Dating Violence and Disabilities
For people with a disability, domestic violence can take many shapes and forms. Recognizing the signs and knowing how to help victims of domestic violence can save someone’s life. Domestic violence can look like (but not limited to) :
- Verbal and mental abuse
- Physical violence
- Neglect
- Isolating Victims
Did you know..
- People with disabilities have a higher lifetime prevalence of experiencing abuse than people without disabilities.
- People with disabilities experience violent crime at twice the rate of people without disabilities.
- People with disabilities are three times as likely to be sexually assaulted as their peers without disabilities.
- In 2008, intimate partners perpetrated 27% of violent crime against women with disabilities and 1.1% of crime against men with disabilities.
- Police are less likely to respond to reported violence against victims with disabilities than they are to reported violence against victims without disabilities. Police respond to 90% of reports by victims without disabilities and 77% of reports by victims with disabilities.
* 87.2% experienced verbal/emotional abuse
* 50.6% experienced physical abuse
* 41.6% experienced sexual abuse
* 37.4% experienced neglect
* 31.5% experienced financial abuse
* 37.3% reported the abuse to law enforcement
* Alleged perpetrators were arrested in 10% of abuse cases reported
How to help:
- Make resources available and inclusive
- Ensure local health care professionals are properly screening patients with disabilities for domestic violence
- Educate staff at social service agencies that assist people with disabilities to recognize the signs of domestic violence and to respond appropriately
