THE DYNAMICS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

• People with disabilities are not taught to assert themselves but rather to trust others.
• People with disabilities are seen as "less than" thus are easily objectified.
• People with disabilities are infantilized and patronized and therefore are often not taken seriously.
• People with disabilities (PWD) do not "own their bodies."
• PWD often depend upon the offender for personal care.
• PWD, due to a lack of education, may have a harder time distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
• PWD are usually taught and reinforced to comply with authority figures, thus setting up interactions in which they are eager to please.
• PWD choices are often not respected, thus "no" doesn't always mean "no."
• PWD may fear punishment as often threats or demands for secrecy are made.
• PWD fear disbelief due to perceived credibility.
• PWD encounter offenders who think that it is safer to commit sexual abuse due to communication difficulties.
• PWD may be physically less capable of resisting or getting away from an offender.
• PWD are often isolated, creating a heightened desire to meet people and spend time with them. This isolation also often includes a lack of a support network and friends.
• PWD often experience few opportunities for affection.
• PWD may fear a loss of needs or services while acknowledging the limited alternatives that may seem worse.
• PWD face negative social values of being inferior or disposable which can lead offenders to think that it is permissible.
• PWD experience both caregivers and offenders who believe that they will not be able to understand or feel the impact of sexual abuse.
• PWD may have many care-givers, which increases the possibility of one being an offender. This can happen in a living situation where there are multiple staff and a high staff turnover rate.

FACTS

• In Wisconsin,in 73% of reported sexual assault cases, the perpetrator was known to the victim.

• In Wisconsin, 86% of sexual assault victims are female.

• Several studies have found between 95% and 99% of sexual assault cases involving a victim with a disability, the perpetrator was a family member, friend, service provider, or otherwise known to the victim.

• In the disabled population, 84% of sexual assault victims are female.

• A study conducted in Dane County found that 135 of 260 persons served by three community residential and three vocational agencies had been sexually abused.

• In Wisconsin, 51% of the cases involving a perpetrator known to the victim occurred in either the victim's or perpetrator's home.

• The University of Alberta concluded that people with disabilities are at risk of sexual abuse one and one-half times the risk for nondisabled individuals.

• 83% of women and 32% of men with developmental disabilities will be sexually abused in their lifetime.

Seattle Rape Relief Project Action: Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities.

Froemming, Roy. (1991). Sexual Abuse of Adults with Developmental Disabilities: Legal Issues and Proposals for Change. Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy.