Locate at least one outside source (list the source in the narrative of your res

Question

Locate at least one outside source (list the source in the narrative of your response as well as in the reference list at the end of your response) to answer the following questions:

Crimes against people with disabilities. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.ovc.ncjrs.gov

1.     What is the frequency of crime perpetrated against disabled victims? Compare that with the frequency of crime against non-disabled victims and describe the difference.

2.     Who are the victims? What disabilities and other characteristics are most common? Describe specifics about the victims (disability type, ages and other significant factors).

3.     Who are the perpetrators? What relationship, if any, do they have to the victims?

Explanation / Answer

Crime Against Persons with Disabilities: The Facts

Crime against people with disabilities, including those with visual loss, is a reality that calls for our attention. A new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) about violent crimes against people with disabilities has been published, and there are some disturbing findings. It presents estimates of nonfatal violent crime (rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault) against persons age 12 or older with disabilities. Disabilities are classified by types: hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, self-care, and independent living.

The report details the victimization of persons with and without disabilities living in noninstitutionalized households and provides comparisons by age, sex, race, disability type, and other victim characteristics. It also includes crime characteristics, such as victim-offender relationship, time of a crime, reporting to police, and use of victim services agencies.

Findings are based on the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) from 2009 to 2014, combined with data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. Age adjustment was used to standardize the rate of violence against persons without disabilities to show what the rate would be if persons without disabilities had the same age distribution as persons with disabilities.

For the purpose of this article, methodologies will not be discussed. We will just take a look at some unsettling findings and ask ourselves "What does this mean?" and "What does this mean to me?"

Highlights from the Report

Crime Against People with Vision Disabilities

Crime Against Persons with All Disabilities

Being Aware

I live in a relatively safe community and have never feared for my safety or been threatened physically. I have probably erred on the side of being too comfortable with a false sense of security and neglecting personal safety measures. But as a woman who is visually impaired, I wonder sometimes just how vulnerable I am in different situations.

This report has served as a conversation starter among the VisionAware peer advisors and a wake-up call to me personally. It has brought up other related topics like domestic violence and elder abuse among people with disabilities. And it begs the question, "What can we do to protect ourselves from violence and victimization?" Be sure to read stories and articles on these important issues to help increase awareness of the problems and provide strategies and resources to address them.

Definition of Domestic Violence

Many people are confused about what domestic violence is, what causes it, and why women stay in the abusive relationship. Domestic violence is a pattern of intimidation, coercion, and violence. It includes everything the abuser has done in the past and the threat of what he’ll do in the future. The entire goal of domestic violence is to obtain and maintain power and control over the victim. The pattern of abuse often increases in frequency and severity over time. Battering can be verbal, physical, emotional, sexual, or economic. An abused person can be of any age, race, class, culture, religion, occupation, and sexual orientation.

Sexual Assault

Sexual assault can be part of domestic violence, or it can occur entirely by itself. It is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. It can include sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.

Stalking Behaviors

Stalking behaviors are often also part of domestic violence. While legal definitions of stalking vary from one jurisdiction to another, a basic definition of stalking is a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear. Stalking is serious, often violent, and can escalate over time.

Women with Disabilities Are More Vulnerable to Domestic Violence

Research indicates that women with disabilities are more likely to suffer domestic violence and sexual assault than women without disabilities. And women with disabilities report that abuse lasts longer and is more intense than women without disabilities.

Like other women, women with disabilities usually are abused by someone they know, such as a partner or family member. In addition, women with disabilities face the risk of abuse by healthcare providers or caregivers. Caregivers can withhold medicine and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs or braces. They can also refuse to help with daily needs like bathing, dressing, or eating.

Reasons for Violence Against Women with Disabilities

Violence against women with disabilities happens because of attitudes towards women together with vulnerability from the conditions that result from the disability itself, such as:

Domestic Violence Is Never the Fault of the Victim

Domestic and sexual assault, stalking, and neglect are never the fault of the victim. They are not based on stress, drugs, or alcohol. They are due to the active choice of the abuser to use violence or other intimidating tactics to control his victim.

Victims often stay with their abuser for many reasons, including economic, cultural, and fear of losing custody of the children. Perhaps most important, victims fear increased violence or death or if they leave. In fact, the most dangerous time for a victim is when she’s trying to leave. This may be due to the abuser feeling like he is losing control over his victim.

For women with disabilities, it can be even worse. If they are being abused by someone they rely on to take care of them, they may feel trapped.

Women who are blind or visually impaired have additional concerns related to their vision. As one victim noted, "I realized that my vision was being used against me...(later) I learned about my vision and how to use it more efficiently. This restored my confidence." Be sure to read her story, "Domestic Violence Has Many Faces".

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