Increasing access for those hardest to reach - the trauma-informed story of Sunny

UXAUS2019 Day 1- Celso Borges & Libi Cunnington- In this talk, Libbi and Celso will be speaking about trauma-informed design and the role it played in their journey in developing Sunny, an app that uses the power of storytelling to help women with intellectual disability recognise and respond to violence and abuse. As more services are digitised and access to real people becomes increasingly limited, it will be more important than ever to design products and systems for those hardest to reach. We need to see more organisations acknowledge that design must go beyond basic adherence to accessibility standards and focus on truly understanding how their audiences may be impacted by the psychological effects of trauma, cognitive impairment, equity of access and unconscious and conscious biases. In this 20 minute talk, Libbi and Celso will be speaking about how the trauma-informed design principles (Safety, Trustworthiness, Choice, Collaboration and Empowerment) were used to guide them through the process of developing the 1800RESPECT Sunny app. From how interviews were conducted and setup to avoid retraumatisation, to the multiple formats of communication, workshops and presentations that promoted inclusivity. The Sunny app was completely co-designed with a group of women that have an intellectual and/or physical disability and may have previously experienced violence or abuse. These women (EAG - Expert Advisory Group) and their indispensable contributions are what makes Sunny one of the best projects we have ever worked on. It has been an amazing journey, one filled with tears, joy and lifetime learnings, as we strive to help women with intellectual disability recognise and respond to violence and abuse. Introducing, Sunny.