Promoting Accessible and 
Inclusive Services for Survivors 
with Disabilities 
A Webinar for VOCA Administrators 

Nancy Smith & Anneliese Brown 
October 2018 

This webinar was produced by the Vera Institute of Justice Center on Victimization and Safety under 
Award # 2016 XV GX K015, awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. 
Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this 
webinar are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the 
U.S. Department of Justice. 

National Resource Center for Reaching Victims logo - helping those who help others

Training Goals 

• Summarize what is known about victimization of people 
with disabilities; 
• Review factors that place people with disabilities at 
heightened risk of victimization; 
• Discuss common barriers survivors with disabilities face; 
and, 
• Identify concrete and practical steps you can take to 
enhance responses and supports to survivors with 
disabilities. 



About Us: The National Resource 
Center for Reaching Victims 

The National Resource Center for Reaching Victims is a one-
stop shop for victim service providers, culturally specific 
organizations, criminal justice professionals, and policymakers 
to get information and expert guidance to enhance their 
capacity to identify, reach, and serve all victims, especially 
those from communities that are underrepresented in healing 
services and avenues to justice. 


About Us: The National Resource 

Center for Reaching Victims (2) 

We are a collaboration among: 

• Caminar Latino 
• Casa de Esperanza 
• Common Justice 
• FORGE 
• The National Children’s Advocacy Center 
• The National Center for Victims of Crime 
• The National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later in Life 
• Vera Institute of Justice 
• Women of Color Network, Inc. 


We are supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Victims 

of Crime


About Us: The National Resource 
Center for Reaching Victims (3) 

We are working to: 

• increase the number of victims who receive healing 
supports by understanding who is underrepresented and 
why some people access services while others don’t; 

• design and implement best practices for connecting people 
to the services they need; and 
• empower and equip organizations to provide the most 
useful and effective services to crime victims. 



Vera Institute of Justice, Center 
on Victimization and Safety 

Our mission 

• Work to create victim services that reach, appeal to, and 
benefit all victims of crime. 
• Focus on groups of people who are at elevated risk of harm 
but who are underserved. 
• Cornerstone of our work is addressing abuse of people with 
disabilities 
• Work began in 2005 



Vera Institute of Justice, Center 

on Victimization and Safety (2) 

Our goals 

• Promote a framework for understanding, responding to, 
and ending domestic and sexual violence that accounts 
for disability; 
• Build and strengthen a diverse, inclusive, and 
coordinated movement working to end abuse of people 
with disabilities; 
• Enhance capacity to prevent and respond to violence 
against people with disabilities; and 
• Increase the availability and use of research and 
evaluation in these efforts. 



Exploring the experiences & 
needs of survivors with 
disabilities 

Incidence and prevalence 
Underreporting 
Reaching out to healing services and criminal justice interventions 
Common barriers 


What the research tells us 

> Limited research exists 

> Research has documented that people with disabilities 
experience increased risk of violent victimization 

> There are gaps in research and more is needed to 
better understand the experiences and risk of people 
with disabilities and Deaf people 


Violent crimes against people with 
disabilities 

Bar Graph of trends from 2008 to 2012 of violent crimes against people with disabilities. In 2008: 999,700; in 2009: 998,400; In 2010: 742,800; In 2011: 1,104,700; in 2012: 1,346,900
999,700 998,400 
742,800 
1,104,700 
1,346,900 
0 
200,000 
400,000 
600,000 
800,000 
1,000,000 
1,200,000 
1,400,000 
1,600,000 
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 
Year 
People with disabilities are at 
greater risk of violence 

People with disabilities are 3 times more likely to experience rape, sexual assault, aggravated assault, and robbery than those wthout disabilities
11 

Children & youth with disabilities 

• Children with disabilities are: 
• 3 times more likely to be sexually abused; 
• 3.8 times more likely to experience abuse or neglect; and 
• 4 times more likely to be emotionally abused.1 






• Students with disabilities have been found to be at higher risk of experiencing 
bullying and dating violence compared to students without disabilities.2 


