Safety

Contents

• Introduction
• Recognizing and Responding to Abuse
• Statistics
• Resources

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Introduction

Safety—from being protected from abuse and being a victim of a crime to knowing where to go in an emergency—is important for all people. However, people on the autism spectrum or with other developmental disabilities may have greater difficulties accessing information to protect themselves from abuse or discussing safety issues.

Recognizing and Responding to Abuse

One particular area of concern for people with autism and other developmental disabilities is recognizing and responding to abuse. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are one of the most at-risk groups to abuse:

• If a person needs assistance, many different people may have access to their homes and bodies.
• People often don’t learn how to protect themselves.
• People might rely on others to help out.
• Many people are not believed when they say that they were abused.

Statistics

Although more research is needed, studies consistently show people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are more likely to experience violence than people without disabilities. In 2009, the Department of Justice released a study finding that people with disabilities are 50 percent more likely to experience violent crime. The report indicated that people with cognitive disabilities, actually experience a higher rate than the rates reported for people with all other kinds of disabilities.

Many people with intellectual disabilities, communication difficulties, and behavioral challenges experience higher levels of abuse because they are socially and physically isolated. In the book, Violence and Abuse in the Lives of People with Disabilities: The End of Silent Acceptance? author Dick Sobsey indicated that women with developmental disabilities are 4 to 10 times more likely to experience sexual abuse in their lifetime than women with disabilities. Another factor reported is that survivors of sexual assault who have a developmental disability are more likely to be re-victimization by the same perpetrator.

The VERA Institute of Justice reported that, “97-99% of abusers are known and trusted by the victim/survivor who has an intellectual disability. 32% of those abusers are family and 44% are people who specifically have a relationship with the person because of their disability—they are caregivers, drivers or residential care staff.”

Resources

There are several different resources that people with autism or other developmental disabilities can use to better inform themselves about this and many other safety issues. These resources include: