Prevalence
of Abuse of Women with Physical Disabilities
Young ME, Nosek MA, Howland CA , Chanpong G, Rintala,
DH. Prevalence of abuse of women with physical disabilities. Archives
of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 1997; 78 (Suppl):S34-S38.
ABSTRACT
Emotional, physical, and sexual abuse of women with physical disabilities
is a problem largely unrecognized by rehabilitation service providers.
This article documents the prevalence of abuse of women with physical disabilities
compared to women without physical disabilities. The Research design was
a case-comparison study using written survey. A sample of 860 women, 439
with physical disabilities and 421 without physical disabilities, was compiled
from women responding to a national sexuality survey. The women were asked
if they had ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. If they
answered yes, they were asked to identify the perpetrator(s) of the abuse
and when the abuse began and ended. Sixty-two percent of both groups of
women had experienced some type of abuse at some point in their lives.
Of women who had experienced abuse, half of each group had experienced
physical or sexual abuse. Husbands or live-in partners were the most common
perpetrators of emotional or physical abuse for both groups. Male strangers
were the most common perpetrators of sexual abuse for both groups. Women
with physical disabilities also were more likely to be abused by their
attendants and by health care providers. Thirteen percent of women with
physical disabilities described experiencing physical or sexual abuse in
the past year. Women with physical disabilities appear to be at risk for
emotional, physical, and sexual abuse to the same extent as women without
physical disabilities. Prevalence of abuse by husbands or live-in partners
in this study is similar to estimates of lifetime occurrence of domestic
violence for women living in the United States. They are also more likely
to experience a longer duration of abuse than women without physical disabilities.
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