Sexual assault of people with disabilities: results of a 2002-2007 national report in Taiwan.
Sexual-assault reports in Taiwan rose fastest among people with intellectual disability, so BCBAs must add routine abuse screening to their practice.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Lin et al. (2009) counted sexual-assault reports in Taiwan. They looked at people with and without disabilities from 2002 to 2007. The team used the national registry, so every police report was in the pile.
They split the reports by disability type: intellectual disability, mental illness, and others. Then they watched how fast the numbers climbed each year.
What they found
Reports rose faster for people with disabilities than for the general public. The sharpest climb was among people with intellectual disability. Their assault reports went up more than any other group.
How this fits with other research
Lin et al. (2010) used the same registry and found the same pattern for domestic violence. Both papers show abuse reports climbing fastest for people with intellectual disability.
Bøttcher et al. (2013) looked at aggression in people with ID, but from the other side. They asked how often these individuals show aggression, not how often they are victimized. Together the studies paint a full picture: higher risk of being hurt and higher rates of hurting others.
Antaki et al. (2008) found adults with ID placed in aged-care facilities early and kept there longer. That longer stay may increase exposure to potential abusers, which could help explain the rising assault numbers.
Why it matters
If you serve adults or teens with intellectual disability, treat abuse screening as routine, not optional. Ask simple, direct questions every quarter. Pair the screen with a private setting and a trusted staff member. Document any disclosure and have a ready referral path to police or social services.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Sexual violence against people with disabilities is widespread and linked to negative public health and social outcomes. The objectives of the present study were to describe and analyze and thus provide an overview of the current state of affairs concerning sexual assault among people with disabilities, including reported prevalence and trends, over the period from 2002 through 2007 in Taiwan. The present study analyzed nationwide data from the 2002-2007 "Sexual assaults report system" derived primarily from the Council of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assaults Prevention, Ministry of the Interior, Taiwan. The data took into account the number of cases and disability type in persons reported to have been sexually assaulted, and to analyze the reported rate of sexual assaults among this section of the population in Taiwan. In addition, the study used a linear estimation model to examine with time (2002-2007) in the rate of reported sexual assaults. The rate of increase of sexual assault reported among people with disabilities was 2.7 times that of the general population (469-173%) during the period of 2002-2007. Government statistics showed that intellectually disabled persons accounted for the largest proportion (>50%) of reported sexual assault cases among the disabled, followed by persons with chronic psychosis, who accounted for one-third of the reported sexual assault cases among the disabled population. The reported rate of sexual assault increased from 0.9 to 2.42 per ten-thousand people in the general population and from 1.24 to 5.74 per ten-thousand disabled persons. Intellectual disability, chronic psychosis and voice and speech impairments were consistently associated with a higher prevalence of sexual assault than the general population. The line of best fit estimated from a linear model showed a significant change over the study period in the reported number of sexual assault cases among disabled people. The results highlight the requirement for further study to explore the needs of people with disabilities with regards to education and other strategies to prevent sexual assault, particularly in the most vulnerable group-those with intellectual disability.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2009 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2009.02.001