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THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Dr. Jenny Manders
Institute on Human Development and Disability
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
The University of Georgia

RATES OF SEXUAL ABUSE

There is a great deal of evidence that suggests that children with disabilities are at greatly increased risk of all forms of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse.

  • is estimated that 39-68% of all girls with disabilities and 16-30% of boys with disabilities will be sexually abused before age 18 (Senn, 1988).
  • Findings from the largest national study on the issue found 70% of children who were sexually abused had some form of disability (Crosse, Kaye, and Ratnofsky, 1993).
  • Cases of abuse of children with disabilities are less likely to be recognized, reported, and substantiated (Manders, 1996).
  • When findings from multiple studies are considered, the sexual abuse of children with disabilities could be up to11 times higher than the rates of the sexual abuse of children without disabilities (Petersilia, 2000).

The abuse also tends to be more chronic and severe. The sexual abuse of children with disabilities:

  • Is more likely to be combined with physical abuse among children with disabilities (Sullivan, Brookhauser, Scanlan, Knutson, and Schulte, 1991).
  • May be more likely to involve penetration (Sobsey and Doe, 1991).
  • Does not decrease in probability as the children mature, but often continues into adulthood. The same two studies above found that 50% of women with disabilities who had been sexually assaulted had been abused 10 or more times.
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