Exploring Definitions of Consent and Healthy Relationships Among College Students with Disabilities: “I think it’s fuzzy”

College women with a disability and interpersonal violence: A call to action

“…To support this focus, we conducted a literature review to determine what is known about the involvement of campus health centers in prevention or response to interpersonal violence as experienced by college women with a disability. What we found was a significant gap in the literature, with only three articles published since 2018 that discussed college health, college women with a disability, and interpersonal violence (Anderson et al, 2022;Nichols et al, 2018;Son et al, 2020). This leads us to believe that nurse practitioners (NPs) who work with young adults or in college health may be challenged to find appropriate information on how to respond to interpersonal violence as it relates to college women with a disability.…”

“…When asked, college women with a disability preferred open-ended questions about healthy relationships (Anderson et al, 2022) and suggested that providers ask about consent, verbal abuse, and respect in addition to questions about physical harm. College women with a disability prefer providers who are open, calm, nonjudgmental, and respectful of an individual's wishes regarding reporting abuse or not (Anderson et al, 2022).…”

“…One student said: "I mean, it is a nurse. … They are asking you is there anything wrong with you physically because of the relationship" (Anderson et al, 2022(Anderson et al, , p. 1360. College women with a disability also cited concerns about stigma and judgment as barriers to disclosure of interpersonal violence (Anderson et al, 2022).…”

“…… They are asking you is there anything wrong with you physically because of the relationship" (Anderson et al, 2022(Anderson et al, , p. 1360. College women with a disability also cited concerns about stigma and judgment as barriers to disclosure of interpersonal violence (Anderson et al, 2022). In addition, in a sample of 754 college students of all genders with a disability, 50% were not fully aware of the interpersonal violence resources available on their campuses (Son et al, 2020).…”

“…In addition, in a sample of 754 college students of all genders with a disability, 50% were not fully aware of the interpersonal violence resources available on their campuses (Son et al, 2020). Some students who had been screened in health centers felt that screening procedures for interpersonal violence were required, rote, and insincere (Anderson et al, 2022), whereas others felt that they had an overall positive experience with health care after interpersonal violence victimization (Nichols et al, 2018).…”