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ATU inclusive research team to lead Irish role in €250,000 European sexual health project
Researchers with intellectual disabilities will help develop accessible sexual health education through a three-year Erasmus+ partnership
An inclusive research team at Atlantic Technological University (ATU) will lead Ireland’s involvement in a new €250,000 European project aimed at improving access to sexual health education for people with intellectual disabilities.
The project, My Body, My Feelings, My Choices – Let’s Get Body Smart!, will begin in October 2026 and run for three years.
The Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Adult Education brings together seven organisations from Malta, Ireland, Italy and Sweden. Led by Aġenzija Sapport in Malta, it combines expertise in intellectual disability, sexual health education, research, healthcare and adult education.
Together, the partners will develop and test accessible sexual health education resources and approaches for people with intellectual disabilities. These will include easy-read sexual health education booklets designed to present information in a clear and accessible format.
The Irish team comprises Dr Jess Mannion, Lecturer in Social Sciences at ATU, and ATU researchers Rhena Daly, Oisín Daly, Bryan Higgins and Mairead McHugh.
Rhena, Oisín, Bryan and Mairead are researchers with intellectual disabilities and collaborative methodologists who specialise in inclusive and co-produced research. They are members of the Disabilities Without Borders research team at ATU.
Working with Dr Mannion, the team has helped to develop collaborative research methodologies and has undertaken research into sexual citizenship, sexual health education, and co-produced research. Sexual citizenship refers to people’s personal and social rights in relation to their bodies, feelings, identities, relationships, and sexual expression.
Researcher Oisín Daly said:
“We are very happy to be part of this fantastic European partnership with Malta, Italy and Sweden. Sexual health education is very important for people with intellectual disabilities.”
Researcher Bryan Higgins said:
“It’s great to win the funding. All the project partners can help each other. We are all the same, whether disabled or not.”
Reflecting on what being part of the research team has meant to her, researcher Rhena Daly said:
“I am glad we got the funding, as it means we can get our work out to more people in Ireland and other European countries. Nothing can hold me back. Since I joined the research team, I am accepting of my disability.”
Dr Mannion said:
Access to meaningful and accessible sexual health education remains an important issue for people with intellectual disabilities, and this project gives us an opportunity to work collaboratively across countries to help address it.
We are looking forward to bringing our team’s expertise together with the knowledge and experience of our partners in Malta, Italy and Sweden, and to seeing what we can learn from one another and create together over the next three years.
Through the partnership, the Irish team will contribute to developing an accessible curriculum and easy-read sexual health education booklets, as well as delivering training, piloting resources and sharing the project’s findings. The materials and approaches will be tested in different national contexts.
The project will also provide opportunities for the ATU researchers to travel and work directly with their European partners, supporting international knowledge exchange and collaborative learning.
Photo caption: Dr Jess Mannion with members of the Disabilities Without Borders research team: Oisin Daly, Rhena Daly, Bryan Higgins and Mairead McHugh.
For media enquiries, contact:
Ivana Hanjs
Communications Officer
Tel: 089 963 9559
E: ivana.hanjs@atu.ie
