“It’s really empowering. It engages people in this space, because I think a lot of the time people don’t want to talk about sexuality, particularly around disability,” explains Yenn.

“People with disability – especially those with intellectual disability – we’re often not meant to be sexual and not meant to have sexual interests. The assumption is that all disabled people should be asexual and shouldn’t have children…but why not? People with disability have the same right to sexual enjoyment that anyone else does.”

This year, Yenn is one of the many keynote speakers and panellists who will be attending The Big Meeting, discussing a wide range of topics. But primarily, it’s designed to address high rates of violence and abuse experienced by disabled women and non-binary people.

“[The Big Meeting is] for disabled people themselves, it’s for carers, it’s for family and partners. I think the audience will all take something slightly different, but I hope what they take is a better sense of confidence around safety and around being able to raise issues,” says Yenn.

“They will also get insight into other experiences in the space, because everyone is different. Everyone presenting is going to present with a different topic and with a different focus and experience … hopefully going to be really empowering and support people’s understanding in this space.”

Other speakers will include Associate Commissioner of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Natalie Wade, and neurodivergence advocate, co-designer and consultant Heidi La Paglia. But alongside keynotes, speakers, and panellists, the event will also feature performances from those living with disability, including the Xtreme Stars Dance Troupe.

“Everyone likes a bit of music and performance,” says Yenn.

“It’s great, it’s giving more outlets for engaging in the subject matter…it’s another way for people to participate and opens a door to a range of other people as well, which is fantastic. We want to be as inclusive as possible and have as many people focusing on the content in whatever way suits them.”

This year’s Big Meeting marks the conclusion of the current Safer Me, Safer You funding period. But Yenn says that messages from the day will carry on long after the event is over.

“This kind of thing is extremely important because it opens a conversation around that safety, it showcases other people’s experiences in the space, it gives an example of what people can do and how people can stay safe as well as promote safety to others,” they explain.

“It’s not something we talk about very much. It’s a bit of a taboo topic, and I always think talking about taboo topics is a good idea, because it helps people in this space –disabled people themselves, their carers and their families. If it supports safety for everyone, that’s got to be a good thing.”

The Big Meeting is free to attend and open to everyone interested in learning more about sexuality and disability. For those interested in attending but can’t make it in person, register online to join via Zoom.

For more information about Safer Me, Safer You visit safermesaferyou.org.au.