The End Abuse of People with Disabilities monthly newsletter is our opportunity to spotlight promising practices, programs, and resources at the intersection of domestic violence, sexual assault, and disability. This month is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and our newsletter will provide resources and information on sexual assault of people with disabilities.
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RESOURCES: Responding to Sexual Assault of People with Disabilities
People with disabilities are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault and other violent crime than people without disabilities (BJS). The rate is even higher for specific groups of people with disabilities, including women, people with psychiatric and cognitive disabilities, and people of color with disabilities. This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we encourage you to learn about the ways in which sexual assault impacts people with disabilities and how to ensure that your programming and services are accessible to survivors with disabilities. If you would like to learn more about sexual assault and people with disabilities, check out our awareness raising snapshots:
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We have also developed some practical resources to help you understand and address the needs of survivors of sexual assault with disabilities.
TOOLKITS
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UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS
Serving Survivors of Sexual Assault with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
April 27, 2021
2 - 3:30 pm ET
Each April, we come together to pause, to reflect, and to uplift the experiences of sexual assault survivors. Please join us as we honor Sexual Assault Awareness Month with a conversation centering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who are more likely to experience sexual assault. In this webinar, you will learn about the unique risks they face, barriers they encounter when seeking services, and best practices that you can implement to serve survivors with I/DD effectively. Also, a self-advocate will share their experiences and provide tips for ways in which you can increase survivors' comfort, be trauma-informed, and meet the needs of those most likely to experience sexual assault.
Our presenter for this session will be Leslie Myers, a Senior Program Associate at the Center on Victimization and Safety. She will also host a question-and-answer session with a self-advocate.
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Did you miss our "Crucial Conversations: Exploring the Foundation for Serving Survivors with Disabilities and Deaf Survivors" Webinar Series?
Good news! The recordings for both sessions are now available. This series explores the ways in which survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors, especially survivors of color, face barriers in seeking and receiving services and ways in which providers can ensure they are providing accessible and equitable services.
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This session explores the challenges that survivors with disabilities face and provides best practices for organizations looking to serve survivors with disabilities more effectively.
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This session explores the challenges that Deaf survivors face and provides best practices for hearing organizations looking to serve Deaf survivors more effectively.
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RESOURCES FROM THE FIELD: Sexual Assault and People with Disabilities
This toolkit, designed for sexual assault response teams (SARTs) but valuable for many service providers, provides information on the complexities that may arise when working with survivors of sexual assault with disabilities, including consent, guardianship, and effective communication, among other topics.
This discussion guide explores issues of sexual violence and disability with a lens for disability justice and reproductive justice. It is useful in beginning conversations on sexual assault of people with disabilities.
The Talk About Sexual Violence project gives health care professionals the tools they need to have simple, direct, and honest conversations with their patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities about sexual violence.
As we think about serving survivors of sexual assault with disabilities, it is important to remember that people of color with disabilities are more likely to experience sexual assault. Anti-racism work is an integral part of our work to address violence in the lives of people with disabilities. This collection provides helpful tools for building racial equity in organizations.
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The National Center on Ending Abuse of People with Disabilities is a resource center funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women to bring together people with disabilities, policymakers, practitioners, and other community members to better serve people with disabilities and Deaf people who have experienced violence. The National Center fosters dialogue and provides guidance on addressing problems that impede access to services, developing promising practices, and works to center the needs of people with disabilities and Deaf people when developing solutions and responses to crime. For more information, reach out to us at [email protected].
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