WHY IT MATTERS
Women with developmental disabilities have among the highest rates of physical, sexual and emotional violence
perpetrated by intimate partners and family members.1 Disabled individuals are at greater risk of severe physical
and sexual violence than non-disabled persons, and many disabled victims of violence experience multiple
assaults.2,3 Domestic abuse victims with disabilities are often more dependent on their caretakers than victims
without disabilities, and face many barriers to reporting abuse and seeking services.4 Victims who do report abuse
or seek services often do not find adequate help, since many programs that serve domestic violence victims are
not equipped or trained to offer proper care to disabled victims.
Did you Know:
- Women with disabilities had a 40% greater risk of
violence than women without disabilities.
- Women with disabilities are at particular risk for
severe violence.
- The most common perpetrators of violence against
women with disabilities are their male partners.
- Studies estimate that 80% of disabled women
have been sexually assaulted.
- Women with disabilities are three times more likely
to be sexually assaulted than women without
disabilities.
- One study showed that 47% of sexually abused
women with disabilities reported assaults on more
than ten occasions.
- Approximately 48% of substantiated cases of abuse
involve elder adults who are not physically able to care for
themselves.
- Disabled children are more than twice as likely as
children without disabilities to be physically
abused, and almost twice as likely to be sexually
abused.
· Virtually all women with disabilities who were
sexually assaulted also reported social, emotional,
and behavioral harm
BARRIERS TO SEEKING SERVICES:
- People with disabilities often lack accessible
services due to limited resources, lack of
transportation (especially in rural communities), or
structural limitations of service facilities.
- Some disabled victims lack the skills or abilities
necessary to act independently to seek help.
Many disabled victims lack knowledge about
services. Public information and awareness
education are generally not distributed in Braille,
large print, or audio tape and do not define domestic
violence in ways that people with disabilities can
relate to.
- Disabled victims of violence are heavily dependent
on their abusive primary caretakers and run the risk
of losing their caretaker if they report abuse.
Victims may experience an increased risk of being
institutionalized or losing their basic decision-making
rights if they are viewed as unable to take care of
themselves without the help of their abuser.
- Disabled victims may be at greater risk for losing
child custody if they are viewed as being unable to
care for children independently from an abusive
primary caretaker
For more information or to get help, please contact:
The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE
or
The National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE
The Public Policy Office of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) is a national leader in the effort to create and influence Federal legislation that positively affects the lives of domestic violence victims and children. We work closely with advocates at the local, state and national level to identify the issues facing domestic violence victims, their children and the people who serve them and to develop a legislative agenda to address these
issues. NCADV welcomes you to join us in our effort to end domestic violence.
