Disabled in rural Victoria: Exploring the intersection of victimisation, disability and rurality on access to justice

Abstract

The last decade, in Australia and internationally, has seen an increased focus on and subsequent greater awareness of the inequitable justice system response to accused, offenders and victims with cognitive impairment. In Australia, these inequities have been documented by various national and state based inquiries. It is fair to say, however, that much of the focus and subsequent reform has centred primarily, although not exclusively, on offenders and accused with cognitive impairment rather than victims. This article uses a case study, extracted from a larger study, as a vehicle through which to explore the justice system's response to a young man with cognitive impairment who is a victim of crime, and resides in a rural location in Victoria, Australia. The case study is derived from interviews with the victim/witness and his mother, and provides a sequential overview of the process and outcomes of this case from report to finalisation at court. The paper seeks to highlight the compounding impact of intersectional dimensions of victimisation, disability and rurality on access to justice for victims with cognitive impairment. The case also demonstrates the need to review legislation, procedure, policy and practice to reflect the tangible impact on individuals of so called property or victimless crimes.

People With Disabilities and Violent Victimization in the Heartland: Results from the First Phase of the West Virginia Community Quality of Life Survey

“…This has real implications for rural areas. While we cannot speak to the mechanisms causing these elevated rates of victimization among persons with disabilities, oppression against this group is known, especially when disability status intersects with other marginalized identities (Camilleri , 2019;Egner, 2019). A simple first step, advocated for by the disability community within higher education, is awareness (Sarrett, 2018).…”

“…Indeed, we are not seeing this level of victimization in law enforcement reports. This may be because police do not have experience conducting interviews with victims with cognitive impairments, such information is incredibly difficult to capture, or one's disabilityespecially a cognitive disability -may be invisible (Camilleri, 2019;Powers & Hayes, 2022). Further, as an example, the Ohio reporting forms do not have a check box to capture disability (Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services, n.d.).…”

“…The social and physical isolation of rural locales can pose unique risk factors to experiencing victimization but also unique challenges in the availability of resources in the aftermath of a victimization experience (Camilleri, 2019). For instance, abusive partners can use the isolation of rural locales and the community norms of silence to their advantage to further isolate and control the victim (Brownridge, 2009;DeKeseredy & Schwartz, 2009).…”