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"Working with Victims with Disabilities

Crime Victims with Disabilities Have Distinct Issues
One of the sections of the greater document: "Working with Victims with Disabilities, an OVC Bulletin", by Cheryl Guidry Tyiska, NOVA

Most issues that confront crime victims with disabilities are issues that affect all crime victims. They include underreporting of crimes; a lack of responsiveness from law enforcement or prosecutors based on a perceived lack of credibility on the part of the victim; repeated victimization; lack of effective, appropriate services, physical or social isolation of the victim; and a judicial process that is centered on the rights and needs of the offender, not the victim. However, there are important issues and even distinctions that must be emphasized when serving victims with disabilities.

• Crime victims with disabilities have a higher risk of victimization than crime victims without disabilities, and face a greater risk of being re-victimized, often at the hands of a caregiver or family member. Consequently, victims may not be in a position to report the crime without fear of retaliation from the care provider.

• A crime victim with a disability or a person who becomes disabled due to crime may not have the resources or the physical stamina to cope with the many delays and hurdles that typically occur in the criminal justice system. For example, if a victim is paralyzed as a result of a crime, the victim will be adjusting to this recent disability at the same time that he or she is interacting with the criminal justice system. The combination may well be overwhelming.

• Child custody issues are typically complex in cases of domestic violence. When the victim has a disability, the issues may be further complicated. According to disability advocates, some courts have awarded custody to the batterer, based on an assumption that children may be better-off with an able-bodied offender than with a victim who has a disability.

• Victim is a loaded term in the disability rights community. In the medical system, people with disabilities have historically been considered "victims" of their disabilities, i.e., a "victim" of polio. The term reinforces an already-existing, socially-imposed negative identity. Disability advocates have struggled to transform their identity from "victim" to something more positive; therefore, admitting "victimization" is often experienced as a setback. Victim advocates have also long been concerned about using language that would include all crime victims and yet not be stigmatizing. Service providers working with crime victims could clarify the issue by asking the victims how they prefer to be characterized. Some individuals may prefer the term survivor, while others may feel that the use of victim is an appropriate word to describe their status in the aftermath of violent or repeated victimization.

• Special services is another loaded term with negative connotations. Crime victims with disabilities do not want anything special. They want the rights and services to which they are rightly entitled and request common-sense accommodations to ensure that they can receive them. However, many crime victims (not just those with physical or cognitive disabilities) will need individualized attention and services.
• Disability is more than a physical/emotional/mental issue. It is a political and social issue as well, and frequently is a major source of a person's identity because of societal attitudes. Many people with disabilities view their disabilities as disabling only to the extent to which society does not provide an accommodating environment.

• Just as with many victims, violence may be defined differently for many people with disabilities. For example, the withholding of a wheelchair, thus forcing a person to slide along the floor, might be considered an act of violence. In that regard, it is important to note that many acts of criminal violence committed against vulnerable individuals, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities, are referred to as forms of abuse. While the behavior is certainly abusive, using the term abuse instead of violence can serve to minimize the severity of the crime against the victim.

• The disability community includes family members, who, like the family members of many crime victims, are frequently secondary victims.

Diverse Needs
There is no single, monolithic "disability community." It is made up of many smaller communities that may vary from one geographic location to another, and according to the type of disability:

• Not all disability advocates support mandatory reporting of crimes against people with disabilities. An individual struggling to maintain independence may perceive mandatory reporting as excessive "protectionism," while others believe that the legal requirement to report crimes against "vulnerable adults" is integral to ensuring their safety.

• There are varying numbers of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people throughout the country. For example, a large number of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people are in the Washington, D.C. area, probably because of the presence of Gallaudet University, the largest 4-year liberal arts university for the Deaf in the United States. Other communities of similar size may have far fewer Deaf residents. However, even within the communities of people with similar disabilities (for example, those with spinal cord injuries, or those who are blind, or those with learning disabilities), it must be remembered that the community is composed of separate, unique individuals who differ from one another and will require individualized assistance. All racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups include people with disabilities.

• Accessibility is different depending on the disability (also see p. 2 Limited Access).

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