• 31.6% of undergraduate women with disabilities reported nonconsensual 
sexual contact, compared to 18.4% of undergraduate women without a 
disability.3 





Additional statistics re: adults 

> Women who have experienced intimate partner violence are more than twice 
as likely to also report a disability.4 

> 14% of men with disabilities reported experiencing sexual violence at some 
point in their lifetime compared to 4% of men without disabilities.5 

> 49% of people with developmental disabilities were assaulted 10 or more 
times.6 

> 20% of Deaf adults have experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner. 
15% have experienced forced sex in an intimate partner relationship.7 

> Men with cognitive disabilities were twice as likely to report a lifetime 
incidence of providers not providing medication; 3Xs as likely to be restrained; 
and 2.5Xs as likely to be hurt.8 


Risk of violence is higher for certain 
people with disabilities. 

> People with intellectual or 
cognitive disabilities 

> People with psychiatric 
disabilities 

> People with multiple 
disabilities 

> Women with disabilities 

young, sad girl with an intellectual disability resting her head on her arm
> People of color who have 
disabilities 


Why? 

> Devaluation 
> Presumed lack of credibility 
> Isolation and segregation 
> Increased exposure to potential abusers 
> Culture of compliance 
> Seen as “easy targets” 


Who is responsible? 

Survivors with Disabilities 
Offender Relationship, 2011-2015 

Pie Chart: 40% of offenders are acquaintances, 30% are strangers, 15% are intimate partners, 10% are other relatives, and 5% don't know.
40% 
30% 
15% 
10% 
5% 
Survivors without Disabilities 

Offender Relationship 

Acquaintances 
Strangers 
Intimate Partners 
Other Relatives 
Don't Know 

Pie Chart: for survivors without disabilities, 33% are acquaintances, 39% are strangers, 13% are intimate partners, 6% are other relatives, adn 5% don't know
33% 
39% 
13% 
6% 
9% 

Significant underreporting 

> Silence feels safer/less harmful 
> Loss of independence and fear of 
institutionalization 
> Lack of knowledge about healthy 

sexuality and safety 
> Loss of autonomy 
> Lack of effective criminal justice 

response 

> Don’t know how to report/reach out for 

help 

only 47% of violent crimes are reported to the police

Victim services are out of reach 

• Only 13% of victims of violent crime with 
disabilities receive support from victim 
services. 


Justice is out of reach for many. 

47% of violent crimes are reported to police; 22% of those reported are charged with an offense; 9% of those charged are convicted of the offense.

Common barriers 

> Limited to no specialized outreach to survivors with disabilities; 

> Physical, communication, programmatic and attitudinal barriers in 
victim services and criminal justice systems; 

> Lack of specialized knowledge and response protocols to survivors 
in disability organizations; and 

> Lack of coordination between victim services and disability 

organizations and law enforcement. 

> Perceived lack of credibility 

> Lack of specialized training for law enforcement and prosecutors 


Understanding the needs in 
your state/territory: Needs 
assessment 

Organizations/groups to engage 
Key considerations 


Programs addressing violence against PWD 

www.endabusepwd.org 

screen shot of the End Abuse map, showing the locations of agencies that are implementing programs that address violence against people with disabilities
22 

Other voices to include 

•State-level•Local-level•Deaf and hard of hearing•Arc local organizationscommissions•Boards of MR/DD•Mental health associations•Community mental health•Protection and Advocacyprovidersorganizations (Disability•Deaf service providerRights ____)•Independent living centers•Self-advocacy chapters•Interpreter agencies•State independent living centers•Self-advocacy groups•State/Governor commissions ondisability


Promising strategies 

Strong partnerships among disability, victim service 

organizations, and law enforcement. 

