The Arc Maryland Personal Space Program Curriculum Guide | Page 11

The Need for Training
Women with developmental disabilities do not typically access violence prevention
information in the ways the general population does, yet it is clear they are at higher risk
than the general population. Nearly three decades of research, work by battered women’s
shelters and crisis centers, and a variety of interventions have revealed that gender-based
violence is not limited by income bracket, race, region of the country, or population density.
Yet within the area of violence against women, women and girls with disabilities (and
particularly those with developmental disabilities) remain underserved. Despite evidence
showing that gender based violence is perpetrated against women with disabilities at a rate
much higher than the general population of women, there is a paucity of information,
expertise, and services available to them. When the conversation turns to gender-based
violence, women and girls with developmental disabilities are usually left out.
According to research, most people with disabilities will experience some form of sexual
assault or abuse during their lifetime (Sobsey and Varnhagen, 1989). Victims who have
some level of intellectual impairment are at the highest risk of sexual violence (Sobsey and
Doe, 1991). Persons with developmental disabilities have a 4 to 10 times higher risk of
becoming crime victims than persons without developmental disabilities. One study of
alleged crimes against people with disabilities revealed that 90% involved sexual offenses
(Carmody, 1991). Both males and females with developmental disabilities are victims of
sexual violence, however women experience sexual violence at a higher rate than their male
counterparts. Sobsey cites 78.9% females compared to 21.1% of males in research from the
University of Alberta (Sobsey, 1994). Consistent with this, a number of other studies on
rates of sexual assault against women with developmental disabilities reveal that over 80%
had been sexually assaulted (Hard, 1986). Of those who reported being sexually assaulted,
50% had been assaulted 10 or more times (Valenti-Hein and Schwartz, 1995). Sobsey and
Doe indicate that in 56% to 62% of cases involving sexual assault or abuse of children and
adults with developmental disabilities, penetration occurs (Sobsey, 1994).
Complicating this is the general assumption that crime victims with developmental
disabilities do not need or require legal action, nor are they competent to testify once in the
legal system. These “incidents” are judged to be something other than crimes subject to the
criminal court system. Consequently, offenses are handled through administrative channels
within a group home or institution. A woman with a developmental disability who is raped
may not have a choice about bringing charges, and is therefore unable to use the judicial
system. If she does gain access to the criminal justic