Ending the Abuse

Domestic violence is more common than you think.

By Tara Haley, LMSW

Statistics show that up to 85% of women with disabilities are victims of domestic violence (DV). Children with disabilities are 4 to 10 times more likely to be abused than their able-bodied counterparts. And people with disabilities stay in abusive relationships longer than victims without disabilities, generally around 11.3 years as opposed to 7.1 years for a person without a disability.

What is Domestic Violence?

DV is generally assumed to occur between intimate partners, such as a spouse. Within the disability community, however, an intimate partner can be a family member, caregiver, personal care attendant or ambulette driver. A person with a disability may come into contact with these people on a daily basis and depend on them to assist with their activities of daily- living. For this reason, a person with a disability is more likely to be abused more than once in their life, as they may have numerous caregivers on whom they rely throughout their lifetime.

Why are People with Disabilities More Likely to be Abused?

DV is based on the use of power and control within a relationship, which may be employed in various ways, including through physical, psychological, emotional, economic, and sexual abuse, including withholding medications; breaking or prohibiting the use of necessary equipment, including a teletypewriter, walker, or wheelchair; cutting off a person’s access to transportation; stealing Social Security Insurance/Social Security Disability Insurance checks; and refusing to assist an individual with personal care needs. The power and control issue is further exacerbated by the belief that a caregiver has a person’s best intentions in mind. For this reason, a caregiver is often allowed to speak for the victim and his or her statements are accepted. Therefore, others 9such as doctors or law officers) are not hearing from the victim what is actually happening.

Why do People with Disabilities Stay in Abusive Relationships?

Although a caregiver may be abusive, a person with a disability is still reliant on the caregiver for assistance with daily needs. This person may be a family member or partner with whom the individual has an intimate relationship, not someone who is always easy to walk away from.

Even if a caregiver is not an intimate partner, however, a person may have difficulty finding alternative care or may be unaware of available services. Either way, this leaves an individual limited in his or her activities of daily living if without a caregiver.

Another reason for staying in an abusive relationship may be the lack of accessible services, such as accessible shelters, the inability to allow a home health attendant on-site if a shelter is accessible, inaccessibility within the neighborhood where the services or shelter is located, or the lack of knowledge and sensitivity of service providers about disability or DV issues.

What Can We Do?

There are steps that can be taken to begin working toward a decrease of DV within the disability community. Education is an extremely effective intervention. It is important that both people with disabilities and service providers be educated about DV. Many of the victims with disabilities that I have met are unaware of the fact that they are being abused.

Additionally, service providers need to be educated about the signs and symptoms of DV. Screenings for services need to be done with a person on a confidential basis, not in the presence of their caregiver and not with the caregiver as the voice for the victim. Safety planning may also help to decrease the instances of DV. Individualized safety plans need to be made for individuals who are identified as victims of abuse. Lastly, steps need to be taken so that people have alternatives for assistance with their daily needs. This may include both locating a new caregiver, as well as assisting the person to maximize their skills toward independence.

Tara Haley, LMSW, is Assistant Director for the Nonresidential Domestic Violence Program of Barrier Free Living Inc. If you feel you may be the victim of abuse or know someone who is, please call their hotline at 212-533-4358.