Victim Service Programs 
Routinely budgeting for access 
Involve people with disabilities 
Establishing expectations 
through policies 
Conducting access reviews and 
removing barriers 
Supporting staff and volunteers 
through training and other 
resources 
Enhancing engagement with 
disability leaders and 
community members 

Disability Programs 
Establishing expectations 
through policies 
Conducting safety and 
responsiveness reviews 
Supporting staff and volunteers 
through trainings 
Creating strong linkages and 
referrals 
Supporting self-advocates and 
other people with disabilities 
take leadership roles in this work 


Key considerations 

• How to meaningfully engage representatives from the 
disability community in your needs assessment process 
• Consider diversity within disability community and include an 
array of voices and perspectives 
• Create an accessible process for people to provide their 
expertise to your process 
• In-person consultation offers the highest degree of 
accessibility 
• Get on the agenda of an already-scheduled meeting(s) 







Be prepared to provide accommodations 

• Host activities in a wheelchair-
accessible location 
• Sign language interpreters: 
• If you know in advance who 
will be attending, ask about 
communication needs. 
• If you will not know in 
advance who will be 
participating, have ASL 
interpreters available. 




• Use plain language 
• Offer materials in advance 


screen shot of document about Creating Accessible Print Materials

Promoting accessible and 
inclusive services in your 
state/territory 

Writing Your Solicitation 
Reviewing Applications 
Supporting Grantees 


Your solicitation 

> What do you hope sub-grantees accomplish related to victims with 
disabilities and Deaf survivors? 

> What, specifically, do you want them to do with your office’s 

support? 

> What resources/support would your sub-grantees need to be 
successful? 

> What do you need from applicants to determine if they will be 
successful? 

> How can you operationalize and document your priorities 
surrounding victims with disabilities in your solicitation? 


Reviewing 
Applications 

Capacity & partnerships 
Budgets 

women writing in binders, smiling and helping each other review documents

Capacity & partnerships 

> Applicant 

> Does the applicant have expertise in issues pertaining to disability, 
Deaf culture, and accessibility? 
> What previous experience does the applicant have with 
supporting survivors with disabilities and Deaf survivors? 

> Partners 

> Does the applicant partner with an organization(s) that has 
experience in disability and the Deaf community? 
> If partners are compensated, are the disability/Deaf partner(s) 

compensated equitably? 


Budget assumptions 

> Budgets should assume participants with disabilities and 
who are Deaf. 

> Specific line items must be included to meet baseline 
accessibility requirements established by the Americans 
with Disabilities Act. 


Average cost estimates 

Line Item Cost Estimate 
Qualified ASL Interpreters • $65-75/hour/interpreter 
• 2 person teams 
• Minimum hourly job requirements 
Materials in Braille • 1 page can equal 3-4 Brailled pages 
• $8-10/Brailled Page 
Materials in Font Over 14 pt. • Cost of additional pages 
Materials in Plain Language • $50/hour 


Supporting sub-grantees: connecting to existing resources 

End Abuse of People with Disabilities: www.endabusepwd.org 

• Connect to victim service organizations and law enforcement departments 
working in this area 
• Archived newsletters and webinars re: victims with disabilities 
• Reports on critical issues facing survivors with disabilities 
• Tools for reviewing the accessibility of programs 
• Tools to measure capacity to serve survivors with disabilities 
• Employee/volunteer training curriculums 
• Model policies and procedures, including providing accommodations, 
mandatory reporting, service animals, etc. 
• Outreach materials aimed at survivors with disabilities 
• Model MOU agreements between disability/Deaf & victim service orgs 



Save the date 

The Vera Institute of Justice will host a 2-day in-person event 

Reaching Crime Victims with Disabilities: Promoting 
Accessibility and Inclusion Through VOCA Assistance Grant 
Making 

Kansas City, MO 
December 4-5, 20018 

The Vera Institute of Justice will cover the travel and lodging costs of 
15 VOCA Assistance Administrators. 

*This event is pending Department of Justice Approval, however we 
encourage you to save the date and register to indicate your interest. 


Contact Information 

Vera Institute of Justice, a partner within the 

National Resource Center for Reaching Victims 

Nancy Smith 
(917) 535-7564 

nsmith@vera.org 

Anneliese Brown 
(347) 640-1674 

abrown@vera.org