Studying disability and abuse
September 19, 2000 - For more than 30 years Dr. Dick Sobsey has researched children with disabilities. Then by some twist of fate, Sobsey's wife gave birth to a severely disabled son 10 years ago. Despite the decades of academic work in the field, Sobsey wasn't prepared for raising a disabled child.
"The realities were quite different than the expectations," said Sobsey, director of the JP Das Developmental Disabilities Centre and head of the International Coalition on Abuse and Disability.
For almost half of his academic career, Sobsey has focused on violence against people with disabilities. When he started researching the topic 15 years ago, his goal was to raise awareness that people, and especially children, with special needs are among the victims of abuse.
"For example, typically women's shelters aren't wheelchair accessible" said Sobsey, who gave the keynote address at a conference in London for the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect on Sept. 18. "So where are they supposed to go when they have to leave? It was the kind of problem that was swept under the rug for a really long time."
Today he has learned children with disabilities are about three times as likely as other children to be victims of maltreatment. Sobsey is researching 1,130 homicides of disabled people over recent years, most of which are committed by either parents or caregivers. Because there is no standard method police use to record information about crimes against people with disabilities, finding out about the incidents can be difficult, said Sobsey. He also works with the United States Department of Justice to include questions about crime against the disabled in annual crime surveys.
Positive changes have emerged as a result of increased profiles about violence against disabled people. A year ago amendments to the Human Rights Act and the Evidence Act made courts more open to people who have communication problems caused by disability. Previously courts accommodated children who were testifying, but little was done to aid victims who had trouble communicating, said Sobsey.
"Courtrooms also now have to make jury boxes accessible to wheelchairs," he said. "It's a small thing, but the notion that someone who has your condition can't serve on the jury is not a good message to send to the victim."
Related link - internal
- The JP Das Developmental Disabilities Centre Web site: http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/ddc/INDEX.html
Your response
I find it interesting that this article refers to various disabilities such as developmental, blindness and movement but doesn't mention hearing loss. This is also the case in the referral sites. Is hearing loss not considered a handicap? The ability to access information is not a problem? I have a child who has a hearing loss. I can tell you what a challenge it has been to educate him in our school system. I can also tell you horrible stories of what other families have encountered because their child has a hearing loss, regardless of the level of loss. This is known as the hidden handicap. I amazed how hidden it is--even within societies where there are people who advocate for people with other diabilities. I am also amazed and horrified at the lack of understanding and compassion these people endure in society in general.
D. Kuefler
