Sexual Abuse and Persons with Disabilities: A Call for Awareness
While persons with disabilities face an increased risk of sexual abuse (Sobsey & Varnhagen, 1991), awareness of the severity of the problem is still lacking among most health care professionals, including rehabilitation practitioners. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of the issues evolving around sexual abuse and persons with disabilities by addressing the following; the prevalence of sexual abuse, including case examples; the increased vulnerability of persons with disabilities; sexual abuse reporting; barriers to service or sexual abuse treatment; and social and cultural issues. Recommendations for addressing sexual abuse issues within the counseling relationship are provided, as are resources for additional information concerning sexual abuse among persons with disabilities.