Self-Advocacy for Women & Teens with Disabilities

Dear Friends,

We’re excited to share an important update about our Self-Advocacy & Empowerment Workshop to Prevent Abuse & Promote Healthy Emotional & Social Development. Our program helps girls and young women with disabilities build self-confidence, understand personal boundaries, and strengthen their ability to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation.

Earlier this year, our team at Chimes Israel, together with our partner Machon Argaman (Israel’s leading institute for healthy sexuality education for people with disabilities), launched the program with great momentum. We selected the participants, and the first professional planning session took place in June.

However, just days later, the war with Iran erupted. For nearly two weeks, schools and extracurricular programs across Israel were shut down, and many families, including our project leader, Ronit Argaman, who lost her home, were directly affected.
After the war, our team made the careful decision to postpone implementation until after Sukkot, ensuring that the workshops could be conducted in a stable and safe environment, as originally intended.

We are now delighted to share that the program will officially launch the last week of October at Chimes Israel’s Amal and Enoch Afterschool Programs in Holon and Tel Aviv. Two separate groups will participate weekly at each location: one for ages 12–15 and another for 16–21. The full curriculum includes eight sessions that blend education, discussion, and experiential learning.

A Strategic Enhancement: Including Boys to Deepen Girls’ Empowerment

Under Ronit’s professional guidance, this year’s program includes a new, research-based structure: the majority of sessions will now be coed. This enhancement does not lessen our commitment to girls—it strengthens it. Mixed-gender sessions provide opportunities for girls and boys to learn together about respect, boundaries, and communication. These skills directly influence how they relate to each other in real life.

The model is designed to:

• Reflect Real Life: Empower girls by practicing assertiveness and self-expression in realistic, guided settings.

• Strengthen Confidence: Encourage girls to voice their thoughts and be heard as equals.

• Break Stereotypes: Teach boys empathy, listening, and responsibility while fostering mutual respect.

• Ensure Privacy: Include girls-only sessions for sensitive or gender-specific topics.

• Maintain Safety: Establish clear behavioral agreements and active facilitation in every meeting.

This approach is grounded in decades of professional experience and proven success across Israel. By including boys in a structured, respectful environment, we are helping create a safer, more supportive social world for girls.

Looking Ahead

Thanks to your continued support, this vital program will begin anew, stronger and more inclusive than before. We look forward to sharing stories and photos from the sessions soon.

Your generosity allows Chimes Israel to continue providing education, empowerment, and safety for youth with disabilities, even in the face of national crisis. Thank you for standing with us as we move from pause to progress together.

With heartfelt gratitude,

Pamela Azaria
International Resources Director, Chimes Israel

The first weekly Chimes Israel's Self-Advocacy & Empowerment Workshop for teens with disabilities will be held on June 16 at Chimes Israel’s Amal Afterschool Program in Holon. We will lead two separate workshops per day, segregated by age. One group will be for students ages 12-15 and the other for ages 16-21. We will work with a total of 27 students at this location for eight weeks, ending on August 10.

A Strategic Program Enhancement to Better Serve Our Girls

We designed the program as a safe, empowering space for girls and young women with disabilities to gain knowledge and tools for self-protection, personal agency, and social development. The pilot phase was successful beyond our expectations. Girls demonstrated significant growth in confidence, boundary-setting, and awareness of their rights to safety and respect. We remain unwavering in our mission to educate and empower girls and young women with disabilities to protect themselves from abuse and exploitation and strengthen their voices, agency, and self-respect. These are the foundational goals you so generously supported, and they continue to guide every aspect of our work.

What Has Changed and Why

Chimes Israel is proud to partner with Machon Argaman, Israel’s foremost institute for healthy sexuality education and abuse prevention for people with disabilities. Led by Ronit Argaman, MSW, this institute brings unmatched expertise and evidence-based approaches in the field. Under Ronit’s professional guidance, the workshop has undergone a thoughtful enhancement, where the majority of the sessions will now be coed. This shift is not a departure from our commitment to girls—it is, in fact, a deepening of it. Machon Argaman argues that this structure is beneficial for the following reasons:

• Reflects Real Life. Girls do not live in isolation. They interact with boys and men daily—in schools, online, and the community. Practicing assertiveness, communication, and boundary-setting with boys in a safe and guided environment prepares them for real-life situations.
• Strengthens Confidence. The presence of boys, when well-structured and facilitated, actually enhances the girls' confidence and voice. They are treated as equal participants whose perspectives matter. This reinforces their sense of worth and self-respect.
• Breaks Stereotypes and Builds Respect. Mixed settings provide an opportunity to dismantle harmful gender stereotypes and foster respectful, empathetic dialogue. Boys learn emotional skills such as listening, apologizing, and recognizing boundaries, which directly improves the social climate for girls.
• Includes Time for Privacy. Each program still incorporates girls-only sessions for intimate processing of sensitive topics. When the content involves issues where participants may feel more comfortable speaking among members of their own sex, such as body image, menstruation, or experiences of gender-specific harm, the group is temporarily divided to create a safe, private space. These sessions complement the shared learning experience and ensure a healthy balance between privacy and interaction.
• Ensures Safety Through Structure. Every group begins with a clear agreement on behavior and mutual respect. Any boundary-crossing is addressed immediately, turning challenges into powerful learning opportunities. The environment remains carefully monitored and emotionally safe.

A Thoughtful, Research-Based Enhancement

This enhancement is not a logistical or financial decision, it is based on the most current, professional understanding of what truly works. Ronit Argaman has led similar programs across Israel with exceptional results. Her experience has shown that mixed-gender groups, when professionally facilitated with care and structure, offer the most comprehensive and lasting empowerment for girls with disabilities.

Moving Forward Together

Thank you for standing with us in this vital work. Together, we are building a world where girls with disabilities are not only protected but truly empowered. With your continued support and Machon Argaman’s expert leadership, we are confident that this enhanced program will deliver the deepest and most lasting impact possible.