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The Safety Net Chapter 15 Supplement: Victimization of Individuals With Disabilities
Statistical Overview
Federal Legislation The Crime Victims With Disabilities Awareness Act of 1998 (Public Law: 105-301) was designed to increase public awareness of the plight of victims of crime with developmental disabilities. The act directs the Attorney General to:
Relevant Training Effective training for victim service providers, law enforcement, and prosecutors on assisting victims with disabilities varies according to type of disability, as do viable risk reduction programs. The initiatives described below approach the issues from various angles: END THE SILENCE The Institute on Disabilities at Temple University is conducting a three-year initiative called End the Silence funded by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The program approaches crime against people with developmental and other disabilities as a problem similar to violence against women, child abuse, and elder abuse. End the Silence recognizes that while much progress has been made in these three areas, crimes against people with disabilities continues to be largely invisible and unaddressed in mainstream criminal justice. Part of the initiative is devoted to self-advocacy. Individuals with disabilities, including victims, are taking an active role in developing the training material on sexual abuse awareness and are participating in the pilot training programs. Program goals are to:
The first completed publication, Keeping Yourself Safe at Home, at Work, and in the Community, is a risk reduction program to educate victims with developmental disabilities about sexual abuse and safety strategies to prevent it. The publication will be available for distribution after pilot testing is completed. End the Silence, Institute on Disabilities, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA (215-204-1356) http://www.temple.edu/Inst_disabilities UNDERSTANDING MENTAL RETARDATION: TRAINING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT A three-hour training curriculum, Understanding Mental Retardation: Training for Law Enforcement, provides police officers with information about victim and offender issues involving people with this disability. The training includes a fifteen-minute video, program materials, hand-outs, and references for background reading. The ARC of the United States, 500 E. Border Street, Suite 300, Arlington, TX 76010 (817-261-6003) (Davis August 1998). RESPONSE PROTOCOLS FOR THE MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect at the Department of Health and Human Services has sponsored the development of a curriculum to provide trainers with a framework for teaching victim service providers about the maltreatment of children with disabilities. Responding to Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities: A Trainer's Guide is made up of five modules that include an introduction to disabilities; the relationship between maltreatment and disabilities; assessment protocols; child protective services practices for children with disabilities; and risk reduction. The training curriculum specifically addresses myths about disabilities; impact of disability on communication and culture; incidence and prevalence of abuse and neglect; signs of abuse and neglect; and medical examination practices. The curriculum manual provides a lecture guide, participant guides, trainer's texts, transparencies or Power Point slides, and videotapes for each module (Steinberg, Hylton, and Wheeler 1998). SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES The Disability, Abuse & Personal Rights Project (DAPR) has developed sensitive forensic interviewing protocols for use by criminal justice professionals with victims of sexual assault who have cognitive and communication impairments. A curriculum for police making first response is currently under development. For disability service providers, DAPR has developed training on the identification and reporting of sexual assault. They have also developed training on risk reduction strategies for parents of and individuals with cognitive and communication impairments. They are currently working with the California State Board of Control (SBOC) and child protective services to change the child victim data collection system to include the reporting and tracking of children with disabilities who are sexually assaulted, and children who are disabled as a result of abuse. In addition, DAPR coordinates a national conference, conducts research, and generates articles, documents, and guidebooks on sexual assault primarily of children and adults who have developmental handicaps. Related subjects include: sexual abuse, other types of abuse, sexuality of persons with disabilities, parenting issues, protections of sexual civil liberties, and other civil rights. Issues related to abuse, such as perpetrators with developmental disabilities, and the onset of disability as a result of abuse, are also addressed. Disability, Abuse & Personal Rights Project, Spectrum Institute, P.O. Box T, Culver City, CA 90230 (310-391-2420) www.disability-abuse.com Promising Practices
Web Sites The National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) http://www.nichcy.org. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, NICHCY is a national information and referral center on disabilities and disability-related issues for families, educators, and other professionals that emphasizes services to children and young adults, age twenty-two years or under. State resource sheets that help locate organizations and agencies that address disability-related issues serving children and youth can be found through NICHCY, P.O. Box 1492, Washington DC 20013 (800-695-0285).
Chapter 15 Supplement References Davis, L. August 1998. Understanding Mental Retardation: Training for Law Enforcement. Arlington, TX: The ARC of the United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). 17 October 1999. Crime in the United States, Uniform Crime Reports, 1998. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Steinberg, M. A., J. R. Hylton, and C. E. Wheeler. 1998. Responding to Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities: A Trainer's Guide. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect. Tyiska, C. September 1998. "Working with Victims of Crime with Disabilities." Office for Victims of Crime Bulletin. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime.
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