Helena Lambsdorff writes about sexual violence against women and girls with intellectual disabilities and how to prevent it.
Women and girls with intellectual disabilities experience violence at much higher rates than almost any other group.
Especially sexual violence.
Inclusion Europe’s report “Life after violence” found that:
- 60% reported experiencing sexual harassment since the age of 15.
- 25% reported being stalked.
- 45% said they experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence before the age of 15.
The numbers speak for themselves.
Still, I am glad I got the chance to talk more about sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities – and how to prevent it.
To prevent sexual violence against people with intellectual disabilities, these areas need to be sustainably changed.
- Institutionalisation
- Segregation through noninclusive schools
- Stigma
- Lack of easy-to-read and understand information available and accessible for people with intellectual disabilities
- Lack of information and support for families of people with intellectual disabilities
- Lack of training for mainstream service providers and people in the legal system on how to work with people with intellectual disabilities
But as these topics all require (and deserve) in-depth explanations, I will make a post on each of them.
Stay tuned for more!
I promise it’s worth learning about.
The event was part of CBM Italia’s project CARE-INT – a project looking to train service providers on how to recognise and prevent sexual abuse against women with disabilities.
I am very grateful I got to speak (next) to such wonderful women and colleagues, all raising awareness and working towards a violence-free and inclusive world.
Read more from Helena Lambsdorff.