Persons with disabilities and abuse across the lifespan

While a number of topics have received considerable attention in the field of domestic and sexual violence, relatively fewer resources focus on the abuse of individuals with disabilities. In the same way that the literature on different forms of family and sexual abuse are often separate (i.e. research on dating violence rarely addresses woman abuse or sexual assault), the resources on disabilities are also often focused on specific disabilities (hearing or visual impairments or mentally challenged). The project report focuses in a comprehensive manner on all of these topics The document draws together resources on abuse across the lifespan. Children, youth and adults with intellectual challenges remain vulnerable to all forms of abuse for a much longer period than those without such problems. Older adults are a population that often develops disabilities and becomes vulnerable to abuse. Further, a focus on disabilities expands our notions of family and sexual violence and how to address these. An important difference in considering abuse in populations with disabilities is that such abuse is often perpetrated by caregivers other than family members.