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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Donald L. Patrick, PhD, MSPH, Tari D. Topolski, PhD, Susan Kinne, PhD, and Todd Edwards, PhD. Center for Disability Policy & Research, Seattle Quality of Life Group, University of Washington, 146 North Canal Street, Box 358652, # 313, Seattle, WA 98103-8652, 206 616 2981, donald@u.washington.edu

Background: Youth and Adults with disabilities (YwD / AwD) are vulnerable to sexual abuse. Reasons include lack of control, isolation, lack of privacy, and educational and health system failure. Methods: Disability screeners identified 21% in school survey (SS) and 26.2% in BRFSS as having a disability. “Being forced by another teen or adult to do something sexual” asked in SS of 2801 7th-12th graders in US rural area. Retrospective childhood sexual abuse asked in Washington State 2004 BRFSS of 6,372 adults. Results: 21% of YwD (n=508) reported forced sexual contact with teens and 14.8% with adults, compared to 8.5% and 5.5% (respectively ) of YwoD (n=2106). In the BRFSS, AwD were 2x as likely as AwoD (22% vs 11%) to report that before age 18 they had unwanted sexual touching (i.e., touched or made to touch). Almost 1/3 of women and girls with disabilities reported unwanted sexual contact compared to 16% of women and 11% of girls without disabilities. Among adults, being female, being gay/lesbian or bisexual, having a disability, younger and being in fair or poor health all were independent risk factors for unwanted touching as children. Race/ethnicity, education and adult income were not related to childhood abuse. Conclusion: Parents and all adult caregivers should be aware that YwD are vulnerable to sexual abuse. Maintaining the right to privacy is important, as is empowerment to control access to their bodies, sensitive screening by clinicians and a rigidly enforced “no tolerance” policy in educational and care settings.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare reported prevalence of sexual abuse in childhood and adolescence by youth and adults with disabilities to that of youth and adults without
• Identify risk facotrs and correlates of this abuse
• Suggest strategies for preventing sexual abuse of all youth, and youth with disabilities in particular

Keywords: Adolescents, Disability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation