Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities

Abstract

This study explored risk factors for violence among a sample of adult women with physical disabilities. Fifty-six percent (100) of the 177 women participating in the study indicated a positive history of abuse. Of the women who reported abuse, most reported multiple abuse situations and abusers who were typically their male partners. In addition, only a small proportion of women sought and received adequate help. Women who indicated that they did not seek help were asked why this was the case. Their responses included: feeling that they could handle it themselves, having other sources of support available, being unaware of where to go, feeling embarrassed, feeling guilty about being a burden or that it was their fault, fear that abuser would come after them, fear of not being believed, and, to a lesser extent, concern that the shelter would lack appropriate accommodations. These findings highlight the importance of intervention strategies including advocacy activities for women with disabilities, activities with schools, activities to deter and prevent partner and caregiver violence, community awareness activities, and dissemination activities.

Prevalence of maltreatment of people with intellectual disabilities: A review of recently published research

“…Four studies [Nosek, 1995;Young et al, 1997;McFarlane et al, 2001;Milberger et al, 2003] focused on prevalence of maltreatment among women with physical disabilities. Nosek [1995] described a qualitative study carried out by the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities (CROWD).…”

“…In one of the rare adult prevalence studies to utilize a comparison group, Young et al [1997] surveyed 504 women with disabilities recruited through Centers for Independent Living and media announcements and asked them to pass on a survey to a nondisabled female friend, resulting in a comparison group of 442 women without disabilities. About 62% of the women Milberger, [2003] 177 X X X X X X X X X Nosek, [1995] 31 X X X X X X X X X Oktay and Tompkins [2004] 84 X X X X X X X X X X X Suris et al [1996] 2,961 X X X X X X X X Svetaz et al [2000] 16,240 X X X X X X X X X Young et al [1997] 846 X X X X X X X X X in both groups reported that they had experienced some type of abuse at some point in their lives. Women with and without disabilities did not differ significantly in the proportions that had experienced emotional (51.7 versus 47.5%), physical (35.5 versus 35.6%), or sexual abuse (39.9 versus 37.1%), but women with disabilities had experienced abuse for significantly longer periods of time than women without disabilities.…”

“…Using this time frame, 7.8% of their sample reported physical or sexual abuse, and an additional 2% reported disabilityspecific abuse (prevention of assistive device use or refusal to meet personal care needs). Milberger et al [2003] used the same questions as McFarlane et al [2001] but altered the time frame to assess abuse experienced by women since the age of 18. Their sample included 177 Michigan women with physical disabilities recruited through disability organizations, domestic abuse organizations, and radio ads.…”

“…While McFarlane et al [2001] and Milberger et al [2003] studied sexual abuse as well as physical abuse and disability-specific forms of maltreatment, both articles presented prevalence of sexual abuse and physical abuse combined, with no information about prevalence of either form separately. Because Beail and Warden [1995] and McCabe and Cummins [1996] only studied sexual abuse, no comparisons regarding prevalence of maltreatment can be made between the studies of individuals with ID and McFarlane et al [2001] and Milberger et al's [2003] studies of women with physical disabilities.…”

“…Because Beail and Warden [1995] and McCabe and Cummins [1996] only studied sexual abuse, no comparisons regarding prevalence of maltreatment can be made between the studies of individuals with ID and McFarlane et al [2001] and Milberger et al's [2003] studies of women with physical disabilities.…”